Ph.D. in Linguistics, University of Michigan, 2019, Dissertation title: Dynamics of language contact and language variation: the case of Transylvanian Saxon in the homeland and the diaspora.
Chair: Marylse Baptista; committee: Robin Queen, Sarah Thomason, Acrisio Pires, Susi Wurmbrand.
M.A. in Linguistics, Northeastern Illinois University, 2012, MA title: A comparative morpho-syntactic analysis of the code-switches of Romanian immigrants in the USA and in Spain.
2020 Bancu, Ariana. Two Case Studies on Structural Variation in Multilingual Settings. Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 1, p. 750–764, Mar. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3765/plsa.v5i1.4760
2019 Bancu, Ariana. Contact-Induced Variation in Transylvanian Saxon Verb Clusters. Language, Vol. 95. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2019.0041
2018 Bancu, Ariana Language profile and syntactic change in two multilingual communities. Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3765/plsa.v3i1.4364
2017 Bancu, Ariana Word Order Variation and Change in Transylvanian Saxon. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: Vol. 23.2. Article 3.
Available at: http://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol23/iss2/3
In my work I investigate the connection between language and society from various aspects. As language is an intrinsic part of our lives, language and society are tightly interconnected. Our language use and our attitudes towards different language varieties, whether we look at dialects of the same language, or different languages, reflect power dynamics connected to social class, gender, ethnicity, age, and beyond. I am interested in how minority languages and dialects are affected by more prestigious dominant languages, and I pay special attention to the factors that lead to successful language maintenance. I enjoy doing fieldwork, talking to minority language speakers, learning more about their connection to their mother tongue, and collecting data through interviews.
I also enjoy bringing some of the techniques I use in the field to my classroom and showing students how to conduct linguistic research by investigating the language used around them. The most rewarding part of my teaching is being able to systematically show students that all languages are equally valid. Through this, I hope to empower my students to embrace their own language variety and the linguistic diversity that is part of our society.
Wednesday: 11: a.m.-5 p.m. and other hours by appointment.
Office hours will be held at the following Zoom link:
https://zoom.us/j/93164950105?pwd=T1cycGxtdXIvTUNGL1YraE1PaW0zZz09
I have Remote classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:55 a.m.-12:05 p.m.. I will be unavailable during these times. Email av-bancu@neiu.edu to schedule an appointment.