Dionna Dash is a junior studying communications, linguistics, and French in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. As a Brackenridge Fellow this summer, Dionna plans to conduct sociolinguistic research about language attitudes, preconceived notions we hold about speakers of other languages, language discrimination, the conscious or unconscious ways we act on those attitudes, and cross-cultural communication, the examination of how people interact with each other in diverse settings. After exploring these biases and attitudes, and their resulting consequences within the college student population, she will craft a collection of short fiction stories centered around the theme of “The Power of Language” to highlight the implications and dangers of language discrimination.
Congratulations, Dionna!