Research introduction
The Department of Linguistics at Memorial University of
Newfoundland was founded in 1967. Since then, it has developed into
a dynamic, research-oriented department. Our department prides
itself on maintaining strong links between teaching and research,
with emphasis on data-driven, theoretically informed inquiry into
aboriginal languages, language variation and change, language
acquisition and historical linguistics. We invest our students into
the community of linguistic scholars through active engagement in
primary research, supported by unique and extensive in-house data
archives, broad library holdings and state-of-the-art labs and
analytical tools. Strong relations with robust local speech
communities enhance our research and our teaching.
Research interests
The research interests of the department are broad, and its theoretical orientations range from formal to functional, including Minimalist syntactic theory and non-linear phonology. Members of the department are actively involved in research programs in morphology, syntax, phonology, historical linguistics, language variation, and language acquisition. Research focusing on the local area is a particular strength of the department.
The department's main areas of research are organized by language and linguistic subdiscipline. Ph.D. research is especially encouraged in the areas described in these pages.
