Welcome! The Sociolinguistics Lab at the University of Kansas studies the relationships between language variation, social meaning, and cognition. We are interested in questions like: How does language vary and change? What do people know about language and the way people use it? How does this knowledge develop? And how do people use this knowledge when communicating? We run experiments, delve into language corpora, and collect naturalistic speech data to answer these questions.
We are just getting started in Fall 2023! If you are interested in getting involved in the lab or participating in the study, please contact the lab director, Dr. Lacey Wade at laceywade@ku.edu or email us at KUSocioLab@gmail.com.
Dr. Lacey Wade is an Assistant Professor in the Linguistics Department and director of the Sociolinguistics Lab. She specializes in experimental approaches to sociolinguistic cognition.
Dr. Jeff Holliday is an Assistant Professor in the Linguistics Department and affiliated faculty in the Sociolinguistics Lab. He is interested in how linguistic experience shapes speech perception and production, with a focus on the domains of second language acquisition and sociolinguistic variation
Tyler Hausthor is a third-year undergraduate student in the department of Linguistics, and research assistant in the Sociolinguistics Lab. He is most interested in Second Language Acquisition and Sociolinguistics.
LAWRENCE LANGUAGE STUDY: We are currently recruiting people who live and grew up in Lawrence, KS for a paid research study. Participants must be at least 8 years old and have spent the majority of their life in Lawrence, KS. Families and friends are welcome to participate together. Eligible participants will receive $15 for a 1-hr research study or $30 for a 2-hr research study on KU campus. If you are interested, please email KUSocioLab@gmail.com.
TOPEKA LANGUAGE STUDY: We are currently recruiting people who live and grew up in Topeka, KS for a paid research study. Participants must be at least 8 years old and have spent the majority of their life in Topeka, KS. Families and friends are welcome to participate together. Eligible participants will receive $15 for a 1-hr research study or $30 for a 2-hr research study on KU campus. If you are interested, please email KUSocioLab@gmail.com.
