PhD Supervision

• Drs. Lotte Thissen “Constructions of local identities in Limburg: Feelings of belonging through languaugecultural practices"; 01-08-2011 through 01-08-2015. Financed by the Province of Limburg.
• Drs. Jolien Clijsen “Wellbeing and Social integration of (communicatively impaired) bilinguals/bidialectals. Advancing the European Multilingual Experience (ATheme)”; 01.08.2014 through 01.07.2018. Financed by EU FP7/Meertens Instituut (KNAW)/UM
• Drs. Kirsten van den Heuij. Junior Researcher "Cognitive development of bilingual dialect speaking children in Limburg"; 01-02-2014-01-07-2015. Financed by SWOL, Raod veur 't Limburgs, Meertens Instituut, UU, UvA, FASoS, Taalcultuur in Limburg.
• Drs. Nantke Pecht "Speaking Cité Duits in a coalminers’ neighborhood: The construction and reproduction of social identities through language practices"; 01.09.2015 – 31-12.2019. Financed by DAAD & NWO_GW.
• Drs. Lysbeth Jongbloed "The use of Frisian in social media"; 01.11.2015 - 01.11.2019. Financed by Fryske Akademie & UM/FASoS.
• Drs. Pomme van de Weerd “Normativity and voice in peripheral areas: Limburg in the era of superdiversity”; 1-08-2016 through 31-07- 2019. Financed by NWO_MAGW.
• PhD candidate Daan Hovens “Multilingualism at the work place: the use of Dutch and German in the Meuse-Rhine Euregion”; 1-1-2017 through 31-12-2020, Financed by ITEM.

Post-Doc Supervision

• Dr. Anna Strycharz-Banas “Dialect levelling in an expatriate community? Exploring Japanese negation in the Netherlands”; 01.01.2012 through 01.04.2014. Financed by NWO beurs (Rubicon). A small part of this research will take place in Maastricht, financed by Research Fasos Grant, UM and Meertens Instituut/ Rubicon.

Projects

• The construction of local identies in Limburg through languagecultural practices, with Dr. V. de Rooij and dr. I. Stengs; 01.09.2011 through 01.09.2015. Financed by the province of Limburg/Meertens Institute/ from 01.09.2015 until 01.09.2019 with Dr.V. de Rooij

This project focuses on ‘languageculture’, a concept that highlights the interrelationship of culture and language in the formation of local identity. This implies that linguistic elements (choice of language, vocabulary, grammar) are an inherent aspect of cultural practices specifically related with the local (celebrations, foods, sports, etcetera). By studying how culture and language practices reinforce each other in processes of local identity formation; the choices that are made herein; and who uses these practices when, where and why, the researchers aim at gaining insight in the power relationships between and within economical, political and cultural centres and peripheries. Languageculture in the province of Limburg will provide the empirical casus for this study. By means of fieldwork, the project will focus on the shaping and experiencing of Limburgian identity as well as various more local identities, among  inhabitants and outsiders.

• Cognitive development of bidialectal children in Limburg

Do Dutch-Limburgian bilingual or rather bidialectal children have a cognitive advantage based on their multilingualism?  This is the central question posed in a new research project by Maastricht University. The study is part of the VIDI-project “Cognitive Development in Emerging Bilingualism”(CoDEmBi) supervised by Elma Blom from Utrecht University. The study in Limburg will be carried out by Kirsten van den Heuij from Maastricht University. The study will run until the end of 2014 and will measure the (language) abilities of hundred bilingual and monolingual children between the age of 5 and 8 years old from Limburg. By means of several tests these two groups will be compared in their language, concentration and memory skills. The funders of this research project are: SWOL (MU), Language&Literature (MU), Taalcultuur in Limburg (MU), VIDI-grant Elma Blom (UU), Theoretical Linguistics (UvA), the Meertens Institute and Road veur ’t Limburgs.
This study treads new ground, as there has been little research on bilingual dialect-speaking children so far.

At 19 november 2015, an inspiration day for 140 interested people was organized at Fontys Hogeschool, together with Cubiss. A report about this day can befound here:

and pictures here:

• Limburg portal in The Digital Library of Dutch Literature; 01-09-2011 ----. This project aims at digitizing Limburgian Literature and Culture History in order to make it freely accessible to everyone.

See: http://www.dbnl.org/letterkunde/limburg/

• Member of the FP7 network: 'Advancing the European Multilingual Experience'. See: https://vre.leidenuniv.nl/vre/atheme/public/default.aspx

• Substitute Management member of COST network: 'New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe' See:http://www.cost.eu/domains_actions/isch/Actions/IS1306
• Member WUN network "Understanding Globalization – Margins and Peripheries", PI Ana Deumert, University of Cape Town. http://dev.understandingglobalization.uct.ac.za/

• Visie op taal als erfgoed. On invitation of the Province of Limburg, the vision document 'Sjiek is miech dat!’ Visie op taal als erfgoed (‘Language as Heritage’) was written to provide input for the upcoming Provincial Heritage Policy Document. The vision document is written by prof. L. Cornips (Leerstoel Taalcultuur in Limburg) and dr. V. van Saaze (MACCH), drs. M. Frencken, E. van Nieuwenhoven, drs. T. van de Wijngaard (Huis voor de Kunsten Limburg), and prof. R. van Hout (Raod veur ’t Limburgs) in close cooperation with several local language organisations.

  Download the complete document.