Diana Carter, PhD

(She, Her, Hers)

Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies

Digital Arts and Humanities, Languages and World Literatures, Psychology
Other Titles: Professor of Teaching (FCCS), Adjunct Professor of Teaching (in Psychology)
Office: CCS 323B
Email: diana.carter@ubc.ca

Research Summary

Sociolinguistics; queer linguistics; gender and language; corpus linguistics; psycholinguistics; bilingualism; Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Degrees

M.A. The University of Western Ontario
Ph.D. The University of Ottawa

Research Interests & Projects

Diana is the lead researcher for the project Gender-inclusive language usage and the barriers to implementation in French and Spanish language classrooms. This project investigates the use of gender inclusive language (GIL) among non-binary and gender-diverse speakers of French and Spanish, with a focus on both social usage and educational contexts. It examines the linguistic and social factors that shape speakers’ choices of gender neutral pronouns and how these choices vary across situational contexts. Building on this analysis of real-world variability, the study then explores the challenges and barriers to implementing GIL in postsecondary language classrooms and identifies strategies to overcome these obstacles. Ultimately, the project aims to enhance learning environments for students by fostering inclusive practices that support identity and equitable participation, while generating evidence-based recommendations to inform curriculum design, teaching practices, and institutional policies in language education, contributing to broader systemic change in higher education.

Prior to her work on gender-inclusive language, Diana was involved in several collaborations with colleagues from the Bilingualism Research Centre in Wales, the Max Planck Institute and Radboud University in the Netherlands. These research projects examined codeswitching patterns in digital bilingual speech corpora for the following language pairs: Welsh-English, Spanish-English, and Welsh-Spanish.

Selected Publications & Presentations

Publications

Carter, D., Díaz Colmenares, Y., George, A., & Langevin, F. (2026). Elle, ellx, and ell@: Spanish gender inclusive neopronouns and morphemes of the future. In S. Burnett & F. Vigo (Eds.), Battlefield linguistics: Queer, Trans, and Feminist Interventions in Linguistic and Discursive Change (pp. 291-312). De Gruyter-Mouton

George, A., Carter, D., & Langevin, F. (2025). Gender neutral language practices by nonbinary and gender diverse Spanish-speakers. Gender and Language, 19(2), 182-209.

Carter, D., George, A., & Langevin, F. (2024). Creating a gender-inclusive learning environment in Spanish language classrooms. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 15(2).

Bijos, A., Carter, D., Mohan, D. (2020). MindTap. For A. C. Jarvis, R. Lebredo, F. Mena-Ayllón, M. Rowinsky-Geurts, & R. L. Stewart, ¡Hola, amigos! (4th Canadian edition). Nelson. Cengage MindTap

Broersma, M., Carter, D., Donnelly, K., & Konopka, A. (2019). Triggered codeswitching: Lexical processing and conversational dynamics. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1-14.

Carter, D., Broersma, M., Donnelly, K., & Konopka, A. (2017). Presenting the Bangor Autoglosser and the Bangor Automated Clause-Splitter. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 2017: 1-8. doi: 10.1093/llc/fqw065

Broersma, M., Carter, D., & Acheson, D. (2016). Cognate costs in bilingual speech production: Evidence from language switching. Frontiers in Psychology: Language Sciences. 7:1461. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01461

Carter, D., Broersma, M., & Donnelly, K. (2016). Applying computing innovations to bilingual corpus analysis. In A. Alba de la Fuente, E. Valenzuela, & C. Martínez-Sanz (Eds.), Language Acquisition Beyond Parameters: Studies in honour of Juana M. Liceras. Amsterdam: John Benjamins (pp. 281-301).

Deuchar, M., Davies, P., Herring, J., Parafita Couto, M.C., & Carter, D. (2014). Building bilingual corpora. In E.Thomas, & I. Mennen (Eds.), Advances in the Study of Bilingualism (pp.93-110). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Parafita Couto, M.C., Davies, P., Carter, D., & Deuchar, M. (2014). Factors influencing codeswitching. In E.Thomas, & I. Mennen (Eds.), Advances in the Study of Bilingualism (pp.111-138). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Carter, D., Deuchar, M., Davies, P., & Parafita Couto, M. C. (2011). A systematic comparison of factors affecting the choice of matrix language in three bilingual communities. Journal of Language Contact 4(2): 153-183.

Selected Presentations

Langevin, F., George, A., & Carter, D. (August, 2024). Insights and feedback form teachers on the adoption of gender neutral and inclusive language in the classroom. Lavender Languages and Linguistics 30. Brighton, England.

Carter, D., Díaz Colmenares, Y., George, A., & Langevin, F. (May, 2023). The Making-Of the Inclusive Language Twitter Corpus. 2nd International Conference on Digital Linguistics. Alicante, Spain.

George, A., Carter, D., & Langevin, F. (March, 2023). Gender-neutral language practices in Spanish: Usage and acceptability. Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference 29. Boise, Idaho, USA.

Carter, D., George, A., & Langevin, F. (May, 2022). Elle, ellx, and ell@: Spanish gender inclusive neopronouns and suffixes of the future. Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference 28. Catania, Italy.

Carter, D., Konopka, A., Donnelly, K., & Broersma, M. (June, 2019). Cognate-triggered codeswitching in Welsh-English conversations. International Symposium on Bilingualism 12. Edmonton: The University of Alberta.

Carter, D., Broersma, M., Donnelly, K., & Knopka, A. (Aug, 2014). Corpus evidence of the triggering effect of cognates on codeswitching from Welsh-English bilinguals. Language Contact: The State of the Art. Helsinki, Finland.

Carter, D., Donnelly, K., & Broersma, M. (Jan, 2013). Automating the analysis of large bilingual corpora. American Association of Corpus Linguistics Conference. San Diego, USA.

Broersma, M., & Carter, D. (2011). Triggered codeswitching: Evidence from Welsh-English and Dutch-English bilinguals. International Symposium of Bilingualism 8.  Oslo, Norway.

Deuchar, M., Carter, D., Davies, P., & Parafita Couto, M. C. (2011). Welsh, English and Spanish in contact: accounting for code-switching. International Symposium of Bilingualism 8.  Oslo, Norway.

Carter, D., Parafita Couto, M. C., Davies, P., Deuchar, M., & Prys, M. (2010). What accounts for the choice of matrix language by bilinguals? Evidence from three communities. Multilingual Individuals and Multilingual Societies. Hamburg, Germany.

Selected Grants & Awards

SSHRC Insight Development Grant. PI D. Carter; co-applicants F. Langevin and A. George. Gender-Neutral and Inclusive Language Use in Spanish. 2021-2024.

Professional Services/Affiliations/Committees

Invited member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Centre of Language Studies. Faculty of Arts, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. 3-year term.

 

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