1 “Voltage is Sort of Like Hungry”: Trajectories of sociolinguistic development in becoming an engineer Andrew Jocuns University of Washington Abstract: In this paper we focus on how the notion of a trajectory of identification can be traced between different timescales and different sets of data. We offer a means of tracing the development of a specific engineering student’s trajectory through his ability to talk-engineering along two different timescales: the entire four years of his undergraduate education and his final 10 week quarter where he is working on his senior design project. In our analysis we will illustrate how over the course of his trajectory of identification, Colin uses what we refer to as talk-engineering to take positions during his ethnographic interviews and during his group work. It is through the analysis of his use of talk-engineering in ethnographic interviews and during social interaction where we argue that a part of Colin’s development as an engineer involved the development of this way of speaking. Introduction Dell Hymes (1966) argued for two ways in which linguistic relativity can be distinguished: one that focuses upon how the grammatical structure of a language affects world view and another which suggests that cultural uses of language effect world view. In terms of the latter it is possible to suggest that ways of speaking are acquired in educational settings and in some way shape the identity of adherents to academic as well as occupational disciplines. Our discussion here is on identity development along the trajectory of identification (Wortham 2006) of an engineering student in the context of learning to become an engineer. Through the examination of ethnographic interviews across four years and social interaction from group work, we trace the trajectory of identification of one engineering student, Colin. In our analysis we highlight some features of talk focusing upon the content of his responses to questions and some themes that we can trace across Colin’s trajectory of identification. For Colin this emerges along his trajectory of identification in his ability to “talk-engineering.” We suggest that these traces provide a link between communicative practices across different timescales that intersect along Colin’s trajectory of identification. We argue that talk-engineering is a way of speaking that is a significant part of the development of an engineering student’s identity. Methodology The present analysis is drawn from data derived from the Academic Pathways Study (APS), a multi-year study that spanned four academic institutions in the United States. The goal of the Academic Pathways Study is to gain insight into learning and development within engineering education. The ethnographic aspect of the Academic Pathways Study has worked with 16 engineering students on each of the four campuses involved in the study. Of the 16 students on each campus, 8 students (4 female and 4 male) were selected to be involved with more intimate ethnographic work involving observations of classes, study groups, and other on- campus activities. In a few cases we were able to obtain video and/or audio data from engineering students work on their senior design/capstone projects. The APS has used a variety of ethnographic methods in a variety of engineering education contexts: ethnographic interviews