Linguist to lecture at Vic

victoria-university-of-wellington

Tue Aug 14 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Linguist to lecture at Vic

Tuesday, 14 August 2007, 12:48 am
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington

14 August 2007

A Victoria University alumna is returning for three months as the 2007 Ian Gordon Fellow.

Dr Sasha Calhoun, now at the University of Edinburgh, completed an honours degree in Linguistics at Victoria in 2000. She completed an MSc in Speech and Language Processing in 2002 at Edinburgh, and in 2006 was awarded her PhD in Linguistics.

Dr Calhoun will take up her position on 3 September.

Associate Professor Paul Warren, who will be working with Dr Calhoun on a research project, says it is exciting to have her back.

"Sasha is one of the most outstanding graduates of the Victoria University Linguistics programme. She's been awarded a tremendous number of prizes and scholarships for her studies in Cognitive Sciences, including a Fulbright Scholarship and a Commonwealth Scholarship, and it is a privilege to have her back with us."

Dr Calhoun's research is in the patterns of speech intonation and rhythm and how these can be utilised in speech recognition systems.

As well as collaborating with Associate Professor Warren, she will also contribute to the undergraduate, Honours and postgraduate Linguistics programme and will present a seminar in the School's Research Seminar series.

This fellowship was established in the final years of Emeritus Professor Ian Gordon’s life when he donated half a million dollars to the Victoria University Foundation to support his life-long passion for the study of language and his loyalty to Victoria University.

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Well-known as I.A. Gordon, he had his own radio show on National Radio and wrote a popular column on language in the New Zealand Listener. He also wrote 20 books, including A Word in Your Ear and Take My Word for It. He was an authority on the writings of Katherine Mansfield and Scottish novelist John Galt.

Professor Gordon held the Chair of English Language and Literature at Victoria from 1937 to 1973 and was instrumental in establishing at Victoria study of the structure, history and use of English and in fostering the teaching of the English language.

Associate Professor Warren says Dr Calhoun is an excellent choice for the Fellowship this year. "Since Professor Gordon was himself a graduate of the University of Edinburgh the award of the Fellowship to Sasha is particularly fitting."

For more information, contact Associate Professor Paul Warren by emailing paul.warren@vuw.ac.nz

ENDS

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