Morita-Mullaney gives keynote at international literacy symposium

Trish Morita-Mullaney was invited to give a keynote at the Fourth International Colloquium on Sociolinguistics and Interculturality (Colombia) Sept. 29-30  – another testament to the Purdue University College of Education’s impact on international education and collaboration.

The colloquium, hosted by and held at the University of Caldas, promoted the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the field of language learning and teaching, Spanish, and the empowerment of minority languages. Nationally and internationally renowned researchers and experts such as Morita-Mullaney, professor of literacy and language in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, presented lectures addressing various topics related to the relationship between language, society, and cultural diversity.

Morita-Mullaney’s keynote, “Heritage, Herencia, and Keisho-go Languages: Family Language Policies of Memory, Kinship and Reparation,” focused on heritage language learners, who are described as having a familial history to a given named language.

“Being a heritage learner also suggests linguistic shift, as children begin to adopt the majority language of their schools and greater communities,” Morita-Mullaney said. “With an outcome of language attrition over time, how families communicate and connect begins to transform. Drawing from new literacy studies in syncretism and heritage language studies in language attrition, this keynote describes the family language policies of heritage language learners of Spanish, Japanese and Chinese and how memory, kinship and reparation shape linguistic and cultural reclamation.”

Morita-Mullaney said that the 350 attendees came from Colombia, Europe, the U.S. and Canada, including several Purdue alumni who teach at the University of Caldas.

Colombia’s national news station reported on the colloquium and Morita-Mullaney’s keynote.

Morita-Mullaney added that for Purdue to be internationally represented at this conference on sociolinguistics demonstrates how, where, and why languages other than our first are valuable.

Source: Trish Morita-Mullaney