Students inspire during commencement season

Graduate Dean's Medalist Mialise Carney, Dean Honora Chapman and Undergraduate Dean's Medalist Lucca Lorenzi in full regalia on the Fresno State campus.

We are excited to acknowledge the achievements of our College’s most accomplished students. From the creative artists to the humanists, every scholarship winner and Student of Distinction reflects the experimentation, compassion, and curiosity that Fresno State fosters.

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Interdisciplinary project documents indigenous knowledge of native plants

Image of Quercus kelloggii, the black oak, herbarium specimen

“The goal is to enhance STEM education here at Fresno State, to include in scientific databases local, native knowledge of plants including their geographic distribution, their uses and the vocabulary associated with these plants in native languages,” said Dr. Brian Agbayani. “…it’s important for us to be both supporters and stewards in the region.”

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2023 Arts in Motion recognizes the college’s top students

Arts in Motion - Celebrating Student Excellence. Photos of the 2022 President's Medalist Audia Dixon and Steven Hensley along with a bass drummer in the Rose Parade, a painter working on a mural and actors on stage.

We are excited to acknowledge the achievements of our College’s most accomplished students. From the creative artists to the humanists, every scholarship winner and Student of Distinction reflects the experimentation, compassion, and curiosity that Fresno State fosters.

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Student of Distinction: Julia Whelan

Student of Distinction: Julia Whelan

“My goal is to utilize both my linguistics and TESOL degrees to further our understanding of autism from the perspective of both linguistics and education.”

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Student of Distinction: Icarus Bailey

Student of Distinction: Icarus Bailey

“I am grateful for all the skills and education I have gained here. I am excited to use those skills to give back to our community in a deeply meaningful way by preserving our Central Valley languages.”

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The 2023 Arts and Humanities Showcase

Arts and Humanities Showcase

The Arts and Humanities Showcase offers a unique opportunity, through various performances, exhibits, lectures and workshops, to immerse yourself in the creativity and cultural diversity of Fresno State’s talented students.

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Student of Distinction: Kiana Reyes

Student of Distinction: Kiana Reyes

“As for my goals and plans after graduation, I hope to work for an institution where I can assist those struggling in communication due to language barriers. I hope to be a bridge for those who need a multilingual channel of communication as an interpreter, translator, or teacher for students learning English.”

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Student of Distinction: Sho Akamine

Student of Distinction: Sho Akamine

“After fostering my continued development and my ability to contribute to the field of cognitive and psycholinguistics in the Ph.D. program, I desire to achieve my goals of becoming both a researcher and an educator charged with communicating to students the fascination of the associations between language and the mind.”

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Student of Distinction: Jeanette Yeboah-Amoako

Jeanette Yeboah-Amoako

“After just one day of volunteering in a dual language classroom at [an] elementary school, an interest in teaching that up until then had been latent, suddenly woke up and exclaimed, ‘rise and shine!'” ~ Jeanette Yeboah-Amoako

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Student of Distinction: Dymond Lowe

“I will first apply this degree as the foundation for seeking a master’s degree in speech language pathology where I will assist individuals who have undergone traumatic speech hindering experiences.” ~ Dymond Lowe

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New language Hub offers community language services, student teaching opportunities

Dr. Jaydene Elvin and Cheryl Chan headshots.

As Dr. Jaydene Elvin, assistant professor of linguistics, and Cheryl Chan, director of the American English Institute, worked on a public event to launch their Hub for Language Teaching and Learning, the COVID-19 virus suddenly shut everything down. However, the two quickly pivoted and, within weeks, developed the course, “Functional Spanish for EMRs,” to help the front lines of the pandemic.

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2020 Grad Tribute

2020 Grad Tribute - College of Arts and Humanities - Inspiration for Life

We want to be the first to congratulate you on your achievements. The College’s faculty and staff join us in applauding you.

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Kao-Ly Yang and Vadim Keyser to receive Provost’s Award

Dr. Kao-Ly Yang and Dr. Vadim Keyser

Provost Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval announced the recipients of the Provost’s Awards for the 2019-2020 academic year, which included two names in the College of Arts and Humanities. Dr. Kao-Ly Yang was named Outstanding Lecturer, and Dr. Vadim Keyser was named among the Promising New Faculty.

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Canceled – Arts in Motion event and showcase

Arts in Motion Showcase - March 22-28. Cello player in front of music building.

We regret to announce that the Arts in Motion, scheduled for 2 p.m., Saturday, March 28 at the Concert Hall has been canceled. All public events in the Arts in Motion Showcase scheduled for March 22-28 have also been canceled.

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Nowruz exhibition sprouts new beginnings for a new year

Celebrated by over 300 million people worldwide, Nowruz marks the first day of spring, the vernal equinox, and the expectation of a prosperous and happy year. The ancient poet Jalaluddin Rumi called it a rebirth “on our planet and in our souls.”

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Connecting students, academia, and community: Hmong Voices Series as a place of dialogue

Dr. Kao-Ly Yang, Coordinator of the Hmong Studies Program

The positive reception and high attendance attested to the urgency and relevance of the series. In the past, the Hmong community had felt disarray, confusion, and powerlessness during hard times. The series then served as a neutral place for discussion and dialogue for a better understanding of relevant issues where different perspectives can contribute to the well-being of the students and the community.

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Speech recognition technology featured at Western Conference on Linguistics (WECOL)

As companies seek to have faster, better responses in their artificial intelligence (AI) products and customer service, linguists become critical in analyzing and understanding people’s particular speeches and words. With thousands of unique languages in the world, linguistics provides stronger understanding and solutions for things like speech recognition, speech synthesis, automatic translation and machine understanding.

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VIDEO: Linguistics students learn to ‘Act Like a Teacher’

Act Like a Teacher - Former Linguistics 171 student, Jeanette Yeboah-Amoako, teaches a class in her new job at the American English Institute.

Developed by Cheryl Chan, former director of the American English Institute (AEI) at Fresno State, and Dr. Jaydene Elvin, assistant professor of Linguistics, the “Act Like a Teacher” method goes beyond the theory and coaches students by using theater and acting techniques.

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STARTALK Summer camp introduces children to Mandarin Chinese

As Chinese-American relations continue to expand, the necessity for Chinese literacy is at an all-time high. In preparation for students’ future success, the 2019 STARTALK Chinese immersion summer camp introduces young students to the language across the Central Valley.

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Come celebrate ‘Arts in Motion’ with us!

Arts in Motion

The community is invited to celebrate the College of Arts and Humanities’ top students with an afternoon of performances and recognition on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 2 p.m. in the Fresno State Concert Hall. The event will be followed by a reception in the Phebe Conley Gallery.

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Nolan Trupp, Student of Distinction

Nolan Trupp

With a childhood ambition of becoming a teacher, Nolan Trupp knew he wanted to change people’s lives, but didn’t quite know what he wanted to teach until he took an American Sign Language class at Fresno State. He fell in love with the language and the culture knew he had found his way to change the world.

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Trevor Driscoll, Student of Distinction

Trevor Driscoll

In high school, Trevor Driscoll found the study of foreign language fascinating. While pursuing his English as a foreign language degree at Chico State he took a few linguistic courses which invigorated a passion for the structure of language. After transferring to Fresno State he received his B.A. in Linguistics with an emphasis in teaching ESL and is now regarded as the top student his the master’s program.

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Spend three weeks studying in China

Spend three weeks in Shanghai, the largest cosmopolitan city of China with native Chinese speaking professors in a total immersion environment for learning the Chinese language and culture, interacting with local Chinese students, touring the best of China’s traditional architecture and gardens, museums and galleries, and seeing the amazing development of China’s modernization as part of your experience. Tour Suzhou, an ancient city […]

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Drama-focused program unites future ESL teachers with international high school students

SJMHS drama program students

The innovative after-school program allows teachers to implement creative ways of teaching English through a drama-based context. This 2018 Fall semester, the linguistics department set into motion a brand new program that partners Fresno State’s future Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) teachers with English as a Second Language (ESL) international students at San […]

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Alumna of Linguistics Carol Inger Simerly remembered

Carol Inger Simerly

 OBITUARY Carol Inger Simerly 11/28/1943 – 10/09/2018   Carol Simerly died peacefully in her home in Fresno on October 9, 2018, just shy of her 75th birthday. She had been plagued with respiratory and cardiac issues for some time. She was born in 1943 in Long Beach, California during the War years to Leland Glen Simerly and Inger […]

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ESL teacher Kelsey Evans on assignment in Vietnam

Evans Vietnam students

ESL teacher Kelsey Evans is currently completing a ten-month teaching program in Vietnam through the English Language Fellow Program (ELF) that began in June 2018. While earning both a BA and MA in linguistics from Fresno State, Evans began teaching English as a second language by getting involved with the American English Institute (AEI) during her Junior […]

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Undergrad Linguistics student Julia Whelan presents at the 2018 NordMetrik conference in Stockholm, Sweden

Julia Whelan

The College of Arts and Humanities takes pride in supporting the wide range of creative and academic endeavors of students and faculty — endeavors made possible through generous gifts made to the Dean’s Council Annual Fund. DONATE NOW! In September, Dean’s Council funds helped yet another Arts and Humanities student experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thanks […]

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Reunion lunch brings together Arts and Humanities Top Dogs ahead of gala

2018 College of Arts and Humanities Top Dog - Dr. Gerald R. McMenamin

Every year, over a thousand alumni and friends of Fresno State gather for The Top Dog Alumni Awards Gala to honor one distinguished alum from each college. Ahead of the gala, the College of Arts and Humanities invites past Top Dog recipients, College of Arts and Humanities Advisory Board (AHAB) members, emeriti faculty, and student […]

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New Faces: Dr. John Lyon joins Linguistics

New Faces in Linguistics: Dr. John Lyon Fresno State College of Arts and Humanities

The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State is the largest college on campus, encompassing nine departments, and the Armenian Studies Program. Each year, new faculty are brought on to elevate the academic offerings here at Fresno State. These new faculty members bring innovative research, diverse fields of study and technical expertise to our […]

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Linguistics students present at conferences around the world

Five graduate students from the Department of Linguistics; Zahra Alzebaidi, Jason Peed, John Simonian, Zach Metzler and Trevor Driscoll, presented their work at conferences this year ranging from Santa Barbara and Salt Lake City to Manchester, England and Montreal, Canada. Also, undergraduate linguistics student Julia Whelan is set to present this fall in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Linguistics receives StarTalk grant to teach Chinese to school children

A StarTalk grant will allow the Linguistics Department to teach Chinese to 40 area school students this summer through a free summer camp. The Department of Linguistics at Fresno State applied for and received a StarTalk grant, a program funded by the National Security Agency and administered by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. StarTalk aims to increase the number of U.S. citizens learning, speaking and teaching critical need languages, according to the website.

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Join us as the University Press celebrates its authors

University Press Author Reception

The Press at California State University, Fresno, will celebrate several of its recently published authors at a reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, in the Smittcamp Alumni House. Featured authors and publications will include: Armen Bacon, author of “My Name is Armen (Volume II), Outside the Lines.” This book is a follow-up to Bacon’s […]

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Arts in Motion highlights CAH Students of Distinction

Arts and Humanities Students of Distinction

The College of Arts and Humanities honored its 16 Students of Distinction at Arts in Motion on Saturday, April 7. At the ceremony, the graduate and undergraduate Dean’s Medalists for 2017-18 were announced. Dean’s Medalists Guadalupe Remigio Ortega (left), who graduated in fall 2017 with a master of arts in English in rhetoric and composition, […]

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Nowruz exhibit celebrates Persian New Year

Persian artifacts displayed in the Nowruz Exhibit

~ By Nancy Barragan, student writer for the College of Arts and Humanities The Henry Madden Library is hosting an art exhibition in honor of recognizing the Persian New Year called Nowruz. The Nowruz Exhibit features colorful artifacts, books and maps on the second floor of the library in the Diversity Lounge from March 1 – […]

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Top 10 stories of 2017

Top 10 articles of 2017

Here’s a look back at our Top 10 Arts and Humanities stories for all of 2017: No. 10: New Faces: Dr. Gina Sandí-Díaz, Theatre Arts No. 9: New Faces: Art and Design welcomes two new professors No. 8: Three from College of Arts and Humanities named 2017 Fulbright recipients No. 7: New Faces: Four new […]

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‘The Hmong and the Secret War’ screened on campus

"The Hmong and the Secret War"

The Hmong program and the Hmong Language Club will host a screening of the PBS documentary “The Hmong and The Secret War” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, in McLane 161. The screening will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Lar Yang.

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Hmong American author Moua shares her bride price story

Author Mai Neng Moua will discuss her book "The Bride Price"

Pioneering author and editor Mai Neng Moua will read from her new nonfiction book “The Bride Price: A Hmong Wedding Story” at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at Fresno State. The evening, hosted by the Hmong American Writers’ Circle and the Fresno State Hmong minor option, will feature a reading by the author and a Q&A session moderated by Dr. Kao-ly Yang, followed by a reception and book signing. The event is free and open to the public.

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Catching up with some CAH emeriti professors

Emeriti brunch Fall 2017

Several Arts and Humanities emeriti faculty members gathered for brunch on Wednesday, Oct. 25, with CAH student ambassadors Chris Carreon and Yeng Xiong, Dean Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Associate Dean Honora Chapman and several members of the Dean’s Office staff.

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Rediscover Tokyo: 2020 Olympics

Akira Ichioka, the Consulate-General of Japan in San Francisco, will give a presentation on Tokyo from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, in the University Business Center at Fresno State, PB 191. A reception will follow the presentation.

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Be an Ambassador for the College of Arts and Humanities!

Are you passionate about the College of Arts and Humanities? Share your enthusiasm with others Fresno State students! Sign up today to be an ambassador for our college. Student Ambassadors are instrumental in connecting the College to the broader Central Valley community, as well as making potential students and their parents aware of the important educational opportunities that can be obtained through our College and the University.

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Research studies across campus apply to real-world issues

Linguistics department heading to do field work in Montana.

From preserving indigenous languages in the College of Arts and Humanities, to drone research in the Lyles College of Engineering, to air pollution research in the College of Health and Human Services, Fresno State faculty and students are tackling some of the region’s most pressing issues and developing new ideas and solutions every day. For students, this focus on applied research offers opportunities to take classroom learning out into the field and gain valuable experience that will help provide solutions for the region or boost job skills needed after graduation.

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New books are flying off The Press

Graphic showing the covers of six new books from The Press at California State University Fresno

Watch out for hot books! The Press at California State University, Fresno has published as many new volumes in the past year as it usually does in three and a half years.
Since last fall, The Press — a university press operated by the College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State — has published six new books. Founded in 1982, The Press has published 56 volumes — in its history, an average of 1.7 per year.

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This month in the Arts and Humanities

Even though it’s summer, we’re still celebrating huge stories of achievement and success this month in the College of Arts and Humanities. From our students to our faculty and alums, here are some top stories from the month of June. Fresno State alum wins on Jeopardy! Peter Guekguezian thrilled audiences of the popular trivia game […]

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New forensic linguistics textbook is the first of its kind

Gerald R. McMenamin

Gerald R. McMenamin, a professor emeritus from the Department of Linguistics at Fresno State, has written a course book that is the first of its kind. “Introducción a la Lingüística Forense” is a textbook for college courses in forensic linguistics – the application of linguistic concepts, methods and insights to the forensic context of law, […]

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Fresno State alum wins on Jeopardy!

~ By Lisa Maria Boyles, communications specialist for the College of Arts and Humanities UPDATE, June 22, 2017: Peter Guekguezian’s impressive winning streak on Jeopardy! came to an end last night. But he left with $46,800 in winnings for his four days on the popular ABC game show. Guekguezian, 30, earned his master’s degree in […]

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Linguistics team heads to Montana

Linguistics department heading to do field work in Montana.

From left: Diamond Henderson, John Simonian, Professors Chris Golston and John Boyle, Deanna Davis, Trevor Driscoll headed out to Montana last week to do some native language preservation field work at the Crow Summer Institute in Little Big Horn. We will have a full story when they return in three weeks.

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CAH employees receive service awards at STAR Day

Three employees of the College of Arts and Humanities received service awards at the Staff Training and Recognition (STAR) Day luncheon on Thursday, May 25. Kelly Pantzlaff Curry (above left), the costume shop foreman and costume vintage collection curator in the Department of Theatre Arts, was recognized for 10 years of service at Fresno State. […]

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Arts in Motion celebrates College of Arts and Humanities

~ Video Recap of Dean’s Medalist Nominees: Produced by  Kameron Stiffler (lead), Edmer Archilla, Nikki McCabe, Cyrel Mallory, and Raul Reyes of the MCJ Multimedia Production Service At Arts in Motion on Saturday, April 29, the College of Arts and Humanities recognized its students of distinction from all areas of the college in a celebration of creativity and the […]

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Linguistics students rise to Bold Ideas challenge

ESL class at Fresno Adult School

~ By Lisa Maria Boyles, communications specialist for the College of Arts and Humanities As part of President Joseph I. Castro’s “Bold Ideas Challenge Project,” Fresno State dedicated funds to support the Touch the Community Competition, a community service competition engaging student teams that are addressing significant community challenges. Across the University, eight teams – […]

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Hmong Language Association offers workshop

The Hmong Language Association will offer a  one-day workshop – “Sharing Experiences of Teaching and Knowledge of the Hmong Language and Culture.”  The free workshop will take place from 9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, in McLane Room 161. “We wish to bring more knowledge and skills in the teaching of Hmong language, culture, literature, […]

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Linguistics Colloquium Feb. 23

W. Tecumseh Fitch and Miguel Oliveira Jr.

Miguel Oliveira Jr. (Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Brazil) and W. Tecumseh Fitch  (University of Vienna, Austria) will discuss “Visual Pattern Perception in Hunter-Gatherers, Illiterates and Undergraduates” on Thursday, Feb. 23, in the next presentation of the Linguistics Department colloquium. Artificial grammar learning has been extensively used to explore the pattern-perception abilities of animals and both […]

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Top 10 stories of Fall 2016

We’ve put together a list of the Top 10 Stories on the Arts and Humanities blog in Fall 2016: No. 10: Debate camp draws students from around the state  No. 9: Timing is everything in trip to London No. 8: Striving for world peace, one note at a time No. 7: Second volume of “My […]

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Soul Vang Scholarship and Hmong minor forge connections with community

  A new Hmong minor and the establishment of a new scholarship will allow Fresno State “to connect more closely with our Hmong neighbors in this community and beyond,” President Joseph I. Castro said last night at a celebration attended by more than 200 people. The event was held in honor of the Soul Vang Scholarship, […]

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Alumnus Soul Vang creates endowed scholarship, poetry prize

~ By Jefferson Beavers, reprinted from FresnoStateNews.com Fresno State celebrated trailblazing Hmong-American alumnus Soul Vang (soulvang.net/) for creating an endowed scholarship and annual poetry prize aimed at encouraging students to pursue their passion for writing about the Asian-American experience. Vang, a poet and educator who holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing and a […]

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Connect with your fellow artists and humanists!

Going back to school can always be a little overwhelming, especially if you’re just starting college (or moving to a new campus, in the case of transfer students). It’s a new, bigger pond (more like an ocean!) with a whole lot more fish! We have a way to make that process more personal and to […]

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Helping Revitalize Endangered Native Languages

Pictured above: Brian Moran, right, with Martha Birdbear, one of the Hidatsa speakers in North Dakota. UPDATE, Aug. 20, 2016: From KVPR’s “Valley Edition”: Linguistics professors and students at Fresno State are hard at work on a mammoth task – saving the language of the Chukchansi tribe of Mono Indians. One thing makes their task especially […]

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More than 100 students enroll in new Hmong minor

~ By Lisa Maria Boyles For the first time, students at Fresno State can earn a minor in Hmong language studies through the Linguistics Department in the College of Arts and Humanities. Over 100 students are enrolled in Hmong minor courses for fall 2016. Fresno has the second-largest Hmong population in the United States. More […]

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