Livsreise is pleased to have Laura Moquin as our speaker.  Laura is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison whose research interests include Scandinavian heritage languages in North America, sociolinguistics, language contact and change, and linguistic identities. She is currently conducting a sociolinguistic dissertation project. The project examines Norwegian-influenced contact phenomena in varieties of regional American English, and the relationship of those features to notions of regional and heritage identity.

This presentation will look at linguistic features of reported and performed Scandinavian-American English. From dialect comedians to Ole and Lena jokes, Scandinavian-American English has been tapped as a source of entertainment meant for Scandihoovians and non-Scandihoovians alike. Some features pointed to in these kinds of representations are rooted in the way real bilingual Scandinavian-Americans spoke English. Some words, phrases, and sounds are still recognizably Scandinavian. Laura comes hoping for audience discussions about what their social meanings are today in this community. We invite you to join in the discussion in person in our auditorium.