By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Jennifer Cramer, Ph.D., is starting a term as board chair of Kentucky Humanities. Cramer is professor of linguistics at the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences and Chellgren Endowed Professor with UK’s Chellgren Center. Her term runs through Dec. 31.  

Kentucky Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. Kentucky Humanities is supported by the endowment and by private contributions. Cramer began serving on the board in 2020. Among its programs is Kentucky Reads, wherein the group selects a book each year for groups to share.  

“During her term on the 23-person volunteer board, Cramer has help set policies, award project grants to community organizations and participated in fundraising

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 21, 2024) — Undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky who participate in research under the guidance of faculty mentors have the opportunity to publish the outcomes of their work and collaborative experiences. The first edition of Aperture Journal of Undergraduate Research launched June 1, highlighting seven student-professor partnerships.

Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research, the open-access, peer- and expert-reviewed journal, which will be published annually, aims to showcase

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jennifer Cramer, professor of linguistics in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences, is participating in the nationwide 2023-24 Weekend HERS (Higher Education Resource Services) Leadership Institute for emerging leaders in higher education. She is among 63 higher education leaders chosen for the program. 

The HERS Leadership Institute is designed for faculty and staff who generally hold mid- to senior-level positions in higher education.  

Participants represent a range of racial and ethnic groups, gender identities, nationalities, veteran and disability statuses, religious affiliations, ages and years of experience in higher education, thereby broadening the range of perspectives and insights brought to each session. 

 "The goal of the

By C. Lynn Hiler 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 25, 2023) — The Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence recently named 34 new fellows, five endowed professorships and three faculty fellows.

The Chellgren Student Fellows Program is open to all majors and takes place during the student’s second year at UK. During this time, students receive help understanding the process of research within their discipline, a research mentor to oversee a spring research project and assistance in preparing for the next phase of their career. Student Fellows also benefit from a variety of extracurricular events designed to broaden cultural and intellectual horizons. Among them are: 

By Richard LeComte 

A recent initiative in the University of Kentucky Department of Linguistics delves into the many ways language is spoken and heard on a diverse college campus — “This is What a Wildcat Sounds Like.” The video creates a mosaic of what UK community members sound like when communicating and how that enriches the experience for all stakeholders on campus.  

"The project began as an attempt to raise awareness of dialect diversity on this campus," said Allison Burkette, chair of the Linguistics Department in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. “I have seen a couple of other videos from other schools, and I thought it was important because there's been at least one dissertation and several articles written about it.” 

Read the article "Demons in Bible use they/them pronouns because of English grammar, not gender | Fact check" here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2023/05/22/claim-of-they-…

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 5, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that four students have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships to travel abroad to teach, study or pursue research for the 2023-24 academic year.

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 140 countries.

This year’s UK Fulbright recipients are:

Read the article here: https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/inq2/philadelphia-accent-wat…

Excerpt from the LSA website: "The Zwicky Award recognizes LGBTQ+ linguists who have made significant contributions to the discipline, the Society, or the wider LGBTQ+ community through scholarship, outreach, service, and/or teaching. Eligible applicants will be current members of the LSA and identify within the LGBTQ+ community. Eligibility is open to applicants at any career stage."

Read more: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/about/who-we-are/lsa-awards

The 2023 Linguistic Institute will be at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The Linguistic Institute is a biennial, month-long session of courses that span a variety of linguistics related topics. Named professors at the institute teach a month-long course. 

https://blogs.umass.edu/lingstitute2023/

Read the article here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/12/us/maam-sir-polarizing-words-cec/index.h…

Read the article "Hold up, y'all: Slow-speaking states survey sells US language patterns short, linguists say" here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/01/21/american-slow-tal…

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 23, 2022) — University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences students have received Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to support their education abroad goals.

The Gilman Scholarship supports students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including but not limited to  students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities. Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process and must use the award, ranging from $100 to $5,000, to defray the cost of tuition, room and board, books

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Meg Mills

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 28, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that three students and one recent graduate have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships to travel abroad to teach, study or pursue research for the 2022-23 academic year. Among them are two College of Arts & Sciences students. 

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 140

Listen to the full podcast episode here: https://subtitlepod.com/the-speechways-of-the-folk/

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Dennis Preston, adjunct professor of linguistics in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, was named a Fellow by the American Dialect Society. He is among the first group of 10 who were chosen for the honor and was President of the Society in 2001-02.

He is also an Erskine Fellow of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Linguistic Society of America; in 2004 he received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Polish Republic.    

He earned a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in 1965 and is a former Regents Professor in the Department of English at Oklahoma State University and University Distinguished Professor at

Watch the full segment here: https://www.portable.tv/series/idontunderstand?v=31e952ad-4905-4fe7-89e…

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sometimes it’s a question of context – or, in this case, the context of questions.

Jennifer Cramer, associate professor of linguistics at the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, specializes in sociolinguistics – the study of how social factors, including race, gender and class, affect language. She’s studied differences in language in Southern regions of the United States in particular.

Over the past five years, she’s found a practical outlet for her research: evaluating questions on an exam given to certify family physicians. She uses her skills to determine if a particular question might be confusing to test-takers because of cultural contexts.

“When we look at an assessment tool, we have to know what we're assessing,” Cramer said. “Linguists work with educational groups all the time when they’re