World Language Research
World Language Research
May 2024 - May 2025
#LosingLanguages: A Documentation of the Digital Landscape of Language Preservation
Laura Standel
It is projected by UNESCO’s World Atlas of Languages that by 2100, 50% of all the spoken languages in the world will be extinct or seriously endangered. Of the 8,324 languages known to UNESCO 6,700 of them are Indigenous languages. It is because of this that UNESCO, along with many other language focus agencies, are coming up with new ways and events to educate communities around the world about the dangerous lack of language preservation efforts (UNESCO World Atlas of Languages). Meanwhile platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are fueling globalization and enforcing the language status quo by encouraging participants away from their unique languages and towards more marketable ‘safe’ 65 languages. With the popularity of social media, language preservation cannot solely be done in the physical world but also in the digital. In their research, Dr. Marcos Romero and Laura Standel hope to answer the question: what about the other 8,000+ languages? How does the internet harm or hinder the preservation of these languages and how can it be made to benefit or flourish these languages instead?
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marcos Romero, World Languages
Funded by: Aquinas College Summer Scholars Program
May 2022 - May 2023
Analyzing Language Acquisition, Intercultural Competence, and Personal Growth in a
Study Abroad Experience
Sydney Wetzel
May 2018 - May 2019
The Role of Gender on the Pronunciation of “ch” in Andalusian Spanish: A Study of
Social and Linguistic Factors
Bridget Gibley
The study of the Spanish language includes the study of many different dialects and variations. For example, Andalusian Spanish contains a variable pronunciation of the consonant “ch.” The standard pronunciation in Spanish is an affricate sound [tʃ] (as in the “ch” in “choose”). However, the consonant “ch” can also be pronounced in a weakened, fricative sound [ʃ] (as in the “sh” in “shoe”). This dialectal variation is widespread among speakers of different ages, gender, and education. Previous studies (Quilis-María Vaquero, 1973; Melguizo Moreno, 2007; Alberto Méndez, 2017) have found correlations between these sociolinguistic factors and the weakened pronunciation of “ch.” However, even though all the studies agree that the fricative pronunciation is more common among speakers from lower socioeconomic and educational backgrounds, the patterns found for age and gender are contradicting.
This study explores the dialectal variation of the consonant “ch” in Andalusian Spanish, in particular the role of gender, by analyzing audio interviews with speakers of Andalusian Spanish in Alcala de Guadaira in Southern Spain. Each speaker is analyzed based on the dependent variable of the pronunciation of “ch” and independent variables of gender, education, and phonological context for the consonant. Since the fricative pronunciation of “ch” seems to have low prestige in Spanish, we expect female speakers to favor the standard affricate pronunciation of this consonant.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Carmen Ruiz-Sanchez
Funded by: Aquinas College Summer Scholars Program
May 2017 - May 2018
On April 25, 2018, GN 401 students Karissa Lantz and Paul Sommerville presented their research projects at the 10th Aquinas Annual Student Research Symposium. Under the guidance of their faculty advisor, Dr. Susan Hojnacki, they connected their German research topic with their second major (International Studies and Business Administration/Sports Management), their study abroad, internship, practicum, or experiential learning experience, and shared their scholarship with an engaged and interested audience!
Putin, Merkel, and Crimea: The Effects of a Cross-Cultural Diplomatic Relationship Following the Annexation of Crimea
Karis Karissa Lantz (German Studies & International Relations)
This capstone thesis project brings together the two academic fields of International Studies and German Studies. The research seeks to provide a possible understanding of events that occurred between Russia and Germany following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in eastern Ukraine. Based on the Social Constructivist approach to International Relations and Germany’s reluctance to be involved in foreign conflicts after World War II, the project focuses on the actions and reactions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The thesis concluded that the relationship between a German woman, who grew up in East Germany, and a Russian man, who was a KGB officer stationed in East Germany, affected the outcome of events after the annexation of Crimea.
Sport in the GDR: A Structural Analysis of the Communist Development Program. Lessons Beyond Doping.
Paul Sommerville (German Studies & Sport Management)
The German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, was able to build a world class, state-endorsed sport program with minimal resources and a limited population. National teams were not just able to compete, but rather defeat the world’s best, including the United States and the Soviet Union, at the Olympic level. Speculations of performance-enhancing doping clouded the success and were finally exposed after the Berlin wall fell. My research examines the financial and administrative structure of GDR sport. Where did the money come from, and who made the decisions? What unique processes were in place that set them apart? How did the rigorous training affect the athletes’ experience? Where did they go wrong and what influenced those decisions? I will use my research to identify processes from the system that could positively influence current sport organizations, such as national governing bodies and intercollegiate athletic departments.