34.1292, Featured Linguist: Merari Rincón

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-34-1292. Fri Apr 21 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.1292, Featured Linguist: Merari Rincón

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Date: 21-Apr-2023
From: Lauren Perkins [lauren at linguistlist.org]
Subject: Featured Linguist: Merari Rincón


Every year as part of our fund drive, the LINGUIST List features a
number of linguists on our blog whose research is of particular
interest to our readers, whose lives as linguists or path to
linguistics has been remarkable, or who’ve impacted and contributed to
the worldwide linguistics community. This week's Featured Linguist is
Merari Rincón of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Merari
writes:

When I started studying English at the age of sixteen, little did I
know that I was on the path to becoming a linguist. It all began when
I decided to major in International Relations but after studying one
semester I quit.

It was at that moment that I made up my mind and decided to become an
English teacher, so I made every effort to take a Teacher’s Training
Course. I was accepted into the course and I was prepared to learn
everything about teaching but, curiously enough, the two modules that
I enjoyed the most were not related to teaching, but to language. The
first one was called “psycholinguistics” and the second one
“linguistics,” the topics in each of these modules fascinated me. What
could be more interesting than studying language and the mind?
However, the scope of these modules was limited, so I did not dig
further into linguistics at that point.

When I finished the Teacher’s Training Course, I applied for a major
in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Once again, I found myself
inevitably attracted to all the subjects related to linguistics. I
enjoyed learning about the traits of language to teach it better, but
saw myself as only a language teacher, never thinking of becoming a
linguist. As my thirst for knowledge about language couldn’t be
quenched as an undergraduate, I set off to study a Master’s Degree in
Applied Linguistics at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
No sooner had I started my life as a graduate student than I realised
you can actually study language and not just teach it; this left me
startled as my initial plan was to do research related to teaching
languages. Unexpectedly, I was immersed in discussions about
linguistic relativism, science, language processing, syntax,
semantics, pragmatics, language acquisition, etc., all of which were
enthralling. I had fallen down the rabbit hole. When I started the
master’s, my original intention was to study errors in the production
of students of English as a Second Language, now I could hardly
believe that I was studying language processing, specifically
processing of phrasal verbs by non-native speakers of English, a topic
that continues to hold my interest.

There are two people who have inspired me along this journey and to
whom I am deeply grateful, my advisors Teresa Peralta and Carmen
Curcó, who have set an example for me and from whom I have learnt so
much, noy only when it comes to language matters but to kindness,
ethics and professionalism, their support has been essential in me
becoming a linguist. So inspired was I that a few years later, I set
off to study a PhD in linguistics and now I am proud to be a doctoral
candidate. Moreover, my tutors have kindly invited me to be part of
their Experimental Linguistics Laboratory, a budding project in which
I am currently participating along with Gala Villaseñor and Ittay Gil.
Now I am more convinced than ever that linguistic theory is the way to
go and that there is no better way to put our claims to the test than
experimental linguistics, areas which I trust will be further explored
and developed by eager linguists in the future. While we can make any
claim about language, experimental studies allow us to manipulate any
condition to put our claims to the test.

I must also mention another person whose books have made an impression
on me. I am talking about Richard Dawkins, whose love for science,
reason, biology and evolution have ignited in me a desire to
contribute to the study of the biological basis of language. I firmly
believe that if we explain what it means to know a language, how
languages are acquired and how language appeared and evolved in our
species, we will be closer to understanding our own minds and also
closer to figuring out what makes us humans. I cannot wait to see the
day in which the study of language destroys artificial borders between
human beings.

Linguists are scientists as they produce knowledge, although some
people seem to forget this. Despite working in different areas,
linguists are united by their desire to obtain a better understanding
of language. While some prefer to tackle phonemes and others opt for
studying discourse, I am certain that our contribution to the
knowledge of language will never be pointless and that this knowledge
will eventually undermine myths and demolish superstitions. While it
is difficult to predict where the study of language will lead us, we
will definitely continue uncovering the secrets of language, which
will undoubtedly make our lives better as knowledge is far better than
ignorance. In this case, knowledge about language is something
everybody should strive for, as it will lead to unimaginable outcomes
from which future generations will benefit. No matter whether your
expertise lies in syntax or in pragmatics, aboriginal languages or
discourse analysis, we can all contribute to the development of the
science of language. We should also make this new knowledge as
accessible as possible, so I trust my fellow linguists will also
become more involved in scientific divulgation.

Another way to make information available to a wider audience is by
financially supporting the Linguist List. I hope you donate to the
current Fund Drive as any amount of money you give, no matter how
small it is, will make a difference and will allow this site to
continue working to keep us informed and connected. I encourage not to
take this site for granted as we tend to do with some of the best
things in life.
_____________________
You can donate to this year’s Fund Drive here:
https://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate



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