AcqVA Aurora

UiT Aurora Center for Language Acquisition, Variation & Attrition: The Dynamic Nature of Languages in the Mind

About AcqVA Aurora

AcqVA Aurora is a UiT Aurora Centre (2020-2024), part of a competitive scheme to strengthen promising research groups. The funding (NOK 30 million) covers four postdoc positions, four Professor II positions, one lab manager and one permanent (associate/full) professorship, as well as general running costs.

AcqVA Aurora is also a branch of the research community AcqVA, a joint UiT/NTNU research initiative which was established in 2015 and which has resulted in numerous projects and publications.

 

The following is a brief description of the work in AcqVA Aurora (see more under Themes):
Humans are unique among animals in that we have language, a complex system enabling com­muni­cation about any topic, be it past, present or future. In fact, humans are not limited to one language, but can acquire several under the right conditions. Nevertheless, bi- and multilingualism is not an either-or pheno­menon, as multi­lingual minds may (and typically do) undergo numerous changes across the lifespan, as a result of linguistic and non-linguistic factors. This means that multilingual minds comprise dyna­mic linguistic systems, as co-existing languages affect each other in a multi­tude of ways, both in the acquisition process and beyond. The AcqVA Aurora Center conducts ecolo­gi­cally valid research, re­flect­ing today’s globa­lized world, where learning mul­tiple lan­guages at various points in the lifetime has become increasingly common. Our research focuses on a range of multi­lingual speaker groups and thus feed into current chal­lenges related to migration, education, and health, addressing important and yet unanswered questions for science and society.

AcqVA Aurora combines solid empi­ri­cal work with advanced theoretical (and statistical) model­ing in three domains:

A) Acquisition: how multilingual minds develop in children and adults,
B) Variation: how and why languages may differ considerably across individuals and groups in space and time, and
C) Attrition: how and why language erosion may occur over the course of the lifespan.

The three domains are studied within four cross-cutting themes, focusing on interrelated issues of multilingualism:

1) how linguistic and non-linguistic experiential factors shape linguistic and cognitive outcomes,
2) how multiple languages in the same mind influence each other,
3) how closely related varieties co-existing in the same mind are processed, and
4) how representing and juggling multiple languages manifest and result in adaptations at the neurological and domain-general cognitive levels.

Research themes of AcqVA Aurora




Theme 1: MultiLingual Minds and Factors Affecting MultiLingual Outcomes



PIs: Yulia Rodina & Fatih Bayram
Prof II: Cécile de Cat
Postdoc: Aleksandra Tomic



Theme 2: MultiLingual Minds and Crosslinguistic Influence



PIs: Merete Anderssen & Natalia Mitrofanova
Prof II: Ludovica Serratrice
Postdoc: Brechje van Osch



Theme 3: MultiLingual Minds and Closely Related Varieties (MultiLectal Minds)



PIs: Øystein Vangsnes & Terje Lohndal
Prof II: Elma Blom
Postdoc: Tekabe Legesse Feleke



Theme 4: MultiLingual Minds and Neurocognitive Adaptations



PIs: Jason Rothman & Vincent DeLuca
Prof II: Jubin Abutalebi
Postdoc: Toms Voits

People

The AcqVA Aurora Centre currently consists of more than 30 active researchers, including eight professors/associate professors, seven researchers/postdoctoral fellows with an additional five MSCA postdoctoral researchers, a lab team, four PhD students, and eight Professor II positions (20% adjunct professors).

The director of AcqVA Aurora is Professor Marit Westergaard and the deputy leader is Professor Jason Rothman.

Director and PIs


Other members


Affiliates


Scientific Advisory Board


Projects



Previous Projects



AcqVA Aurora publication highlights 2023

For a complete list of publications, please check the members’ webpages or individual research profiles in CRIStin (Current Research Information System in Norway). Publication highlights from previous years may be found on the links below and on the AcqVA website.


AcqVA Publications 2015-2019

Events

More details and events you can find in our calendar.

AcqVA Aurora Closing Event will take place on 8th March 2024. Please find more information about the event on this website


News






Labs


AcqVA Aurora Lab
PoLaR (Psycholinguitics of Language Representation) Lab

           Flere språk til flere           

Flere språk til flere (More languages to more people) is AcqVA Aurora’s outreach service. We are a branch of the research and information center Bilingualism Matters, a global network of more than 25 universities working on multilingualism, founded by Prof. Antonella Sorace in 2008. Our goal is to communicate research findings on multilingualism and language learning to a broader public. We believe that everyone can enjoy the benefits of having more than one language.

Do you want to know more about multilingualism and language learning? Flere språk til flere can

If you need further information, advice or would like to arrange a talk, please email us at Postboks-FSF@HSL.uit.no. You can follow us on Facebook or visit our website.

Flere språk til flere is directed by Yulia Rodina

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 AcqVA Aurora – UiT Aurora Center for Language Acquisition, Variation & Attrition: The Dynamic Nature of                                                                              Languages in the Mind


                                                                  UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Department of Language and Culture


                                                                                               marit.westergaard@uit.no Show map 

                                                                                                                   

                                                 

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