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Linguistics

Sound research as a lens to understanding the world
Illustration of a person wearing headphones with swirling whales and birds surrounding them.

Image: Maggie Chiang for OMNIA

Sound research as a lens to understanding the world

Researchers across Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences are turning to sound for new answers to questions on subjects from birdsong to the benefits of music exposure.

Laura Dattaro

Who, What, Why: Luke Godsey’s Appalachian quilt
Luke Godsey holds a multicolored quilt up at the PWC

Luke Godsey and the in-progress quilt at the Penn Women’s Center

Who, What, Why: Luke Godsey’s Appalachian quilt

Luke Godsey, a second-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences, has created a quilt for the Penn Women’s Center as part of a new art series.

Kristina Linnea García

Centuries of ‘TikTalk’
A closeup look at a mouth speaking.

TikTok voice, uptalk, and vocal fry are current linguistic trends with a long history.

(Image: iStock/suricoma)

Centuries of ‘TikTalk’

The media popularity of the vocal trend called “TikTalk,” or a combination of uptalkand vocal fry, is actually nothing new, says linguist Mark Liberman.
A centuries-old word with a modern twist
Six people holding up signs with their pronouns.

Image: iStock/Ekaterina Tveitan

A centuries-old word with a modern twist

The acceptable use of a singular “they” pronoun made official a linguistic trend already in use for centuries. People who are not represented by binary pronouns say it’s a helpful step, but a small one.
What fabricated languages can teach us about real ones
Gareth Roberts.

Gareth Roberts is an associate professor of linguistics in the School of Arts & Sciences.

(Image: Eric Sucar)

What fabricated languages can teach us about real ones

Linguist Gareth Roberts of the School of Arts & Sciences uses “alien” languages and interactive games to show how social pressures shape our communication.

Marilyn Perkins

The language of loneliness and depression, revealed in social media
Person sitting in the dark, leaning on a desk, staring at a cell phone. A coffee cup and pile of papers sit nearby.

The language of loneliness and depression, revealed in social media

By analyzing Facebook posts, Penn researchers found that words associated with depression are often tied to emotions, whereas those associated with loneliness are linked to cognition.

Marilyn Perkins