What determines authentic and authoritative language use? This talk looks at language communities in Central and South America to show how changes in linguistic diversity transform linguistic identities and usage patterns. Understanding linguistic diversity helps us better value the languages, histories, cultures, and users of specific languages in a linguistic ecosystem.
Chris Rogers is an associate professor of linguistics at BYU. He focuses on language documentation, description, and typology, focusing primarily on the native languages of Central and South America. His current interests are classroom gamification, information packaging, precategoriality, semantic alignment, and linguistic diversity in language ecosystems.
Part of the Kennedy Center's fall 2023 lecture series, "Preserving and Transforming Culture."