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Michele W. Berger
Senior Science News Officer
mwberger@upenn.edu
Linguistics
The influence and importance of language
The influence and importance of language
Labels for what happened Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol were very different from those used to describe the Black Lives Matter movement or the 2020 election results. How much weight do individual words actually have? It depends on the context.
Why the pandemic introduces language that is ‘hard to explain’
Why the pandemic introduces language that is ‘hard to explain’
Linguist Andrea Beltrama discusses new words and phrases that have entered the language during the current health crisis, and the “massive” impact the pandemic has had on language.
New database aims to make Alzheimer’s diagnosis easier and earlier
New database aims to make Alzheimer’s diagnosis easier and earlier
A five-minute online session will allow neural health to be tracked across time, so that doctors can make an earlier diagnosis and researchers can evaluate medications and other treatments.
Bridging the communication divide for Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities
Bridging the communication divide for Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities
Clear-fronted face masks, better and more frequent interpreters, and amped up involvement from local organizations have made a big difference during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why do young children pick up language easier than adults?
Why do young children pick up language easier than adults?
Why do young children pick up language easier than adults? One Penn linguist has some theories.
Is it a cult, or a new religious movement?
Is it a cult, or a new religious movement?
Many religious movements started off as fringe groups, and many modern-day cults have no religious doctrine. Why are cults and new religious movements conflated, and what makes them different?
Connecting with a Deaf community on the other side of the world
Connecting with a Deaf community on the other side of the world
On a trip abroad to Italy that capped off the Penn Global Seminar taught by linguist Jami Fisher, students got a firsthand look at the diversity and variety of global deaf culture.
One hour, one painting: A Barnes visit reveals clues about how the brain processes visual cues
One hour, one painting: A Barnes visit reveals clues about how the brain processes visual cues
The exercise is one part of a two-week mindCORE summer workshop aimed at underrepresented undergrads across the country. This year’s program focused on language science and technology, and minds in the world.
Shooting for the moon
Shooting for the moon
In her Language and the Brain course, linguistics professor Kathryn Schuler asked 30 undergrads to think big about big problems—and their solutions didn’t disappoint.
A shared past for East Africa’s hunter-gatherers
A shared past for East Africa’s hunter-gatherers
PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff, Laura Scheinfeldt, and Sameer Soi use data from 50 populations to study African genetic diversity. Their analysis suggests that geographically far-flung hunter-gatherer groups share a common ancestry.
Media Contact
In the News
NPR
When Republicans attack ‘cancel culture,’ what does it mean?
Nicole Holliday of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the origins and evolution of the phrase “cancel culture.” “It is used to refer to a cultural boycott,” she said. “We’ve had the term ‘boycott’ forever and ever. It just means, ‘I’m not going to put my attention or money or support behind this person or organization because they’ve done something that I don’t agree with.’ That is not new; that’s very old.”
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Huffington Post
Here’s why it’s a big deal to capitalize the word ‘Black’
Nicole Holliday of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the importance of acknowledging the cultural ramifications of whiteness. “We call some classes ‘Black History’ but the ones that focus on ‘white history’ are just called ‘history,’” she said. “That kind of erasure is an issue, because it continues to situate whiteness as ‘normal’ and everything else as ‘other.’”
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The New York Times
Massachusetts court won’t use term ‘grandfathering,’ citing its racist origins
Nicole Holliday of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the phasing out of words with direct links to slavery, such as “grandfathering.” “This is the legal system, and there are wrongs to be righted,” she said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Is the word ‘picnic’ racist? How to deal with questions about language right now
Nicole Holliday of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about avoiding offensive nomenclature. “The default should be whatever that person wants to be called,” she said.
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Christian Science Monitor
Hearing isn’t always believing with ‘mondegreens’
Mark Liberman of the School of Arts and Sciences explained how expectations shape our comprehension of language.
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The Economist
How to think about African-American English
Taylor Jones, a grad student in the School of Arts and Sciences, led a study that found court reporters were only able to accurately transcribe 60% of sentences spoken in the African-American English dialect, regardless of the transcriptionists’ race or experience level.
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