32.3074, Rising Stars: Meet Janani Ramadurai!

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-32-3074. Thu Sep 30 2021. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 32.3074, Rising Stars: Meet Janani Ramadurai!

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Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2021 02:22:52
From: LINGUIST List [linguist at linguistlist.org]
Subject: Rising Stars: Meet Janani Ramadurai!

 
Dear Linguist List Readers,

For this week's rising star we have Janani Ramadurai who is in her senior year
at the University of North Carolina where she is working on a Linguistics and
Neuroscience double major along with a computer science minor. For her
studies, she is interested in how children acquire language with and without
cognitive deficits in different sociolinguistic environments. As with all of
our Rising Stars, Janani's list of achievements is long but to give you a
preview, here are just a few... She is currently beginning her second year as
the president of the Undergrad linguistics club, she has taken (and excelled
at) several higher level classes aimed at graduate students, and she has
conducted independent research with Professor Elika Bergelson at Duke. She
presented this research at the Undergrad Research Symposium last spring!
Impressive work, indeed. This preamble is getting long so let's get to
Janani's piece.

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The field of linguistics is such a diverse and dynamic area of study, given
that the languages we use are changing every single day! We have expanded our
field to not only encompass different human languages but also different modes
and even non-human forms of communication. Due to this rapid increase in
physical and virtual dialogue, linguists have been given a new, seemingly
infinite source of data from which to enhance the study of language.

Understanding how language is acquired and developed — whether that is spoken
language, nonverbal communication, or AI interaction — is a topic that
requires more exploration. I believe that, with today’s society undergoing
monumental changes that will affect us for many years to come, such as
advancements in technology and a wider variety of languages being taught to
children, linguistics is rising to the forefront with regards to identifying
productive and inclusive ways to raise future generations.

There are a multitude of questions that remain unanswered, with my research
ranging from analyzing the validity of caretaker reports on child language
comprehension to understanding the various social and environmental influences
on language development. In order to keep up with technological advancements,
we have now created a space to observe human interactions with artificial
intelligence. When it comes to their child’s language development, it is
important for parents to be aware of all the factors that play into an
individual’s language acquisition.

My interest in sociolinguistics, language acquisition, and cognitive science
motivates me to fill in these gaps in our current literature. Since technology
is growing to play such a huge role in our everyday lives, I anticipate that
we will begin to rely more on AI to help our children cultivate their language
development skills. Computational linguists as well as individuals
specializing in cognitive science and language acquisition will be at the
forefront of this campaign, helping us figure out how to capitalize on our
interactions with AI in order to enhance our language. But our involvement
with artificial intelligence is only part of the story: I hope to learn more
about how we interact with each other and apply that knowledge to aid children
from different backgrounds in developing their language skills. I believe that
the current research I am involved in -- which looks at the influence that the
social environment of a child has on their language comprehension and
production -- is the first step to understanding this bigger picture.

In addition to contributing to the research regarding language acquisition, I
plan on receiving a Master’s degree in Linguistics at UNC before gaining some
work experience and eventually earning a PhD in Neuroscience or Cognitive
Science. I hope to pursue a career in research and academia and have the
opportunity to share my work and experience with others as invested in
language acquisition and development as me!

******************************************************************

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