糖心vlog graduate student earns prestigious Chateaubriand Fellowship
A 糖心vlog doctoral student has received a prestigious international fellowship to study in Europe this spring.
Modern languages and linguistics doctoral student Nerea Delgado-Fern谩ndez will use the Chateaubriand Fellowship to study the intonation, or the rise and fall of the voice when speaking, of bilinguals in Basque-speaking regions in France and Spain. She will also collaborate with Aritz Irurtzun, tenured research associate in linguistics for the French National Centre for Scientific Research, at the Centre de Recherche sur la Langue et les Textes Basques in Bayonne, France.
鈥淒oing what I enjoy most about being a doctoral candidate 鈥 fieldwork 鈥 in an immersive setting will enable me to obtain a deeper understanding of the role bilingualism plays in the region today,鈥 Delgado-Fern谩ndez said. 鈥淚t will be an invaluable experience.鈥
The fellowship, established in 1981, is awarded by the Embassy of France to outstanding doctoral students from American universities and supports them in conducting research in France and working with French scientists. Chateaubriand fellows are selected through a merit-based competition, a collaborative process involving expert evaluators in both countries. Since 2014, eight FSU graduate students have earned the Chateaubriand Fellowship.
The Basque language is severely endangered in France, and Delgado-Fern谩ndez was motivated to submit a proposal that would contribute to the preservation of the linguistic heritage of Le Pays Basque Fran莽ais, or French Basque Country. Delgado-Fern谩ndez specializes in phonetics and phonology, or the study of sounds and sound patterns. Her focus on intonation, which can be described as overall melody of sentences, is an area of study currently undergoing significant growth. She is also interested in sociolinguistics and bilingualism, and she has a strong background in syntax as well.
鈥淚 see the Chateaubriand Fellowship as an opportunity to establish connections with important scholars in the field as well as learn analysis techniques that are specific to French and Basque,鈥 Delgado-Fern谩ndez said. 鈥淭hese insights will strengthen my research project and help me to interpret my results in a more holistic manner.鈥
Carolina Gonz谩lez, an associate professor in FSU鈥檚 Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, first met Delgado-Fern谩ndez in 2016 at a graduate open house hosted by the Spanish and Portuguese program. Now, Gonz谩lez is Delgado-Fern谩ndez鈥檚 adviser and directs her doctoral dissertation.
鈥淣erea鈥檚 work is very exciting for several reasons,鈥 Gonz谩lez said. 鈥淲hen comparing intonation, most scholars usually focus on two languages or two language varieties. But Nerea is comparing the intonation of Spanish, French, and Basque as well as two varieties of Basque, spoken in different countries. This is quite unusual, especially since intonational analysis is incredibly time consuming.鈥
In 2014, Delgado-Fern谩ndez earned her bachelor鈥檚 in English studies from the University of Salamanca, located in Salamanca, Spain. She earned her Master of Education degree from Carthage College in 2016, and she earned her Master of Arts degree in Hispanic Linguistics from FSU in 2018. Delgado-Fern谩ndez plans to graduate with her doctorate degree in Hispanic Linguistics in 2023. After completing her doctorate, Delgado-Fern谩ndez wishes to continue her research and teach linguistics at the university level.
Delgado-Fern谩ndez has received numerous awards during her time at FSU. She used a Sigma Delta Pi Graduate Research grant to conduct research in Spain over last summer, which allowed her to complete the first phase of her dissertation project. Delgado-Fern谩ndez also received an Outstanding Graduate Student recognition from the FSU Spanish program and has received the Ada Belle Winthrop-King Scholarship annually since the beginning of her graduate studies here.
To learn more about more ways for graduate students to fund their academic interests, visit FSU鈥檚 website.