Gideon Kortenhoven

PhD student in Linguistics at NYU

My research in linguistics is focused primarily on language variation, language change and lifespan change in the African diaspora of the Americas. The languages that I am particularly focused on include Black English (my mother tongue), Kréyol Matnik (Martinican Creole) and Kréyol Gwadloup (Guadeloupean Creole). 

Outside of linguistics, I have done research on Black American kinship networks after slavery, contraband camps in the US South and the shared story of West Africa and its descendants.

Originally from East Palo Alto, California, with roots in Michigan, Ohio, Alabama and Mississippi, I have had a diverse American experience which finally led me to New York and the Caribbean for graduate school. I hope to do future research on Black English in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where I spent about half my life.