Tag «linguistics»

This year HSE has launched a new English-taught MA programme ‘Linguistic Theory and Language Description’, which has evolved from a specialization on the Computer Linguistics programme. Michael Daniel, one of the programme’s Academic Supervisors, told the HSE news service about the multilingual people who will study here, the expeditions the students will go on, and other features of the programme.

Is it possible to learn a new language well enough in just two weeks to conduct linguistic research on it? This is an entirely standard practice for linguists, according to Sasha Kozhukhar and Liza Vostokova, both students in the Linguistic Theory and Language Description master’s programme. This past summer, Sasha and Liza went on an expedition to Guatemala to study Kaqchikel, an indigenous Mayan language.

What causes variation between languages, and what do they have in common? How is language embedded in our general cognitive system? These are some of the questions that Eric Reuland, Faculty Professor of Language and Cognition at the Utrecht Institute of Linguistics (OTS) (Utrecht University), will address in a lecture course entitled ‘Syntactic approaches to anaphora’ that will be held at HSE Moscow from September 12 till 22, 2016. Professor Reuland recently spoke with the HSE news service about his research interests, his upcoming visit to Moscow, and some books he recommends for those interested in gaining exposure to the field of linguistics.

Elizaveta Vostokova and Alexandra Kozhukhar, students at the School of Linguistics, took part in the expedition to Guatemala in June 2016. The event was organized by the University of Maryland and was dedicated to research into the Kaqchikel Maya people. The expedition was led by Maria Polinsky, Professor of Linguistics, Omer Preminger, Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics, and  Pedro Mateo, Assistant Research Professor at the Maryland Language Science Center. During the first two weeks of the expedition, the participants studied the Kaqchikel language, the rest of the time they spent working with native speakers.

A new English-taught master’s programme ‘Linguistic Theory and Language Description’ starts in the new academic year. Ekaterina Rakhilina, Head of the School of Linguistics, told us about some details of the programme, project work and the potential for international cooperation.

Marina Chashko, HSE student on Master’s Programme in Foreign Languages and Cross-cultural  Communication, has participated in the first University Model United Nations in Venice as a representative of the New Zealand delegation in the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee. Marina has talked about her experience and explained why taking part in MUN is critical for all young people interested in the current international situation, even for linguists.

Samira Verhees, a Ghent University alumna and doctoral student at the HSE School of Linguistics, spoke about her Caucasian studies.

From November 14 - 24th a series of lectures on 'Diversity and Uniformity in Linguistic Sound Systems' by Ian Maddieson, Adjunct Research Professor at the University of New Mexico, Adjunct Professor Emeritus at the University of California was held at the HSE School of Linguistics. The course was dedicated to the phonetic diversity of languages and included eight lectures. During the series, Professor Maddieson talked to HSE English News Editor, Anna Chernyakhovskaya’s questions about his research into the relations between language and environment.