This summer, I had the chance to participate in both SLIYS 1 and SLIYS 2—the Summer Linguistic Institute for Youth Scholars—hosted by the Ohio State University Department of Linguistics. Across two weeks packed with lectures, workshops, and collaborative data collection, I explored the structure of language at every level: from the individual sounds we make to the complex systems that govern meaning and conversation. But if I had to pick just one highlight, it would be the elicitation sessions—hands-on explorations with real language data that made the abstract suddenly tangible.

SLIYS 1: Finding Language in Structure

SLIYS 1 started with the fundamentals—consonants, vowels, and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)—but quickly expanded into diverse linguistic territory: morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Each day featured structured lectures covering topics like sociolinguistic variation, morphological structures, and historical linguistics. Workshops offered additional insights, from analyzing sentence meanings to exploring language evolution.

The core experience, however, was our daily elicitation sessions. My group tackled Serbo-Croatian, collaboratively acting as elicitors and transcribers to construct a detailed grammar sketch. We identified consonant inventories, syllable structures (like CV, CVC, and CCV patterns), morphological markers for plural nouns and verb tenses, and syntactic word orders. Through interactions with our language consultant, we tested hypotheses directly, discovering intricacies like how questions were formed using particles like dahlee, and how adjective-noun order worked. This daily practice gave theory immediate clarity and meaning, shaping our skills as linguists-in-training.

SLIYS 2: Choosing My Path in Linguistics

SLIYS 2 built upon our initial foundations, diving deeper into phonological analysis, morphosyntactic properties, and the relationship between language and cognition. This week offered more autonomy, allowing us to select workshops tailored to our interests. My choices included sessions on speech perception, dialectology, semiotics, and linguistic anthropology—each challenging me to think more broadly about language as both cognitive and cultural phenomena.

Yet again, the elicitation project anchored our experience, this time exploring Georgian. Our group analyzed Georgian’s distinctive pluralization system, polypersonal verb agreement (verbs agreeing with both subjects and objects), and flexible sentence orders (SVO/SOV). One fascinating detail we uncovered was how nouns remained singular when preceded by numbers. Preparing our final presentation felt especially rewarding, bringing together the week’s linguistic discoveries in a cohesive narrative. Presenting to our peers crystallized not just what we learned, but how thoroughly we’d internalized it.

More Than Just a Summer Program

What I appreciated most about SLIYS was how seriously it treated us as student linguists. The instructors didn’t just lecture—they listened, challenged us, and encouraged our curiosity. Whether we were learning about deixis or discourse analysis, the focus was always on asking better questions, not just memorizing answers.

By the end of SLIYS 2, I found myself thinking not only about how language works, but why we study it in the first place. Language is a mirror to thought, a map of culture, and a bridge between people—and programs like SLIYS remind me that it’s also something we can investigate, question, and build understanding from.

Moments from SLIYS 2: A Snapshot of a Summer to Remember

As SLIYS 2 came to a close, our instructors captured these Zoom screenshots to help us remember the community, curiosity, and collaboration that made this experience so meaningful.

Special Thanks to the SLIYS 2025 Team

This incredible experience wouldn’t have been possible without the passion, insight, and dedication of the SLIYS 2025 instructors. Each one brought something unique to the table—whether it was helping us break down complex syntax, introducing us to sociolinguistics through speech perception, or guiding us through our elicitation sessions with patience and curiosity. I’m especially grateful for the way they encouraged us to ask deeper questions and think like real linguists.

Special thanks to:

• Kyler Laycock – For leading with energy, making phonetics and dialectology come alive, and always reminding us how much identity lives in the details of speech.
• Jory Ross – For guiding us through speech perception and conversational structure, and for sharing her excitement about how humans really process language.
• Emily Sagasser – For her insights on semantics, pragmatics, and focus structure, and for pushing us to think about how language connects to social justice and cognition.
• Elena Vaikšnoraitė – For their thoughtful instruction in syntax and psycholinguistics, and for showing us the power of connecting data across languages.
• Dr. Clint Awai-Jennings – For directing the program with care and purpose—and for showing us that it’s never too late to turn a passion for language into a life’s work.

Thank you all for making SLIYS 1 and 2 an unforgettable part of my summer.

— Andrew