Wednesday was super uneventful, I really just took the day to continue to read Jackendoff’s book (as referenced in my day 4 post, if you’re interested!).

Today, however, I had my second meeting with Professor Terry in Chapel Hill. We talked a lot about how the mystery of language acquisition is central to the study of linguistics. No matter what specialty you take in the field, the question of how children learn their first language so easily informs linguists of all types. For example, researching or helping people with language deficiencies (as a speech language pathologist would) exposes what structures we use to define “normal” language. Additionally, I talked to Professor Terry about what his typical workday is like and learned that professors do a lot more than teach, especially at a research institution like UNC.

This program has been a really great way for me to start to get my foot in the door of linguistics. While the beginning of the summer is a logistically challenging time of the year for professors, making my placement a little untraditional, I really learned a lot over the last two weeks and I made some important contacts that will be able to help me continue to inquire about the field through my senior year and my college decision process. Language is a beautiful, uniquely human quality that I can’t wait to continue to learn about as I further my studies.