Welcome!

The Linguistic Mechanisms Lab (LingMechLab) is a group of researchers based in the Linguistics Department at Northwestern University.

In our work we develop and apply natural language processing and machine learning methods to study the linguistic mechanisms of our social world, with a focus on interaction and understanding language in its social context.

Working with data from both the laboratory and real-world sources such as police body camera footage and court recordings, our research aims to examine the relationships between interpersonal and institutional treatment; the role of gesture and body movements in communication; bias and disparity along the lines of race, gender, and other social factors; and the linguistic underpinnings of misunderstanding and conflict.