UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Nearly 100 high school students from Centre County visited Penn State’s University Park campus on April 12 to participate in the fourth annual Language and Linguistics Day. The event, hosted by Penn State’s Center for Language Science (CLS) offered an array of hands-on activities and discussions with CLS researchers on topics such as linguistic diversity, language and thought, and the sounds of English.
“This annual event provides what is often students’ first exposure to the fields of linguistics and language science — many have studied languages, but they typically don’t know that this can be approached as a scientific discipline,” said Frances Blanchette, Penn State associate research professor of psychology and CLS’ assistant director. “It’s really exciting to see them get inspired and begin to look at language in new ways.”
Tenth- and eleventh graders from Bellefonte and State College area high schools and St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy participated in this year’s Language and Linguistics Day. The event culminated with a linguistics competition that saw a team from State College Area High School take home first prize.
The CLS researchers who participated were thrilled to have the opportunity to share their knowledge and enthusiasm, and the high school students and their teachers who interacted with the researchers said they were already looking forward to Language and Linguistics Day next spring.
Please visit Penn State's Linguistics Program for more information about the program and the Center for Language Science for more information about the center.