Name: Professor Barbara Abbott

Department: Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages

Type of research: Analyzing what words and sentences mean

Date of research: Abbott started the research during graduate school in 1970. She has spent 30 years at MSU doing this type of work and plans to retire in May.

Basics of the project: Abbott is analyzing records of spoken and written word to determine how people understand what specific words and sentences in the English language mean.

"We're interested in what's actually stored in the mind of users of a language, and it's not always obvious what the meaning of the words we use are," Abbott said.

For example, the words "use" and "utilize" are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings, Abbott said.

To use something means the ability to apply it, but to utilize something is to apply that object to a good effect, she said.

"That's something that is not immediately obvious to a speaker of a language," Abbott said.

To analyze words and sentences, linguists such as Abbott, form theories about the meanings of words and then look at data to determine the validity of those theories, she said.

With increased Internet technology, databases of verbal and written words are becoming available online, and they are helpful in accessing word samples to analyze, Abbott said.

Social impact of research: "Language is so central to our lives," Abbott said. "I can't imagine a more essential characteristic of humans that enabled us to achieve all that we have. The more we know about it, the more sophisticated we can be in learning about ourselves."

She added analyzing the meanings of words can also help in understanding language variations between social groups.

Grants and funding: Abbott's research does not require any funding because there is no need for machinery or costs, she said.