Purwokerto, August 20, 2025 – Sastra Inggris Study Programme, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman (FIB Unsoed) organized a guest lecture featuring Karlina Denistia, S.S., M.A., Ph.D, an academic from Universitas Sebelas Maret who is well-known as an expert in corpus linguistics. The event took place at Aula Bambang Lelono FIB Unsoed and was attended by over 200 students, particularly those from the 1st and 3rd semesters.
Carrying the theme “Language and Data: A New Way of Reading the World Through Linguistics”, this guest lecture aimed to broaden students’ horizons regarding the vast scope of linguistic studies and their relevance to modern life. According to Karlina, linguistics does not only deal with grammar or text analysis, but also touches upon actual issues such as language policy, technology, and even digital culture trends.
The master of ceremonies opens the Guest Lecture with the theme “Language and Data: A New Way of Reading the World Through Linguistics” at Aula Bambang Lelono, FIB Unsoed (Photo: Sasing Unsoed)
In her presentation, Karlina highlighted the slang language phenomenon popular among the younger generation, such as “skibidi”, “delulu”, or “skena”. According to her, these terms demonstrate how language continues to change in line with social dynamics. She also emphasized that linguistic studies are now increasingly supported by technology, for instance through corpus linguistics, which enables researchers to analyze millions of language data points from social media, books, news, to daily conversations.
Through examples of using Google Ngram Viewer and the Leipzig Corpora Collection, Karlina demonstrated how certain words undergo shifts in frequency and context throughout history. For instance, the comparison between the usage of the words “color” and “colour” reflects the differences between American English and British English, while the analysis of the words “email” and “letter” illustrates the shift in communication culture from traditional letters to electronic messages.
Not only highlighting foreign languages, Karlina also brought up the issue of local languages in Indonesia. She explained that there are 138 regional languages categorized as threatened, critically endangered, or even extinct. “Through linguistics, we can read the socio-cultural conditions of society while simultaneously preserving the sustainability of languages,” she asserted.
The two-hour interactive lecture received a positive response from the students. Many participants enthusiastically asked about career opportunities in the field of linguistics, especially in relation to media and technology. In addition, many students asked about how to pursue further studies in Germany due to Karlina’s background as a graduate of the University of Tübingen, Germany, under an LPDP scholarship.
The atmosphere of the Guest Lecture material presentation with Karlina Denistia, Ph.D, inviting students to view language phenomena from the perspective of modern linguistics. (Photo: Sasing Unsoed)
Coordinator of Sastra Inggris Study Programme, Dyah Raina Purwaningsih, S.S., M.Hum, expressed her appreciation for the organization of this event. “Guest lectures serve as an important bridge for students to see linguistics as a dynamic, relevant field that is open to interdisciplinary collaboration,” she said.
With the conclusion of this event, FIB Unsoed hopes that guest lectures can continue on an ongoing basis with diverse topics, thereby enriching students’ academic insights while strengthening scientific networks between higher education institutions.
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