July 2022 Affiliate of the Month: Charles Chang (CAS Linguistics)
Charles Chang
is an associate professor of linguistics. with affiliations at the Center for the Study of Asia and Hearing Research Center. He teaches courses related to language acquisition and linguistic theory and directs the Phonetics, Acquisition & Multilingualism Lab (PAMLab). His research addresses topics in phonetics, phonology, psycholinguistics, and language development. His specific interests include the early stages of second language (L2) and third language (L3) phonological acquisition, the structure of phonetic and phonological representations, linguistic plasticity, cross-linguistic interactions within the bilingual/multilingual mind, bases of perceived cross-linguistic similarity, second language speech processing, heritage language phonology, and contact-induced sound change.
What made you decide to be a social scientist/ why does social science matter to you?
I took an introductory linguistics class my freshman year of college with Professor Bert Vaux and was hooked. He made the study of language (and its users) accessible, significant, and fun. That’s what made me decide to become a language scientist.
Can you tell us about a recent research project that you’re excited about?
I’m excited to be involved in a collaborative project with researchers in Europe (Kevin Tang at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and Andrew Nevins at University College London) examining the effects of alcohol intoxication on speech production by bilinguals. This project is contributing new knowledge about other languages and other language users to a literature that has mostly been limited to English monolinguals. You’ll be hearing more from us soon about how getting drunk in German, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese may differ from getting drunk in English!
What is the best piece of professional advice you ever received?
The best dissertation is a done dissertation. This could also be extended to “the best article/book is one that is finished”. Still true! I’ve become better over the years at accepting the flaws in my work and looking at them as opportunities for future research.
What is your favorite course you’ve taught at BU?
My favorite course that I’ve taught at BU is Bilingualism (CAS LX 349 / MET LX 549 / GRS LX 649). It’s an eclectic course that spans sociological, psychological, linguistic, and political dimensions of knowing and using two (or more) languages. There’s something in the course for everyone, and every time I’ve taught it I’ve heard from students about the course having changed their perspective, which I consider to be the biggest compliment.
Tell us a surprising fact about yourself.
I’m a Fitbit fiend, walk almost everywhere, and average 100,000 steps a week.