DETAILS
Tuesday 30th November, 2021 at 6:00pm (AEDT)
Dr Chloé Diskin-Holdaway, University of Melbourne
Becoming Aussie: Investigating accent change in the Irish community in Melbourne
ABSTRACT
Research into sociolinguistics shows that our accents are not fixed or static and can change throughout the lifespan. The way we speak can also shift depending on who we are speaking to, what we are speaking about, and how we position ourselves in given moments in interaction with others. These changes can be more apparent among highly mobile individuals, such as migrants, expatriates, or international students, who frequently move between cities, regions, and countries. As they move, they gain more exposure to speakers of different languages, accents, and dialects. They also experience changes in social mobility, friendship networks and in their personal and professional identities. This talk will draw on my ongoing research with Irish migrant professionals in Australia, where I use socio-phonetics to look at accent change over time. I investigate whether some aspects of accent are more easily acquired than others. I also explore the role that identity and motivation can play in both the conscious and unconscious processes behind our speech production and perception.
SPEAKER
Dr Chloé Diskin-Holdaway is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Melbourne. Originally from Galway, she earned her PhD at University College Dublin before moving to Melbourne in 2016.
LOCATION (hybrid)
Following current Government guidelines those attending in-person will need to check in with a QR code and show they are fully vaccinated. Access will also be provided via Zoom. Please RSVP to Dianne.hall@vu.edu.au if you would like the zoom link, which will be sent out a day before the seminar. The seminar will start at 6:00pm (AEDT) in The Oratory at Newman College, Swanston St, Carlton. As always this is a free public seminar.
RECORDING