The aim of this podcast is to examine dimensions of accent in terms of the (bio-) linguistic mind/brain and the social mind. Drs. Tej and Shobha Bhatia discuss the silent accent trauma suffered by speakers who speak with “undesirable” foreign or regional accents and experience social exclusion and bullying from native speakers. They also present evidence from neurolinguistic (f-MRI) studies of social pain caused by social exclusion. The discussion is framed particularly in cross-cultural communication through world varieties of the English language and the wide-ranging negative reactions to people who speak English with a foreign or “undesirable” accent.
The HDIAC Podcast - Accent Matters: Biolinguistics and Social Identity Dimensions
Notice: This video may contain personal or third-party views and opinions not associated with the government.
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Please see our terms of use located here: https://www.hdiac.org/hdiac-terms-of-use/
Presenters
Dr. Tej Bhatia, Ph.D.
Tej K. Bhatia is a Professor of Linguistics and Director of South Asian languages at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York and is the Acting Director of Cognitive Sciences at Syracuse University. He has been a fellow at the Center for the Study of Popular Television at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communication and is a faculty fellow for the Forensic Sciences and National Security Institute. He has published a number of books, articles, and chapters in the area of bilingualism and multiculturalism, language and social cognition, media (advertising), discourse, sociolinguistics, and the structure of English and South Asian languages (Hindi-Urdu and Punjabi). Professor Bhatia is the editor in chief of the Brill Research Perspectives on Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition, as well as the vice-president and president-elect of the International Association for World Englishes. He earned his doctorate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Shobha Bhatia, Ph.D.
Dr. Shobha Bhatia has taught civil and environmental engineering at Syracuse University for over 40 years and is currently a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor. She has received many prestigious honors and awards, such as being appointed to the National Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering of the National Academy of Science-Engineering-Medicine and being recognized as a GeoLegend at the Geo Institute. She is co-director of the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) initiative at Syracuse University and a Co PI of the National Science Foundation funded project SUADVANCE. Dr. Bhatia’s research efforts focus on the testing, development, design, and innovative use of sustainable natural and polymeric materials for the protection of water quality. Dr. Bhatia earned her doctorate in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver).
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