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School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences
We are a team of scholars who all share a passion for human language in its various facets. We foster inclusive diversity as a powerful resource through the study of linguistics, communication, speech, and swallowing. Our work benefits individuals and communities through the lifespan.
- Centre for Language & Communication Studies
- Department of Clinical Speech & Language Studies
- Centre for Deaf Studies
- Centre for English Language Learning and Teaching
- Trinity Centre for Asian Studies
- Strategic Plan 2023-28
Welcome
Welcome from Professor Lorna Carson, Head of School
Whether you are part of our School already, or a prospective student, I’d like to bid you welcome and I invite you to explore our School’s activities through our website. Please get in touch with any queries.
News and Events
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CDS awarded Trinity INC fundingTeresa Lynch and Dr Isabelle Heyerick (Centre for Deaf Studies) are awarded the Trinity INC Fund for their project “Opening up: bringing authentic diversity & inclusivity into the Bachelor in Deaf Studies curriculum”.
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New Project: ESTA Enhancing Speech and Language Therapy though Artificial IntelligenceEnhancing Speech and Language Therapy through AI (ESTA) is an exciting collaborative project between researchers in Trinity College Dublin and National College of Ireland. Funded through Science Foundation Ireland’s OurTech Challenge, project ESTA aims to create a technology platform to improve the service delivery of speech and language therapy for children.
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Provost’s Trinity Excellence in Teaching Award 2023Congratulations to Prof. Yvonne Lynch who was recently awarded the prestigious Trinity Excellence in Teaching Award by the Provost. These awards recognise and celebrate those who have made an outstanding contribution in the pursuit of teaching excellence. Prof. Lynch is an Assistant Professor in Speech and Language Pathology in the School’s Department of Clinical Speech and Language Studies
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A.J. Leventhal ScholarshipCongratulations to CLCS PhD student Bruno Spadi who has been awarded College’s prestigious A.J. Leventhal Scholarship to help fund his forthcoming fieldwork. Supervised by Dr Valentina Colasanti, Bruno’s doctoral research investigates the syntax of the endangered local languages spoken in Sicily.
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Partnering with Duolingo English TestOur School’s Centre for English Language Learning and Teaching (CELLT) is partnering with Duolingo’s research program on English usage in higher education. A new anonymous stakeholder survey for Trinity students and staff will investigate the importance of different types of English language skills in current university life. Upon completion of the survey, the first 600 student participants can select one international charity, and Duolingo will donate USD25 on their behalf to Doctors without Borders, The Red Cross, or UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency).
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Enterprise Ireland award for Dr ColasantiDr Valentina Colasanti has been awarded a grant by Enterprise Ireland for her research on gestures in the languages spoken in Italy from a formal perspective. Dr Colasanti's research focuses on syntactic variation, Romance microvariation, syntactic change, syntax-pragmatics interface, and fieldwork methodologies.
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Unlock Your Voice!Dr Ciarán Kenny is proud to announce this event taking part of World Voice Day 2023. This event will feature expert panellists from both healthcare and the performing arts. The event will teach audience members about how to recognise and manage throat and jaw problems, when to seek help, and will demonstrate practical advice and exercises for self-management.
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Postgraduate Research Showcase 2023The Department of Clinical Speech and Language Studies invites colleagues to attend our annual Postgraduate Research Showcase. This event is free and delegates are welcome to join live or via Zoom. It provides an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in several areas of practice related to both dysphagia and voice.
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Recipe Books for People with CancerDr Ciarán Kenny and colleagues from Food and Nutritional Sciences in UCC collaborated to produce four recipe books. These books optimise nutrition in individuals with cancer who have difficulties with eating, drinking or swallowing. Such difficulties are very common in people with head, neck and oesophageal cancer in particular. The recipe books are provided free of charge to clinical sites and are provided by Speech and Language Therapists or Dieticians to their patients. The provision of these booklets at no cost was made possible through funding from Breakthrough Cancer Research.
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New project at the Centre for Deaf StudiesA new research project conducted by Dr John Bosco Conama entitled "Let's, let's stay together" has received funding to investigate personal and family relationships within the deaf community in Ireland. The project aims to understand the importance and nature of different personal relationships within the deaf community, especially those relationships which use Irish Sign Language (ISL), through census research and an examination of personal relationships in contemporary society via anonymous survey
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BAQONDE International Showcase of African Languages in Higher EducationInvitation to attend an international showcase of best practices in the use of African languages in Higher Education in South African. Part of the EU BAQONDE project, this one-hour event will include a series of short presentations by leading language practitioners. Hosted by Prof. Lorna Carson (Trinity College Dublin) and Prof. Bassey Antia (University of the Western Cape), it will be of interest to a wide audience and assumes no prior knowledge. Topics include translanguaging in a bilingual environment, embedding multilingualism in the curriculum, and training multilingual health practitioners. Online via Zoom at 12.30pm on Friday 3 February 2023.
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WFP-Trinity partnership research presented at COP27Research from the WFP-Trinity partnership was presented at COP27 in a session led by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Preliminary findings from the SDG2 chapter of the forthcoming UN report on Disability and Development were shared – a chapter co-authored by Trinity researchers, WFP staff and colleagues from other agencies with the support of UNDESA. The full report will be published in June 2023, including in accessible formats. Esther Breffka, a researcher and an alum of the Trinity Masters in Development Practice, who represented Trinity and WFP on the panel, said “the preliminary findings of the multi-country analysis shows a disproportionate impact of food insecurity on persons with disabilities. Data from nine African countries reflects a truly global picture, showing that on average, 51% of adults with disabilities live in food insecure households as compared to 38% of adults without disabilities.”. Dr Caroline Jagoe added that “disability-inclusive food systems change is an undeniable human rights requirement and window of opportunity for sustainable development”. Acknowledgment: The work presented is an output of the funded partnership with the UN World Food Programme.
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Prof. Caroline Jagoe receives Irish Research Council funding for Co-Construct research projectProf. Caroline Jagoe has secured funding from the Irish Research Council for a life-changing project entitled Co-Construct. The project addresses communication access for people with communication disabilities. Communication access is the communicative equivalent of a ramp for wheelchair users to access a building, in that the access is achieved by addressing the barriers to inclusion, rather than aiming to ‘fix’ the impairment. Co-Construct will generate a highly ambitious corpus of naturalistic conversations, captured across two languages (English and Arabic) and five clinical groups, using wearable camera and eye-gaze technology. A qualitative analysis, triangulating conversational reactions, gaze and interview responses will, for the first time, reveal the pragmatic impact of communication access strategies in the ‘natural habitat’ of conversation.
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New Guide for the Linguistic Inclusion of Migrants publishedWe are happy to share details of a new free guide published by the INCLUDEED project team at Trinity College Dublin along with partners from five other European universities. Designed to be a very practical and readable handbook, the guide aims to support organisations and individuals in meeting the language needs of migrant learners in a positive and self-sustaining way. As well as a focus on language teaching in a context of migration, it gives a potted account of relevant applications from research/policy/practice from areas such as applied linguistics, education and psychology.
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Welcome to Dr Amy ConneryWe extend a warm welcome to Dr Amy Connery, Assistant Professor in Speech and Language Pathology. Dr Connery’s work centres on an evidence-based and stakeholder-informed framework to support speech and language therapists working with adults who stutter.
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Welcome to new staff member Dr Isabelle HeyerickWe are delighted to welcome on board Dr Isabelle Heyerick, Assistant Professor in Applied Sign Linguistics. Dr Heyerick’s area of expertise is signed language interpreting and her research is situated on the intersection of (applied) linguistics, intercultural studies, and language ideologies.
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Human Capital Initiative Industry Guest TalksFor Trinity students interested in knowing more about careers with languages, join us on Tuesday 12 April to hear from two guest speakers, part of the Human Capital Initiative Industry Guest Talks series within Trinity’s HCI-funded Languages for Employability programme. With guest speakers Erica Lee (Dept of Foreign Affairs) and Aisling O’Carroll (OROKO Travel).
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Connor McCabe awarded IRC Medal of ExcellenceSLSCS PhD student Connor McCabe has been awarded the ‘Eda Sagarra Medal of Excellence’ by the Irish Research Council for being the top-ranked postgraduate researcher in the AHSS category. Connor’s research focuses on the relationships between intonation, speech rhythm, and word stress. He is based in the Speech and Phonetics Lab in the School’s Centre for Language and Communication Studies.
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New book chapter by Prof. John Bosco ConamaCongratulations to Prof. Conama on his chapter entitled “The Bumpy Journey Towards the Irish Sign Language Act: Critical Considerations and Personal Reflections of a Deaf Activist–Scholar”, published by Multilingual Matters in a new book entitled Vulnerabilities, Challenges and Risks in Applied Linguistics. The volume provides insights on both academic and professional practice across several areas in spoken and signed languages, and encourages those involved in applied linguistics to consider their own practice and their relationship with the communities, policies and educational contexts they engage with in the course of their teaching, research and activism.
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Athena SWAN Bronze AwardWe are pleased to announce that the School has been awarded the Athena SWAN Bronze Award in recognition of our commitment to improving gender equality and representation amongst staff and students. This award reflects the engagement and continuing commitment of our School to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion, helping us make our School a welcoming environment for all. We will shortly be sharing our self-assessment report on the School website
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HCI Languages for Employability Programme launchedA new language programme open to all Trinity postgraduates has been launched by the School’s Centre for Language and Communication Studies. Funded by the Human Capital Initiative, the programme offers a range of Asian and European languages targeted at enhancing graduate language skills. .
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Provost’s Trinity Excellence in Teaching Awards 2020 & 2021Hearty congratulations to the members of our School staff who received these prestigious teaching awards, all from the Department of Clinical Speech and Language Studies. The recipients are Dr Gilheaney (2021), Dr Quigley (2020) and Dr Regan (2020).
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Career Talk – Linguistics at GoogleJoin us online for a talk by Trinity alumnus Dr Alessio Frenda, Senior Analytical Linguist at Google
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Teaching Hero AwardWe would like to congratulate Dr Sarah Sheridan on her recent Teaching Hero Award. This student-led award is for those who teach in higher education. Dr Sheridan received her award from the Union of Students in Ireland and the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
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Teaching Hero AwardWe would like to congratulate Dr Ciarán Kenny on his recent Teaching Hero Award. This student-led award is for those who teach in higher education. Dr Kenny received his award from the Union of Students in Ireland and the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
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New! Book of Kells Animations with Irish Sign LanguageBook of Kells - ISL
Welcome to new staff member Dr Rowland Imperial!
We are delighted to welcome on board Dr Rowland Imperial as a new tenure-track Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics (TESOL). Dr Imperial’s area of expertise is located within applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and the sociology and philosophy of education.
Relevance theory to practice: Applications of pragmatic theory to communication disabilities across the lifespan
Date: Monday 9th September
Time: 4pm - 6pm
Venue: Room 103 CSLS
Registration required: https://forms.office.com/e/82K0F9eecw
This CPD event will introduce Relevance theory, a prominent cognitive pragmatic theory. The presenters will discuss the gaps that exist in applying robust theories of pragmatics within speech and language therapy practice, and what insights relevance theory can provide. Professor Tim Wharton will present a synthesis of work applying relevance theory to communication disabilities in children, drawing on a recent chapter in the Handbook of Clinical Linguistics. Dr Caroline Jagoe will talk about applications in acquired communication disorders and how Relevance Theory provides a foundation for developing new approaches to understanding communication partner training, the focus on her IRC Laureate research project, Co-Construct.
Time: 4pm - 6pm
Venue: Room 103 CSLS
Registration required: https://forms.office.com/e/82K0F9eecw
This CPD event will introduce Relevance theory, a prominent cognitive pragmatic theory. The presenters will discuss the gaps that exist in applying robust theories of pragmatics within speech and language therapy practice, and what insights relevance theory can provide. Professor Tim Wharton will present a synthesis of work applying relevance theory to communication disabilities in children, drawing on a recent chapter in the Handbook of Clinical Linguistics. Dr Caroline Jagoe will talk about applications in acquired communication disorders and how Relevance Theory provides a foundation for developing new approaches to understanding communication partner training, the focus on her IRC Laureate research project, Co-Construct.
Congratulations to the Centre for Language and Communication Studies Scholars
In the annual tradition of Trinity Monday, the Provost stood at Public Theatre in Front Square to announce the names of the newly elected Fellows and Scholars.
CLCS wishes to congratulate Giulia Villa (Linguistics major, Philosophy minor) for her outstanding achievement on being elected as the first Scholar ever in Linguistics this year.
Congratulations also to one of our students Eavan O Keeffe (English studies major, Linguistics minor) on being elected as Scholar in English studies this year.
Maith sibh go léir!
New CDS Lecture Series
To bridge the gap between research and practice the Centre of Deaf Studies launched a hybrid lecture series on topics related to Sign Language Studies. Anyone is welcome to join us online or in person. Click here for more information