MLC Program Changes: Farewell to Anna Trester and Welcome to Anastasia Nylund!

After nearly seven years of creative and energetic service directing the MLC program, Anna Trester has decided to pursue an exciting opportunity to apply linguistics as Associate at the FrameWorks Institute, a think tank in downtown Washington DC.  During her time with us, Anna has been an amazingly positive engine and forward-thinking colleague.  I’m sure you join me in wishing her all the very best for her new work as a linguist outside of the academy. Anna’s last official day at Georgetown will be Friday, August 15th, although she will certainly be a frequent (and welcome!) visitor to our Department.

Anna has been working since July 15 with Dr. Anastasia Nylund who has joined us as Interim Director of the MLC program. Anastasia’s innovative research is broadly in the area of sociolinguistics and focuses specifically on furthering an integrated, quantitative/qualitative approach to the study of language variation in individuals, institutions, and communities. She is particularly interested in stylistic practice among members of highly diverse communities, and communities undergoing (or leading) social change in late-modern society. 

Anastasia examines phonological variation and stylistic practice among residents of Washington, DC, focusing on features associated with blue-collar, Southern, and African American speech in the production of place and ethnoracial identity in discourse. Other projects focus on the structure and function of metalinguistic and language ideological discourses and narratives, primarily in the urban mid-Atlantic and multicultural Sweden. She is also committed to bringing linguistic insights to non-academic audiences, and participates in public outreach efforts with the Language and Communication in DC project in our department. 

Anastasia will teach LING 500 MLC Thesis Seminar this fall and LING 487 MLC Proseminar in the spring. She encourages you to stop by her office (Poulton 229)  if you would like to talk about interview methods, popularizing linguistics, or talking effectively about your training in professional contexts!

Farewell, Anna!  Welcome, Anastasia!