معرفی
Lars Hinrichs is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts. He received his Ph.D. in English Linguistics from the University of Freiburg in 2006 and has been with the UT English department since 2007.
His research focuses on sociolinguistics, particularly Texas English, urban contact dialects, and computer-mediated communication. His work spans corpus linguistics, contact linguistics, Pidgins and Creoles, and standardization/prescriptivism. Notably, he directs the Texas English Project, which researches the different kinds of English spoken across Texas.
Hinrichs' recent publications show a strong trend toward digital text analysis methods applied to both contemporary language use and historical texts. His work bridges traditional sociolinguistic fieldwork with computational approaches, particularly using R programming for textual analysis. He has applied these methods to Shakespeare studies, presidential inaugural speeches, and tracking linguistic changes like the decline of 'whom' in American English.
Hinrichs actively teaches undergraduate courses including Multilingual Texas, Intro to Digital Studies, African American Language, American English, and Introduction to the English Language. His course listings extend through Fall 2025, demonstrating his ongoing active faculty role.
He has directed the Digital Studies Graduate Portfolio program and frequently engages with public audiences through media appearances, particularly on KUT's Texas Standard where he analyzes linguistic styles of well-known Texans. His recent keynote address in Pakistan and podcast appearances demonstrate his international scholarly engagement.
