You’ve probably gotten this announcement in other places, but: Lydia White is coming to BU to give a talk tomorrow (Friday). The talk should be interesting, it’s theoretical syntax as applied to second language acquisition, and it should be accessible.

Prof. Lydia White (McGill University) will be talking about some of her current research in second language acquisition, with a focus on the “definiteness effect” in sentences like “There is a talk on Friday.” A basic background in linguistics will be assumed, but will be accessible to non-specialists. If you are (or think you might be) interested in what’s going on in theoretically-informed second language acquisition research, this is a great opportunity to hear about it from one of the most prominent researchers in the field today.

Lydia White is James McGill Professor of Linguistics. She has a BA/MA in Moral Sciences and Psychology from Cambridge University (1969), and a PhD in Linguistics from McGill (1980). Lydia White is Co-Editor of the book series Language Acquisition and Language Disorders (published by John Benjamins) and she is on the Editorial/Advisory Boards of Applied Psycholinguistics, Language Acquisition, Second Language Research, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, and the Japanese Second Language Association