Alicia BeckfordWassinkAssociate Professorwassink@uw.eduGUG 415Office Hours: By appointmentFields of Interest Dialect Contact Ethnography Field Research Methods Jamaican Creole Phonetics Pidgins and Creoles Social Networks Sociolinguistics Sociophonetics Variationist Theory Background and ExperienceSummaryPhD 1999, University of MichiganProf. Wassink is the Director of the Sociolinguistics Laboratory, and an associate professor of Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Washington. Her research interests lie in sociolinguistics (the study of language in its various social contexts, the relationships between language and social network structure, language attitudes and the outcomes of language and dialect contact) and phonetics (the study of the acoustic properties of spoken language, perception, and physiological aspects of human speech). One of Prof. Wassink’s principal languages of study is Jamaican Creole. When she is in Jamaica conducting fieldwork, her home base is theUniversity of the West Indies. Websites: Faculty Website Research Selected: Projects and Grants Alicia Wassink, PI. English in the Pacific Northwest Study. (Ongoing) Selected: Publications, Books Fridland, Beckford Wassink, Kendall & Evans (eds.). (2017) Speech in the Western States Volume 2. Publication of the American Dialect Society (PADS) 77:1. Fridland, V., Kendall, T., Evans, B., & Wassink, A. B. (2016). Speech of the Western States. Vol. 1, The Coastal States. Publication of the American Dialect Society, 101. Selected: Graduate, Dissertations Oxley, Meghan. (2015). Southern, Texan, or Both?: Southernness and Identity in Deer Park, Texas. University of Washington, Seattle. Adviser: Alicia Beckford Wassink Research Advised: Graduate Dissertations Conrod, K. (2019). Pronouns Raising and Emerging. Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington. Oxley, Meghan. (2015). Southern, Texan, or Both?: Southernness and Identity in Deer Park, Texas. University of Washington, Seattle. Jeffrey Stevenson. "The Sociolinguistic Variables of Chilean Voseo." Diss: U of Washington, 2007. Jay Waltmunson. "The relative degree of difficulty of L2 Spanish /d, t/, trill and tap by L1 English speakers: Auditory and acoustic methods of defining pronunciation accuracy." Diss. U of Washington, 2005. Mary K. FitzMorris. (in progress). "Documenting the historical and ongoing productivity of Seattle Ladino phonology, morphology, and syntax." Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington. (In progress) Research Advised: Publications Freeman, V. (2014). Bag, beg, bagel: Prevelar raising and merger in Pacific Northwest English. University of Washington Working Papers in Linguistics, 32. Research Advised: Undergraduate Honors Theses Amy Busch. "Multilingual Influence and Style Shift in the Speech of Rachel Jeantel." Honors Thesis, U of Washington, 2013/2014. Samantha Sanches. "Social Connectedness of Japanese-Americans in the Pacific Northwest: A Sociolinguistic Case." Honors Thesis, U of Washington, 2013/2014. Squizzero, R. (2009). Effects of Style and Gender on Fronting and Raising of /æ/ and /ε/ before /g/ in Seattle English (Bachelors Thesis). University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Research Advised: Graduate Masters Theses Rachel Elizabeth Schirra. "Attitudes Toward Korean-Accented and Korean American English." MA Thesis. U of Washington, 2012. Meghan Oxley. "(ay) Monophthongization in Deer Park, Texas." MA Thesis. U of Washington, 2009. Courses Taught Winter 2021 LING 234 A: Language and Diversity Autumn 2020 LING 432 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 B: Sociolinguistics I Spring 2020 LING 580 A: Problems in Linguistics LING 580 B: Problems in Linguistics Autumn 2019 LING 430 A: Pidgin and Creole Languages LING 432 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 B: Sociolinguistics I Spring 2019 LING 580 A: Problems in Linguistics LING 580 B: Problems in Linguistics Winter 2019 LING 234 A: Language and Diversity Autumn 2018 LING 432 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 534 A: Sociolinguistic Applications of Social Network Theory Spring 2018 LING 421 A: R for Linguists LING 521 A: R for Linguists Winter 2018 LING 430 A: Pidgin And Creole Languages Autumn 2017 LING 432 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 535 A: Advanced Sociolinguistics Spring 2017 LING 432 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 A: Sociolinguistics I Winter 2017 LING 450 A: Introduction To Linguistic Phonetics LING 499 A: Undergraduate Research LING 550 A: Introduction To Linguistic Phonetics LING 600 A: Independent Study Or Research Autumn 2016 LING 535 A: Advanced Sociolinguistics LING 580 A: Problems In Linguistics LING 580 B: Problems In Linguistics Spring 2016 LING 432 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 580 A: Problems In Linguistics LING 580 B: Problems In Linguistics Autumn 2015 LING 580 E: Problems In Linguistics LING 580 F: Problems In Linguistics Spring 2015 LING 432 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 532 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 535 A: Advanced Sociolinguistics Winter 2014 LING 432 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 433 A: Sociolinguistics II LING 532 A: Sociolinguistics I LING 533 A: Topics And Methods In Sociolinguistic Theory Autumn 2013 LING 534 A: Sociolinguistic Applications Of Social Network Theory LING 599 C: Linguistics Colloquium Related News Related News Historic family takes part in Pacific Northwest English Study - Oct 19, 2020 Graduate Program News - Sep 30, 2020 Linguistics Professors and Graduate presented on ethnic/racial discrimination in ASR at the 2020 AAAS - Jun 23, 2020 UW Sociolinguists attend NWAV 2018 - Dec 4, 2018 Cascadia Workshop in Sociolinguistics: New Works from the Pacific Northwest - Feb 4, 2016 Julia Herschensohn completes 15-year term as Chair of Linguistics on June 30th - Jun 24, 2015 Is there a Pacific Northwest accent? UW sociolinguist's interview appears on KUOW website - Dec 16, 2014 Alicia Beckford Wassink gives Invited Plenary Address at Linguistics Society of America's annual meeting in Portland - Dec 15, 2014 Share: Print PDF