TITLE: Teachers as Scholars: Conversations about Language: Questioning Common Beliefs
DATE: December 5 & 12, 2016
TIME: 8:30-3:30
LOCATION: Montclair State University - University Hall, ADP Center Room 1145
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Alice Freed

Many people, educated people in particular, think of themselves as fairly knowledgeable about language. Indeed, human speakers know a great deal about their own language simply based on using it from their earliest years to the end of their lives. But do people’s assumptions and beliefs correspond to what modern linguistics has discovered? That question will be the central focus of these two seminars. We will examine a range of shared ideas about language and speech and we will explore what linguists report. For example, is it true that animals have communication systems comparable to those of humans? Do only some people have accents? Are technology and the younger generation ruining English? Do women talk more than men? In short, the seminars will consider a variety of commonly held (mis)beliefs about language and learn what linguistics (the scientific study of human language) can contribute to the discussion.

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