Research

Publications

2016. Moeng, Emily, Jennifer Boehm and Amy Reynolds. Modeling the interlanguage: The effect of frequency in the L2 acquisition of English consonant clusters. Proceedings of the Seventh Meeting of the Illinois Language and Linguistics Society (ILLS).

2011. Reynolds, Amy. Competing Factors in Phonological Learning Models: The Acquisition of English Consonant Clusters. Chapel Hill: UNC Master’s Thesis. [.pdf here]

Research

K-side (S’gaw Karen Research Group) | January 2013 – present

  • Conducted research with native speakers of S’gaw Karen.
  • Developed contacts and fliers to recruit in the local Karen community, presented research, and aided others in the development of experiments and interpretation of data.

P-side (Phonetics and Phonology Research Group) | January 2011 – present

  • Presented recent research, provided feedback and productive questions on other members’ research, and discussed group readings

Sound of Diversity Initiative | August 2016 – May 2017

  • Conducted research with Drs. Pertsova and Butler about dialect diversity and opinions on UNC campus.
  • Aided in presentation and discussion of workshops on dialect diversity
  • Maintained website and helped develop resources for the initiative

Research Assistant | May 2011 – May 2012

  • Oversaw research experiments for Drs. Moreton and Pertsova, contacted participants, conducted experiments, and attended lab meetings to discuss results.

 

Presentations
  1. Amy Reynolds, Jennifer Boehm, and Becky Butler. “Migration Stories: Linguistics and Belonging Among Refugees from Burma.” Humanities for the Public Good Symposium, UNC-CH, May 3rd.
  1. Jennifer Boehm and Amy Reynolds. “Generational Language Shift and the Linguistic Landscape: Refugee Language and Vitality.” Southeastern Conference of Linguistics (SECOL) 84, March 6 – 10th.
  1. Amy Reynolds. “Karen English: An emergent language community in the American South”. Linguistics Society of the University of Georgia (LSUGA) 2, October 9th.
  1. Amy Reynolds. “Karen English: A new American Southern Language Community”. Southeastern Conference of Linguistics (SECOL) 82, April 9-11th.
  1. Jen Boehm, Emily Moeng, and Amy Reynolds. “Modeling English phonological structures: A case study of frequency effects in S’gaw Karen speakers”. Southeastern Conference of Linguistics (SECOL) 82, April 9-11th.
  1.  Amy Reynolds. “Computer Children: Teasing Apart the Assumptions Behind Learning Mechanisms and the Influence of Different Factors on Language Acquisition”. Presented at UNC’s Research Day, March 14th.
Posters
  1. Amy Reynolds. “Evidence for Increasing Sensitivity to Phonetic Environments Over Time? The Development of Karen Refugee English”. 92nd Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, January 6th. [.pdf here]
  1. Amy Reynolds. “Karen English: Refugee Life and Language in America.” 91st Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), January 7th. [.pdf here]
  1. Emily Moeng, Jen Boehm, and Amy Reynolds. “Defining ‘high quality’ tokens of tone in Mandarin Infant-Directed Speech.” 91st Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), January 6th.
  1. Amy Reynolds. “Refugee Life and Language in America: The Case of Karen”. Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS) Summer Research Grant poster session, September 25th.
  1. Emily Moeng, Jen Boehm, and Amy Reynolds. “Modeling Frequency Effects in L2 Acquisition of English Consonant Clusters”. Illinois Language and Linguistics Society (ILLS) 7, April 17-18th.
  1. Amy Reynolds. “Learning and Variability: A study into the role of variation in child language acquisition and learning models”. North American Phonology Conference 8 (NAPhC 8), May 19 – 20th.
Guest Lectures
  1. Jennifer Boehm and Amy Reynolds. “Dialect Diversity and Academic English.” UNC Writing Program Professional Development Workshop Series, UNC-CH, October 7th
  1. Amy Reynolds, Jennifer Boehm, and Becky Butler. Oral History Workshop. Transplanting Traditions Community Farm Youth Program. Chapel Hill, August 6-7th.
  1. Jennifer Boehm, Amy Reynolds, Emily Moeng, and David Mora-Marin. “S’gaw Karen in NC: What We Know.” Friday Colloquium, UNC Linguistics Department, October 13th
  1. Amy Reynolds. ” ‘Don’t End a Sentence with a Preposition!’: Where Such Rules Come From.” Sound of Diversity Initiative Event, UNC-CH, April 24th.
  1. Amy Reynolds and Kline Gilbert. “Setting the Standard: Standardization in Modern English.” Presentation to English class at East Chapel Hill High School, December 9th.
Awards
  1. Summer Research Grant from the Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS). $3,000.
  1. Summer Research Fellowship from the UNC Graduate School, $4,000
  1. Future Faculty Fellowship Program from the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE), $450.
  1. Digital Dissertation Fellowship from the Carolina Digital Humanities, $4,000