Perspectives on Multilingualism: An Interdisciplinary Roundtable

A related public event will be held on January 26. 

It is estimated that less than half of the world’s population self-identifies as monolingual; most of humanity speaks and understands more than a single language. Despite this fact, research on language across humanities, engineering, biology and the social and psychological sciences has historically prioritized the study of monolingual speakers and communities. In recent years, language researchers have begun to recognize that multilingualism is a fundamental human characteristic that can inform both the nature of language and the general human ability to adapt to variation. This workshop explores the implications of multilingualism in a cross-disciplinary discussion of what it means to be human in a world of ubiquitous linguistic variety.

Speakers

• Ailís Cournane, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics, NYU
• João Sedoc, Assistant Professor of Technology, Operations, and Statistics, NYU
• María Rosa Brea, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, NYU
• Jon Sprouse, Professor of Psychology, NYUAD
• Esti Blanco-Elorrieta, Post-doctoral Researcher, Harvard University
• Shondel Nero, Professor of Language Education, NYU

Organized by

• Lisa Davidson, Professor and Chair of Linguistics and Director of the Phonetics and Experimental Phonology Lab, NYU
• Alec Marantz, Silver Professor of Linguistics and Psychology, NYU; Co-Principal Investigator of the Neuroscience of Language Laboratory, NYUAD

In Collaboration with