Alicia LeClair will present the results of her research with Lisa Green at the 11th Annual Cornell Undergraduate Linguistics Colloquium (CULC 11). The topic of her paper is: Development of Past Tense Marking in Child African American English. Alicia’s paper was selected as one of only five full-length student papers (as opposed to the more common posters) to be presented at the conference. Alicia writes:

“I will forever be grateful for all of the opportunities I have had with research experiences in the Linguistics Department here at UMass. I am especially excited to be presenting research from this past summer and this current semester with Lisa Green and the Center for the Study of African American Language. Child African American English Acquisition is an important topic of study and with Lisa’s help I have been able to create a body of work about past tense acquisition by 4- to 6-year-old AAE speakers that brings up possibilities for future more specific research within the AAE past tense acquisition path. It has been a rewarding, but at times difficult, challenge to understand the systems of AAE and how it maps out in child speech, but throughout this experience, I believe I have grown as a critical thinker, researcher, and student. Thank you again, UMass Ling!”