SEMINAR: CWR Presents

Language attitudes are inextricably linked to linguistic variation and deeply tied up to groups of people and what is believed about them. The study of people’s beliefs about language, including evaluations and discriminations of language variety, falls in the area of sociolinguistics known as folk linguistics (Preston 2002).

This talk explores folk linguistic accounts by speakers of Anglo-Celtic Australian English, Argentinian River Plate Spanish and foreign language learners of Spanish in Australia. The different attitudinal positions noted in the data are discussed vis-à-vis Preston’s (2002: 64) notions of ‘correctness’, ‘ordinary language’, ‘dialects’ and ‘errors’. Understanding language attitudes can help us make sense of who we are and how we are evaluated by others. This seminar seeks to make a contribution to this understanding.

About Dr Celeste Rodriguez Louro

Celeste Rodriguez Louro joined UWA Linguistics as Assistant Professor in 2011, after completing a PhD in Linguistics at Melbourne University in December 2009. Trained in Argentina, the USA and Australia, she specialises in language variation and change in English and Spanish. Dr Rodriguez Louro’s research has been consistently funded internally and externally since 2002. This support has resulted in a growing publication record, including two recent publications on discourse-pragmatic aspects of Perth English–a variety previously undocumented in the sociolinguistics literature–and the first-ever Corpus of English in Australia.

She has been invited to contribute her innovative research to international volumes, has presented her work at more than 30 peer-reviewed conferences, and has been invited to present her research to audiences in Argentina, Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Spain and the USA. Dr Rodriguez Louro has a strong record of international collaborations and has led several panels and workshops on language variation and change.

Solidly linked to her teaching, Dr Rodriguez Louro’s research program has been enriched by contributions from Honours students, research assistants, and PhD candidates. She has received nominations for her Honours supervision and undergraduate teaching and has been nominated for a 2012 Young Investigator Award. Dr Rodriguez Louro has acted as reviewer to several world- renowned journals and publishing houses, has developed a strong record of media appearances, and is committed to foregrounding to the general public the importance of understanding language in society.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****