About me
Hi! I'm Emma (she/her). I am a third year PhD student in the Department of Linguistics at Northwestern University.
My primary interests are in sociolinguistics and sociophonetics— I want to know how we convey and interpret social meaning through language, and particularly through the sounds and signs of language. Some areas in sociolinguistics I am particularly interested in include the race and place intersection, Asian American communities' linguistic practices, and mixed race individuals' speech.
I just completed my Qualifying Project, which was a case study investigating contextual variation in a mixed Asian and white Chicagoan's production of vowels associated with Chicagoan place identity and pan-Asian ethnic identity. I am currrently developing my Dissertation Prospectus, which will investigate social and linguistic variation among Chicagoland Japanese Americans. My advisor and committee chair is Annette D'Onofrio. My committee members are Ann Bradlow and Lauren Hall-Lew.
In my free time, I enjoy knitting, baking, and exploring national parks.
Research projects
My Qualifying Project was a case study on a mixed Asian and white Chicagoan and investigated their production of the TRAP vowel across two interviews and three self-recorded conversations. My Dissertation Thesis will investigate social and linguistic variation in Chicago-area Japanese Americans, examining their production of Chicago-associated vowels and Japanese American-associated vowels. During the Spring 2025 quarter, I am a Research Assistant for the Chicagoland Language Project, which investigates language and life in the Chicagoland area.
I attend research meetings for Sociogroup and Phonatics, and I am a frequent attendee/guest of Experimental Meaning Group and LingMechLab.
Contact Me
You can email me at ekwilkinson[at]u[dot]northwestern[dot]edu