Linguistics Research Center

LRC Logo

The Linguistics Research Center (LRC) is the research arm of the Department of Linguistics. It facilitates research in theoretical linguistics—morphology, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, and syntax—that draws on a range of frameworks and methodological approaches. The LRC's mission is to enhance the environment for linguistic research at UCSC. It coordinates the department's research efforts, is involved in the dissemination of the results of that research, and provides a venue for department members to collaborate with other scholars at UCSC and scholars from other institutions. All faculty and graduate students in Linguistics contribute actively to the LRC's research endeavors.

Contact Information

Phone: (831) 459-2386
Email: lrc@ucsc.edu
Office: Stevenson 251

The LRC plays an important role in coordinating the department's lab spaces and other research equipment. These comprise several facilities containing eye tracking equipment, an ultrasound imagining machine, sound-attenuated booths for behavioral testing and recording, and computing resources for corpus work and development. The lab spaces anchor the work of several labs and other research groups, which deploy them to understand the core mental mechanisms that enable language, using a variety of methodological approaches, including both analytical ones for formulating hypotheses about linguistic form and function as well as empirical ones for testing and exploring those models.

The LRC provides crucial logistical support for the department's externally funded research projects, in addition to organizing many research events hosted by the department. These include colloquia, workshops, and conferences, as well as the 1991 Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute. The LRC publishes several working papers series and other works to disseminate the research results of the department. The LRC also maintains the departmental library, which contains a collection of books, journals, and working papers devoted to linguistics.

Finally, the LRC hosts visiting researchers from other universities and from industry, who are interested in participating actively in the department's research life, through its Research Associate Program.