Honors Thesis Student Plans to Construct Her Own Language

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Aileen LeRoy has always been passionate about language, feeling, “It’s a mystery, a science, and an art all in one.” As a junior Honors College student majoring in Teaching English as a Second Language with an Italian studies minor, much of Aileen’s college education has been focused on language studies. In addition to her major coursework, Aileen is planning to complete a Senior Honors Thesis with a linguistic focus. Currently in her thesis preparation semester, Aileen is completing initial research for her project of making a constructed language. A constructed language is “an artificial language that is created, not naturally evolved” and that has no native speakers. Though constructed languages of the past attempted to create a global language, Aileen wants to create her own constructed language so that she can better understand the linguistic properties she is learning within her major.

Aileen says she has been interested in the honors thesis program ever since she enrolled at Kent State, and meeting with her Honors College academic advisor, Ólöf Thórdardóttir, helped Aileen decide to enroll in the program. Though her advisor helped Aileen realize she wanted to complete an honors thesis, the inspiration for Aileen’s thesis topic came from a book she read in a linguistics class: The Art of Language Invention by James Paterson, who created a constructed language for the show Game of Thrones. When Aileen read Peterson’s book, she recalls thinking, “What better way to understand language than to create your own from scratch?” which led to her idea to make her own constructed language.

Not only will her thesis project help Aileen better understand her undergraduate language studies, but she also notes that it will be beneficial to her future career. Because Aileen hopes to become a translator or linguistic anthropologist, studying undocumented or under-represented languages, she needs extensive knowledge of linguistics. Aileen recalls many of her professors at Kent State highlighting undergraduate research and publication as a way for students to make their graduate school applications more competitive. As such, forming her own constructed language will help Aileen prepare for her graduate studies and career.

If Aileen could offer any advice to her fellow honors students, she would encourage them to complete an honors thesis of their own. She explains, “Independent study is sometimes more fulfilling than study you’re forced to do. If you’re passionate about the subject, supplemental research is great. Never stop learning, you know?” 

Aileen is grateful for her thesis advisor, Professor Elizabeth Howard of the Department of English, who helps her find relevant materials for her project. She is excited to form her own constructed language and to continue studying linguistics after graduation.

For more information regarding the Senior Honors Thesis/Project, please contact Lori Michael, the Honors College Thesis Coordinator.

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PHOTO CAPTION 1: Aileen LeRoy standing in her apartment.

PHOTO CAPTION 2: Aileen wearing a mask in her apartment.

Media Contact: Stephanie Moskal, smoskal@kent.edu, 330-672-2312