Department of Linguistics

Battles of grammar, for the most part, play out in English classrooms and in the pages of style guides. Rarely do arguments over split infinitives and Oxford commas venture beyond the walls of academia. But one linguistic phenomenon lands in the limelight every so often, and it’s a word you know well: the pronoun “they” — along with its derivatives “them” and “their.” Kirby Conrod, a lecturer in linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Adam Werle (BA International Studies & Linguistics 1998), now teaches Nuu-chah-nulth to Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellows.

On Wednesday, several of Timnit Gebru's former colleagues wrote a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai asking that she be reinstated, saying her departure has "had a demoralizing effect on the whole of our team." Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Google’s decision to part ways with a prominent researcher laid bare divisions within the company’s artificial intelligence unit and subjected its leader, the lauded software engineer Jeff Dean, to widespread scorn. Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Alicia Wassink, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Sociolinguistics Laboratory at the University of Washington, has been elected to the Executive Committee of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA).

 

Emily M. Bender, a professor of computational linguistics explains virtual learning algorithms.

Naja Ferjan Ramirez, assistant professor of linguistics, has written a study on how parents talk to their children.

The College honors four exceptional graduates representing eight Arts & Sciences majors.

Emily Bender, professor of linguistics, explains how major AI conferences are starting to force computer scientists to think about the societal impacts of artificial intelligence.

Aaron Versoza (BA, Lingustics, 2009) and Amber Manuguid (BFA, DXARTS, 2009), discuss how their restaurant has adapted to COVID-19.

Austin Jenkins recalls their harrowing escape from the Mount St. Helens eruption with his school camping trip. Emily Menon Bender, professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Linguistics Professor Emily Bender discusses how artificial intelligence can go wrong, especially regarding the ethical risks of voice technology.

Naja Ferjan Ramirez, an assistant professor in linguistics, weighs in on baby talk and a research-backed alternative, "parentese."

Naja Ferjan Ramírez, assistant professor of linguistics, discusses her new research into "parentese," a new style of baby talk.

Assistant professor in linguistics, Naja Ferjan Ramirez, proposes an alternative to standard baby-talk: research-backed "parentese."