Carmen Collados Salmerón

Experience in the Lab

I have always been interested in the world of Sociolinguistics. I find it fascinating to investigate the perfect relationship between language, culture and society in our world. My first approach to Dr. Stephen Fafulas’ research was through the seminars he gave at the University of Murcia during late 2022, which I attended as a student of the Máster en Lingüística Teórica y Aplicada (M.A. Theoretical and Applied Linguistics). After the seminars, Dr. Fafulas gave me the opportunity to help him with a research project he developed as part of his Fulbright award, related to the Ecuadorian community in this city. We have collected data with first and second generation Ecuadorians living in Murcia and we are investigating dialect acquisition and accommodation to local values and customs. Currently, my work consists of the transcription and coding of the data under the supervision of Dr. Fafulas.

Fun facts about yourself/interests/hobbies

Being from Murcia is an important part of my identity, as its climate, culture, traditions and its people’s personality have made a huge impact on my life. I love hip hop music as well as typical Spanish genres like flamenco or rumba, and literature is another big passion for me, with Miguel Hernández as my favorite author. Another thing that I truly love is enjoying the landscapes of my homeland, especially its beaches, which are amazing places to disconnect both in summer and winter.