Presented in-person and Online via Zoom

Despite its abstract and ivory-tower character, the science of language, in all its subdomains and manifestations, can come in handy in many facets of life. The multiple benefits include scientific thinking alongside the acquisition of a range of lifelong peripheral skills, such as problem-posing and problem-solving skills, organisation, and attention to detail. Linguistics can certainly help us to speak and write more clearly (or, alternatively, more ambiguously). In addition, the language capacity intrinsic to humans allows us to create new words and expressions as well as to build potentially infinite structures. Linguistics thus allows us to put that capacity into work more efficiently and is also useful when it comes to teaching second/foreign languages more successfully. Thinking linguistically can help us better our lives more generally. The goals of this talk are, therefore, to highlight the importance and usefulness of linguistics outside the lab, and to strongly advocate the idea that the discipline of linguistics, part and parcel of philological studies, should be embraced, rather than feared.

Speaker bio:
Dr Julio Villa-García is a professional theoretical linguist working in the field of syntax, with special attention to its variation and acquisition. Trained as a formal linguist at Oviedo, Kent, Essex, and Connecticut, he has held permanent faculty positions in the USA, the UK, and Spain. He has worked at Villanova University (Philadelphia), Manchester (UK) and, most recently, Oviedo (Spain), where he is the Head of the Department of English, French and German Philology. The main focus of his research is English and Spanish syntax; he has also published on Asturian syntax. Likewise, he is deeply committed to K&T activities, as witnessed by his general-audience publications and talks, a TEDx talk on bilingualism as well as his strong connections with the Instituto Cervantes.

Zoom details:  https://anu.zoom.us/j/82086054623?pwd=oxTxFzxcvSf8qwTaPyNXqCAUXANkXW.1