Research Interests
Syntax, morphology, Tlingit, Na-Dene languages, lexicography
Education
- PhD, 2019, University of British Columbia, Linguistics
- MA, 2010, University of Hawai驶i at M膩noa, Linguistics
- BA, 2009, University of Hawai驶i at M膩noa, Interdisciplinary studies
Biography
I am Tlingit (尝颈苍驳铆迟 [涩矛n.藞k铆t]) and have the name 顿锄茅颈飞蝉丑 [ts茅藧w蕛]. I am a member of the 碍补岣得办始飞 [k拾脿.藞q拾谩藧k始史] House of the Deisheetaan [t猫藧.蕛矛藧.藞t拾脿藧n] clan in the Raven moiety, and a child of the 厂始颈办苍补虫瘫.谩诲颈 [s始矛k.n脿蠂.藞蕯谩.t矛] clan. I come from the 厂丑迟补虫始丑茅别苍 岣磜谩an [蕛t脿x始.藞h铆藧n q拾史谩藧n] (or Shx始谩t 岣磜谩an [蕛x始谩t q拾史谩藧n]) of the area around Wrangell, Alaska (岣码补肠丑虫瘫补苍.谩补办始飞 [q拾脿藧t蕛.蠂脿n.藞蕯谩藧k始史]) at the mouth of the Sitkine River (厂丑迟补虫始丑茅别苍&苍产蝉辫;摆蕛迟脿虫始.藞丑铆藧苍闭).
I work primarily on the Tlingit language as well as on related languages in the Na-Dene family such as Kaska, Navajo, and Eyak. I have research interests in other indigenous languages of the Pacific Northwest such as Haida and Chinook Jargon. My dissertation developed a formal generative model of syntax in the Tlingit verb complex, arguing that Tlingit verbs have essentially the same theoretical structure as whole sentences in languages like English, Mandarin, and Hindustani. I continue to work on Tlingit syntax in this framework, exploring the mechanics of noun phrases, the formation and elaboration of clauses, and information structure and its influence on the organization of discourse (e.g. focus, topic, and givenness).
Alongside morphology and syntax I do research on the Tlingit lexicon, focusing on phonological, syntactic, and semantic properties of roots. This intersects with a practical interest in issues for the lexicography of Na-Dene languages and other languages with complex verb structures. Other areas of my research include historical reconstruction of Pre-Tlingit and Proto-Na-Dene, corpus development for understudied languages, the articulation and typology of ejective fricatives, and language contact phenomena in northwestern North America.