Voices of Oakland
Keith Johnson, Professor
Linguistics
Applications for Spring 2024 are closed for this project.
Linguistic description of "California English" is based on observations of relatively few people, often college students, speaking in rather unnatural contexts. This project aims to document speech styles of ordinary people engaged in conversation. The project will focus on long-term residents of Oakland.
Role: Together with the PI, conduct on-camera socio-linguistic interviews with long-term residents of Oakland. Help make contacts, travel to locations in Oakland to meet people, and process and archive the resulting videos.
Qualifications: Required: Likes to talk to people, can learn to use audio/video equipment, can take time in the week to get on Bart and meet people at senior centers, recreation centers, churches, etc.
Desirable: Grew up in Oakland, has taken course work in qualitative research, sociology, sociolinguistics.
Hours: 3-5 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: At this time I don't have a specific address. I anticipate first reaching out for participants at the North Oakland Senior Center (5714 MLK Way).
Related website: http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~kjohnson
Social Sciences