27005 S. Milford Road ▪ South Lyon (248) 437-8800 ▪ www.lyon.lib.mi.us Monday-Thursday 10:00 am-9:00 pm Friday-Saturday 10:00 am-5:00 pm For Immediate Release: Contact: Katie Rothley, Marketing & Outreach Librarian Phone: 248-437-8800 ext. 618 Email: krothley@lyon.lib.mi.us Lyon Township Public Library to host Kathryn Remlinger, Ph.D., Monday, July 13, 2020 at 7 PM for a presentation on the history and development of English in Michigan's Upper Peninsula . July 9, 2020 South Lyon, MI – Lyon Township Public Library (LTPL) is pleased to announce that we are holding a live, virtual presentation with guest speaker, Kathryn Remlinger, Ph.D. Kathryn is a Professor of English in the Applied Linguistics program at Grand Valley State University; we are honored to host her and look forward to Monday! Please consider joining us to learn more about Michigan's diverse history and culture. To register to receive the Zoom link and attend, please visit LTPL's website [ https://lyon-lib.libcal.com/event/6773719 | here. ] Description of the event: In "Yooper Talk: The History and Development of a Dialect" Kathryn will discuss the social, political and linguistic history of English in the U.P. and explain how ideas about what it means to sound like a Yooper have emerged over time. In order to understand any dialect, we must understand its history: how the dialect has been developed, both consciously and unconsciously, by people and their everyday practices, beliefs, and values, as well as by the land and labor that shape not only the dialect but also the region. The history of a region is reflected in present-day life in many ways, from languages spoken, to economics, industries, politics, food, housing, literacy, religious practices, education, and land use. The history of a region is also a clue to the origins of the vocabulary, sounds, and grammar of that area’s dialect. Understanding the history of a given place can help us to understand language use by showing us which languages have come into contact as people have migrated, settled, mixed, and mingled in a particular area. From this perspective, dialect is something affected by history and different languages coming into contact, as well as something that individuals constantly create through their everyday interactions and experiences. Thus, a dialect is a result of historical, linguistic, economic, geographic, ideological, and cultural processes that come together to define it, but also to define the region in which it is spoken. Significant factors in these processes include historical events, immigration, settlement patterns, and local economies. These factors not only shape a dialect but also affect individuals’ perceptions about it and attitudes toward its speakers, and these, too, are affected by the history of a region. This presentation will demonstrate how the social and political history of the Upper Peninsula is reflected in the variety of English spoken there. In doing so, it will explore the intersections among land, labor, people, and language to describe the development of U.P. English and key linguistic features that characterize the dialect. Professor Kathryn Remlinger's Biography: Kathryn teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate linguistics courses, including sociolinguistics, history of English language, language and gender, language and power, and an introduction to language study. Her research crosses disciplinary boundaries by integrating methods and theories from linguistics, anthropology, history, gender studies, and sociology. In general, her work focuses on the intersection of language, place, and identity, and more specifically on how the idea of dialect has emerged over time in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In collaboration with undergraduate students she recently conducted a linguistic landscape study in Holland, Michigan to investigate how Dutchness is communicated in public spaces and the effects this has on belonging and exclusion. Her current research is a collaborative project investigating the use and meanings of ja (‘yah’) in a Danish heritage community in Utah and a Finnish heritage community in the Upper Peninsula. Her previous research examined intersections of language, gender, and sexuality in higher education. An important aspect of her work has been public outreach in order to foster language awareness and understanding about the effects of language attitudes on individuals and communities. Kathryn’s work has had popular appeal and appears in magazines, newspapers, and on YouTube. Kathryn serves as President-elect and Program Chair of the American Dialect Society and previously served as Associate Editor of the Society’s journal, American Speech . She earned a PhD in Rhetoric and Technical Communication with specialization in sociolinguistics, composition theory, and gender studies from Michigan Technological University. She holds an MA in English and a BA in sociology and French with a secondary education teaching certification from Morehead State University in Kentucky.