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Center for Language Science Speaker Series: Mackenzie Gentz

Friday, March 27, 2026
9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
Center for Language Science Speaker Series: Mackenzie Gentz
“‘Your Ship Was a Sheep?’: The Role of Phonetic Convergence in Interactions Between Mismatched Interlocutors”

Phonetic convergence, a process in which interlocutors’ phonetic characteristics become more similar over time, plays a role in successful communication (Pardo, 2006). Traditionally, language science research has used the Language as Product approach, for which the solicited Language does not serve communicative purposes. In contrast, a complementary approach views Language as Action, thus studying it as it unfolds in communicative settings. Phonetic convergence is a socially embedded process from the Language as Action perspective. Yet, few studies have focused on phonetic convergence between interlocutors with differing language backgrounds—a more common situation given the world’s multilingual baseline (Samuel & Larazza, 2015). In this talk, Mackenzie Gentz will present evidence from two studies employing methodology from Language as Action that investigate how interlocutors use phonetic convergence and other strategies dynamically, depending on the communicative demands. Gentz will first revisit the theoretical underpinnings of phonetic convergence and then propose how to reframe them. Overall, Gentz's talk aims to explore how one can establish a theoretical account for phonetic convergence taking multilingual interactions as its basis.

 

Mackenzie Gentz sits with her right palm resting on her face.
Mackenzie Gentz sits with her right palm resting on her face.
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library

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