[Ads-l] Friday, October 2nd - Language and Race: Communities and Corpora

[Kelly Wright]

Dear all,


I hope you are doing most well :)

Please join us for the invited lecture: *Language and Place: Communities
and Corpora
<https://languageinstitute.wisc.edu/language-and-place-communities-and-corpora/>*

*Dr. Minnie Quartey Annan*
Georgetown University and
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington

*3:30-5:00 pm central time*


*Friday, October 2, 2026*On Zoom, Register HERE
<https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/PJR_B6xfR0-gPvsI_qf4WQ>



*About the lecture*: How does place shape the way we speak, and how can
language help us understand the communities that create and sustain it?
This talk explores the relationship between language, place, and identity
through the study of African American Language in Washington, DC. Drawing
on research examining phonological variation and narrative discourse, I
consider how speakers use language to construct local identities, express
connections to community, and negotiate the changing social and cultural
landscape of the nation’s capital.

The talk also considers the role of linguistic corpora in documenting and
understanding language as it is used in real communities. By bringing
together quantitative patterns of linguistic variation with speakers’
narratives and lived experiences, this work demonstrates how corpora can
illuminate not only how language varies, but also what that variation means
to the people and places where it occurs.



*About the presenter*: Dr. Minnie Quartey
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/faculty-teaching?id=00336000014RjR7AAK__;!!Mak6IKo!J91yUOxbOcozPIEfFR3uDrDP9HroEjWeNFVt2wu6DSJye3R7C9SQobroRAqB6m4ETN7kKPceYtKqKVlgJC1ZQz3QlDIEgPqVecam5g$>
is
a linguist, educator, and scholar whose work explores the intersections of
language, identity, culture, and place, with a particular focus on African
American Language (AAL). She holds a PhD in Linguistics from Georgetown
University.

Her 2023 dissertation, “When I Was Coming Up, It Was Called the Chocolate
City: Phonological Variation, Narrative Discourse, and Identity
Construction among Speakers of African American Language in Washington,
DC,” examines how language and storytelling shape identity and connection
to place among AAL speakers in Washington, DC.

Quartey is passionate about making linguistics accessible and challenging
deficit-based perceptions of African American Language. Her work bridges
scholarship, education, and community, using language as a lens for
understanding identity, history, culture, and social change.



*Sponsors*: UW-Madison Language Sciences <https://langsci.wisc.edu/>, Language
Institute <https://languageinstitute.wisc.edu/>, English Department
<https://english.wisc.edu/>, and the Language Ideologies and Linguistic
Discrimination <https://languageideologies.wisc.edu/> working group.



*Contact:*  <kewright4 at wisc.edu>Kelly Wright <kewright4 at wisc.edu>, Language
Sciences; Dianna Murphy <diannamurphy at wisc.edu>, Language Institute



*Accommodations:* Please contact Jana Martin  <jcmartin4 at wisc.edu>three
business days in advance.



Thanks ever so,

K.


Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright

Assistant Professor | Language Sciences

*University of Wisconsin-Madison*

Associate Editor | Among the New Words

*American Speech*

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