Curriculum vitae

http://sites.google.com/site/tristanpurvis/

Education

2008, PhD: Indiana University, Bloomington (Concentration in Sociolinguistics and African Languages and Linguistics, Minor in African Studies); Dissertation Title: "A Linguistic and Discursive Analysis of Register Variation in Dagbani" (abstract); Advisor: Prof. Samuel Gyasi Obeng

2003: LSA Summer Institute of Linguistics, Michigan State University

2002, MA: Indiana University, Bloomington, Linguistics (Spring 2000-Spring 2002)

Indiana University, Bloomington, Political Science (Fall 1998-Fall 1999; coursework for MA in Political Science completed, but not exams—switched degree program to Linguistics)

1997: Boise State University, non-degree-seeking graduate level coursework (French)

1994: Peace Corps training in rural health education and water and sanitation technical skills, plus cross-cultural and language training

1994, BA: Boise State University, Political Science and French (Graduated summa cum laude and graduated from the Honors Program with Distinguished Honors)

2012: TEFL/TESOL Teacher Training, TESOL 120 Advanced Certificate, teflexpress.co.uk

 Professional Experience

Teaching

Sep. 2022-present: American Univeristy of Afghanistan, Division of Social Sciences. Adjunct Instructor 

(Expository Essay, Advanced English Grammar, English Composition I, First-Year Seminar)

Jan. 2021-May 2022: American University of Afghanistan, Division of Social Sciences and Humanities. Associate Professor of English

(Academic Writing I, Academic Writing II, Expository Essay)

2012-2022: American University of Nigeria, School of Arts and Sciences. Assistant Professor of English Language and Linguistics

(Foundations of Academic Writing, Foundations of Academic Reading, Introduction to English Composition, Introduction to the Study of the English Language (Linguistics), History of English, Language & Politics, Phonetics and Phonology, Syntax I, Advanced English Grammar)

Spring 2006: Indiana University (IU) Linguistics Department. Grader, L210 Animal Communication

Fall 2006: IU Linguistics Department, Associate Instructor, E104 Language & Politics

Fall 2005: IU Linguistics Department, Associate Instructor, E104 Language & Politics

Spring 2002, Fall 2002, & Spring 2003: IU Linguistics Department, Associate Instructor, L303/L503 Introduction to Linguistic Analysis

Spring 2001 & Fall 2001: IU Linguistics Department, Associate Instructor, E104 Language & Politics

Research 

2008-2012: University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language. Assistant Research Scientist (specializing in African languages). (Principal Investigator for “Resourcing African Languages” project (2008-2012), including language documentation fieldwork in Ethiopia in April-May, 2012); Principal Investigator for inter-professional workshops on African languages and cultures, 2009-2011)

2007-2008: Indiana University Linguistics Department. Research Assistant for Professor Samuel Obeng (language documentation, grants research, management of journals, webpage design and management)

2006-2007: Indiana University Creole Institute, Editorial Assistant, Cajun Dictionary Project

2005-2008: Indiana University Linguistics Department. Editorial Assistant, Issues in Political Discourse Analysis and Journal of International Communication

2003, 2006: Hourly research assistant for Professor Paul Newman (document/data research), Sept.-Oct 2003, May-June 2006

NLP/Text Analytics/Transcription

Freelance Linguistic Consultant: Production Playhouse (2023); Andovar (2022); Language Data Consortium (2016-2019); University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (2015; 2016)

2022: Amazon Web Services, Machine Language Data Linguist (MLDL)

2007-2008: Netcase Inc. (formerly Accelovation, Inc.). Annotator (text analytics, named entity annotation)

2006-2007: Ordinate Corp. Transcriber (assessment of English language performance)

Translation, Interpretation, Foreign Language Tutoring

Freelance Linguistic Consultant (including translation): Andovar (2023); Language Data Consortium (2019) 

2014: Ad-Astra, Inc. Interpreter of Akan and French

2005:Geneva Worldwide. Interpreter of Akan and French

2005-2007: Freelance translation of Swahili, Twi, and French

2003: Freelance ESL tutor, 2003

2001-2002: Volunteers in the Teaching of Adult Literacy (VITAL)

2000-2001: Indiana Athletics Department. Tutor in French and Swahili

1997-1998: Boise State University Department of Modern Languages, French Tutor

International Aid & Development

1998: Crisis Corps of the U.S. Peace Corps, Guinea. Development Program Assistant for the United Nations World Food Programme for Sierra Leone and Liberian Refugee Operations (and Interim Field Office Coordinator from June 1-July 31)

1994-1997: U. S. Peace Corps, Congo. Water and Sanitation/Health Education Program Volunteer (employed as Training Center Logistics Coordinator in June 1997 and assisted in in-service training of volunteers in March 1997)

Publications

Articles & Chapters

Purvis, T. M. (submitted). Disentangling degree of planning and medium of communication: Results of a study of register variation in Dagbani. (.pdf download)

Purvis, T. 2019. Hausa chat jargon: Semantic extension versus borrowing. In E. Clem, P. Jenks, & H. Sande (Eds.), Theory and description in African Linguistics: Selected papers from the proceedings of the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (pp. 571-593). Berlin: Language Science Press.

Purvis, M.T. 2017. CMC terminology in Hausa as found in a corpus of Whatsapp chats. In D. Fišer & M. Beißwenger (Eds.), Investigating computer-mediated communication: Corpus-based approaches to language in the digital world (pp. 44-68). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts. (.pdf download, scroll to pp. 44-68)

Hamedani, N.G., Purvis, T.M., Glazer, S. & Dien, J. 2012. Ways of manifesting collectivism: An analysis of Iranian and African cultures. Executive Report. University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language. (.pdf download)

Purvis, T.M., Iverson, G.K., & Green, C.R. 2012. Prioritizing African languages: Dilemmas of macro-level planning for resourcing and capacity building. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 11, 1-30. (.pdf download)

Purvis, T.M. 2012. Left dislocation in Dagbani. In M. Brenzinger & A.-M. Fehn (Eds.), Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on African Linguistics, Cologne 2009, pp. 501-513. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. (.pdf download)

Purvis, T.M. 2011. The effect of communicative competence and speech style on witness credibility: A review of theory and case studies. Issues in Intercultural Communication 3(1), 50-64. (.pdf download) 

Obeng, S. & Purvis, T. 2010. Sub-Saharan Africa. In J.A. Fishman & O. García (Eds.) Handbook of Language & Ethnic Identity: Disciplinary and regional perspectives (2nd ed.), pp. 374-393. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.

Purvis, T. M. 2010. Corpus building in a predominantly oral culture: Notes on the development of a multi-genre tagged corpus of Dagbani. In G. De Pauw, H. Groenewald & G.-M. de Schryver (Eds.), Proceedings of the Second Workshop on African Language Technology (AfLaT 2010), pp. 69-72. Valetta, Malta: European Language Resources Association (ELRA). (.pdf download)

Purvis, T.M., with S. Hailemariam. 2009. Adverbial expressions of manner in Tigrinya: A question of semantics or syntax? In S. Obeng (Ed.), Topics in Descriptive and African Linguistics: Festschrift in Honor of Distinguished Professor Paul Newman, pp. 128-141. Muenchen: Lincom Europa. (.pdf download)

Purvis, T. 2009. Speech rhythm in Akan oral praise poetry. Text & Talk 29(2), 201-218. (.pdf download)

Purvis, T. 2007. A reanalysis of nonemphatic pronouns in Dagbani. In F. Hoyt, N. Seifert, A. Teodorescu, & J. White (Eds.), Proceedings of the Texas Linguistics Society IX Conference: The Morphosyntax of Underrepresented Languages, pp. 239-263. Stanford: CSLI Publications. (.pdf download)

Rytting, C. A., Wayland, S, Buckwalter, T., Rodrigues, P., Buckwalter, T. Zajic, D., Hirsch, B., Carnes, J., Lynn, N., Taylor, C., Blake III, C., Browne, E., Miller, C., & Purvis, T. 2010. Error correction for Arabic dictionary lookup. In Proceedings of the Seventh Language Resources and Evaluation Conference (LREC). Valetta, Malta: European Language Resources Association (ELRA). (.pdf download)

Purvis, T. 1998. Multilingualism and polycentricity: Mutually reinforcing institutions for development in Africa. Bloomington, Indiana: Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis. (.pdf download)

Edited collections

Marlo, M.R., Adams, N., Purvis, T.M., Green, C.R., Morrison, M.E. (Eds.). 2012. Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Cascadilla Proceedings Project. 

(guest editor) Issues in Political Discourse Analysis, Special Issue in Memory of Efurosibina Emmanuel Adegbija (Volume 2, Issue 2, 2008).

Book reviews

Purvis, T. 2003. Review of Ghanaian Pidgin English in Its West African Context by Magnus Huber, Canadian Journal of Linguistics, 48(1/2), 99-102. 

Presentations

Purvis, T. 2020. Variation in Relative Clause Constructions in Dagbani. 14th Theoretical Linguistics in the Light of the Interaction of Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (TheorLing2021), University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, June 21-22  2021 (online).

Purvis, T. 2020. Academic English Learners’ Corpus from Speakers of Nigerian English. 14th Teaching and Language Corpora Conference (TaLC2020), University of Perpignan, France, July 17, 2020 (online).

Purvis, T. 2020. Hausa Discourse Markers in Computer-Mediated Communication (progress report). Corpora & Discourse International Conference 2020, University of Sussex, U.K., June 19, 2020 (online). 

Purvis, T.M. Hausa chat jargon: spontaneous semantic extension versus borrowing. 47nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL47), Berkeley, California, March 24, 2016

Purvis, T.M. 2012. Communicative Strategies in Christian and Muslim Sermons in Dagbani. 43rd Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL43), New Orleans, Louisiana, April 17, 2012.

Purvis, T.M. 2012. A Comparative Linguistic Analysis of Christian and Muslim Sermons in Dagbani. GSCP (Gruppo di Studi sulla Comunicazione Parlata) 2012 International Conference, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, February 29, 2012.

Adams, N.B., Green, C.R., Purvis, T.M., Morrison, M.E., & Marshall, L.M. 2012. A defined methodology for African language prioritization: Plans for long term pay-off. 15th Annual National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages Conference. Madison, WI., April 26-29, 2012.

Purvis, T.M. Variation in relative constructions in Dagbani. 42nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL42), College Park, Maryland, June 10, 2011

Purvis, T.M., Iverson G.K., & Green, C.R. 2011. Prioritizing African languages: Dilemmas of macro-level planning for resourcing and capacity building. National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL 2011), Madison, Wisconsin, April 9, 2011.

Miller, C., David, A., Maxwell, M., Twist, A., Brugman, C., Browne, E., Fox, M., Marlo, M., Rodrigues, P., and Purvis, T. 2010. Developing a pandialectal dual-use Pashto grammar. AF-PAK LEARN Conference. Omaha, Nebraska, May 17, 2010. (presented by C. Miller; slides)

Purvis, T.M., Iverson, G.K., & Marlo, M.R. 2010. African language identification and familiarization for professional fields: A resource portal. National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL 2010), Madison, Wisconsin, April 23, 2010.

Purvis, T.M., Iverson, G.K., & Marlo, M.R. 2010. Resourcing African languages. Plenary address at ILR (Interagency Language Roundtable) meeting, Washington, D.C., January 22, 2010

Purvis, T.M. 2009. Left dislocation in Dagbani. WOCAL6, Cologne, Germany, August 19, 2009.

Purvis, T.M. 2008. Variation in the use of hesitation markers in Akan discourse. NWAV 37, Houston, Texas, November 8, 2008. (paper, slides)

Purvis, T.M. 2008. Oral traditions and register variation in Dagbani. Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, January 4, 2008.

Purvis, T.M. 2006. A linguistic and discursive analysis of register variation in Dagbani. American Association of Applied Corpus Linguistics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, October 21, 2006.

Purvis, T.M. 2005. A reanalysis of nonemphatic pronouns in Dagbani. Texas Linguistics Society (TLS 9), The Morphosyntax of Underrepresented Languages, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, Nov 4, 2005.

Purvis, T.M. 2003. Linguistic differences of written and spoken communication: Evidence from Ghanaian languages. World Conference on African Linguistics (WOCAL 4/ACAL 34), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, June 19, 2003.

Purvis, T.M. 2001. Adverbial expressions of manner in Tigrinya: A question of semantics or syntax? Tigrinya Fest (Indiana University Field Methods Seminar), Bloomington, Indiana, May 2, 2001.

Purvis, T.M. 2000. Examining the relationship between polysemy and productivity: The case of the Swahili AN- morpheme, Morph Madness (Indiana University Morphology Seminar), Bloomington, Indiana, May 2000.

Purvis, T.M. 1999. Is a 'return to the source' a possibility for Rwanda: Uncovering traditional sources of polycentricity, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Mini Conference, Bloomington Indiana, May 1999.

Purvis, T.M. 1998. Multilingualism and polycentricity: Mutually reinforcing institutions for development in Africa, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Mini Conference, Bloomington Indiana, December 1998. (.pdf download)

Grants, Scholarships, Honors

2005 (Spring): New York University Linguistics Department, Visiting Student

2003-2004: Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, Northern Ghana

2002 (Summer): U.S. Dept. of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, Indiana University African Studies Program (Awarded for the study of Intermediate Dagbani, Tamale Polytechnic University, Tamale, Ghana)

2002 (Summer): International Enhancement Grant, IU Office of International Programs (Awarded for the study of Advanced Twi & exploratory research, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana)

2001 (Summer): International Enhancement Grant, IU Office of International Programs (Awarded for the study of Dagbani, Tamale Polytechnic University, Tamale, Ghana)

2001 (Spring): Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, Indiana University African Studies Program (Intermediate Akan-Twi, Indiana University)

2000 (Summer): Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, Indiana University African Studies Program (Intermediate Akan-Twi, University of Ghana, Legon)

2000 (Summer): Fulbright-Hays Groups Projects Abroad (declined award in favor of FLAS study in Ghana), (Awarded for Swahili studies in Tanzania)

2000 (Summer): International Enhancement Grant, IU Office of International Programs (declined award), (Awarded to support Swahili studies in Tanzania)

1999-2000: Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship (Awarded for Swahili studies during the 1999/2000 academic year)

1998-1999: Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Fellow, Indiana University

Selected Undegraduate Honors:

1994: Boise State University Silver Medallion Award for Scholastic Performance and Community Service

1994: Boise State University Top Ten Scholars

1994: Boise State University Honors Program, Distinguished Honors Graduate

1994: Boise State Univ. Associated Student Body Hall of Fame (Academic)

1992, 1993: Kappa Sigma Fraternity Scholarship Leadership Awards

1992: Arizona Honors Academy Fellowship, Northern Arizona University (Conference on National Security)

1990: Japan-America Student Conf. (JASC), Anchorage, Seattle, and San Francisco

1990: Pi Sigma Alpha Nat. Political Science Honors Society (inducted in Sept .1990, Chapter VP (BSU) 1992/1993)

1990: Pi Kappa Phi National Honors Society (inducted in May 1990, Chapter VP (BSU) Apr. 1990-Apr. 1991)

Professional Service

Manuscript Reviewer (& Article Editor) for Africa Today, Issues in Political Discourse Analysis, Issues in Intercultural Communication, Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on African Linguistics, and Sage Publications and Studia Linguistica, 2008-present

AUAF Research & Sponsored Programs Committee, Spring 2021-Spring 2022 (Chair, Fall 2021-)

AUN Faculty Senate Faculty Affairs Committee, Fall 2019-Spring 2020

Work Study Supervisor, Fall 2017-Spring 2018

Acting Project Manager, Adamawa Village Lighting Project, Fall 2017-Spring 2018 

Chairman, EYE (Empowering Youth Thru Education) for Success (education initiative by AUN alumnus and faculty member), Fall 2018

Editorial advisor for AUN Publications, Fa. 2017-Sp. 2018 (weekly contributions), Fa. 2019

Judge, AUN Academy Essay Writing Competition (AUN Writing Center), Summer 2017

Judge (Poetry category), AUN A Season of Writing Competition, Spring 2017

Advisor on Writing for Graduate Students (Graduate Writing Consultations), Fall 2016-Spring 2020 (presentation on Plagiarism & Graduate Writing, September 2017; presentation on Common Errors in Writing, Fall 2018 (postponed))

Curricular Literacy Advisor Position Interview Panel, Fall 2016

Faculty Manual Committee (Ad-hoc), Fall 2016-Spring 2017

Reviewer for submission to Reflections (AUN literary journal), since Spring 2016

AUN School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Peer Review Committee, Fall 2016-Spring 2020 (Chair, Fall 2019-Spring 2020)

Advisor of AUN Theatre Club, Fall 2015-Spring 2020

WRI 101 Course Coordinator, Fall 2015-Spring 2020

AUN Task Force on Sanctioning Guidelines for Academic Integrity Disciplinary Matters, Fall 2015-Fall 2016

AUN School of Arts & Sciences Curriculum Committee, Spring 2015-Fall 2017 (Chair, Sept-Oct 2017)

AUN Writing Placement Tests (proctoring, assessing, materials dvmt.), since Fall 2013

Reviewer for Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP) of the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), London, 2015.

AUN Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee, Fall 2014

AUN M.A. in International Development Exploratory Committee, Spring 2013

AUN Task Force on Foreign/Local Language Curricula, 2012-2013

40th Annual Conference on New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV40), Georgetown University, Volunteer technical support, October 27-30, 2011

42nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL42), University of Maryland, College Park, Co-chair of the Organizing Committee, Program Committee, 2010-2011

OSD/AFRICOM Roundtable on African Languages and Cultures; Principal Investigator (co-organizer; panel coordinator, “African Perspectives on Africa and the West”), 2009-2010

41st Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL41), University of Toronto and Glendon College, Toronto, Canada, session chair, 2010

University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language, Culture and Less Commonly Taught Languages Area Search Committees, 2008-2012

Workshop on Language Technology for African Languages (AfLaT 2009), Program Committee, 2008-2009

Issues in Political Discourse Analysis, Editorial Board, 2008-present

Emerging Technologies Committee of the Indiana University African Studies Program, Student Representative, 2007

Graduate Students in African Studies, Graduate & Professional Students Organization (GPSO) Representative, 2007

Indiana University Linguistics Club, 2002-2008; Executive Committee, Student-Faculty Liaison, Spring 2002-Spring 2003 

8th Mid-Continental Workshop on Phonology (McWOP-8), Organizing Committee, Indiana University, Apr-Oct 2002

African Studies Program Graduate Student Advisory Committee (Collaboration between students and administration for the development and improvement of program requirements, opportunities, and activities), 2001

Indiana University Students in African Studies, Organizing Committee for the Midwest Conference in African Studies, Indiana University, 1999-2000  

Indiana University African Languages Program Curriculum Development Team, Spring 1999

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2008-present: Manuscript reviewer for Africa Today, Issues in Political Discourse Analysis, Issues in Intercultural Communication, Proceedings of the 6th World Conference on African Linguistics, Studia Linguistica

2017-2018: Word Study Supervisor, Fally 2017-Spring 2018

2017-2018: Acting Project Mana

Fall 2014: American University of Nigeria Senate Curriculum Committee

Spring 2012: American University of Nigeria M.A. in International Development Exploratory Committee

2012-2013: American University of Nigeria Task Force on Foreign/Local Language Curricula

2010-2011: 42nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL42, aka ACAL2011), University of Maryland, College Park (schedule for June 10-12, 2011), Co-chair of the Organizing Committee, Program Committee

2009-2010: OSD/AFRICOM Roundtable on African Languages and Cultures; Principal Investigator (planning), event co-organizer, and panel coordinator (“African Perspectives on Africa and the West”)

2010: 41st Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL42), University of Toronto and Glendon College, Toronto, Canada, session chair

2008-2012: University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language, Culture and Less Commonly Taught Languages Area Search Committees

2008-2009: Workshop on Language Technology for African Languages (AfLaT 2009), Program Committee

2008-present: Issues in Political Discourse Analysis, Editorial Board

2008-present: Issues in Intercultural Communication, Editorial Board

2007- 2008: Emerging Technologies Committee of the Indiana University African Studies Program, Student Representative

2007-2008: Graduate Students in African Studies, Graduate & Professional Students Organization (GPSO) Representative

2002-2008: Indiana University Linguistics Club (Executive Committee, Student-Faculty Liaison, Spring 2002-Spring 2003)

2002: 8th Mid-Continental Workshop on Phonology (McWOP-8), Organizing Committee, Indiana University

2002: African Dialogues: Oral Heritage and Indigenous Knowledge, Indiana University (Volunteer technical support)

2001: African Studies Program Graduate Student Advisory Committee (Collaboration between students and administration for the development and improvement of program requirements, opportunities, and activities)

2000: 5th Midwest Conference in African Studies, Indiana University (Conference organization committee)

1999-2000: Indiana University Students in African Studies, Conference Organization Committee

1999: Indiana University African Languages Program Curriculum Development Team

Professional Affiliations & Conferences

2018-present: Contracting affiliate with University of Pennsylvania Language Data Consortium (LDC)

2014-present: Association of Contemporary African Linguistics (ACAL)

2003-present: Linguistic Society of America (LSA)

1996-present: National Peace Corps Association (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington DC, since 2011; & Friends of Kenya, since 2017)

2011-present: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C. (RPCV/w)

2011-present: National Language Service Corps (NLSC)

2012 (Apr.-May): Addis Ababa University, Visiting Researcher

2009-2011: Inter-agency Language Roundtable (ILR)

2011 (Jun. 10-12): 42nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL42), University of Maryland, College Park

2011 (Apr. 7-9): 14th Annual Conference of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught  Languages (NCOLCTL 2011) and 15th Annual Conference of the African Language Teachers Association (ALTA15), Madison, Wisconsin

2010 (Jun. 22-23): OSD/AFRICOM Roundtable on African Languages and Cultures, Kelley  Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany

2010 (May 6-8): 41st Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL41), University of  Toronto and Glendon College, Toronto, Canada

2010 (Apr. 22-25): 13th Annual Conference of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught  Languages (NCOLCTL 2010) and 14th Annual Conference of the African Language Teachers Association (ALTA14), Madison, Wisconsin

2009 (Nov. 13-14): Language Documentation and Language Theory 2 (LDLT2), University of  London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, U.K.

2009 (Aug. 17-21): 6th World Conference on African Linguistics (WOCAL6), University of  Cologne, Germany

2009 (Apr. 23-26): 12th Annual Conference of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught  Languages (NCOLCTL 2009) and 13th Annual Conference of the African Language Teachers Association (ALTA13), Madison, Wisconsin

2009 (Mar. 30-Apr. 3): 12th Conference of the European Chapter of the Association of Computational  Linguistics (EACL09), Athens, Greece

2009 (Mar. 31): Workshop on Language Technology for African Languages (AfLaT 2009), Athens, Greece

2008 (Nov. 6-9): 37th Conference on New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV37), Rice University/Houston, TX

2006 (Oct.): 7th meeting of the American Association of Applied Corpus Linguistics (AAACL 7), Northern Arizona University

2005 (Nov.): 9th Conference of the Texas Linguistics Society (TLS 9), University of Texas at Austin

2005 (Spring): New York University Linguistics Department. Visiting Student

2003 (Jun.): 4th World Conference on African Linguistics and 34th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (WOCAL 4/ACAL 34), Rutgers

2002 (Oct): 8th Mid-Continental Workshop on Phonology (McWOP-8)

2000, 2002: Asante National Conference, Kumasi, Ghana

2002 (May): African Dialogues: Oral Heritage and Indigenous Knowledge, Indiana University, May 2002

2002 (Mar.): 33rd Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL33) and 6th Annual African Language Teachers Association Conference (ALTA6), Ohio University

2000 (Nov.): African Studies Association (ASA) Conference, Nashville, Tennessee

2000 (Apr.) 5th Midwest Conference in African Studies, Indiana University

Languages studied

French: Near native fluency (DLPT 3 (reading)/2+ (listening) in May 2014; formal study from 1985-1994 and in 1997, 3 years of daily use in Peace Corps. Superior ACTFL rating in July 1996; IU graduate reading exam, 2000)

Akan-Twi: Advanced (5 semesters of study at Indiana University and intensive summer studies in Ghana, 2000-2002; ALTA Language Services Inc. scores of Level 12-Fluent (Writing) and Level 10-Advanced Plus (Oral) on 11/19/2004)

Dagbani: Advanced studies (2 summers of intensive study in Ghana, 2001-2002; plus extensive research including 1 year residency in Ghana, 2003-2004)

Swahili: Advanced studies (3 years equiv. of study at Indiana University, 1998-2000); plus ongoing independent study

Kituba: Advanced studies (intensive Peace Corps training and 2 years of practical use, 1994-1996; Advanced-High ACTFL rating in July 1996)

Arabic: Beginning level studies, (University of Maryland Center for International Business, Education, & Research (Egyptian Colloquial Arabic), Fall 2008; plus independent studies)

Tigringa: Linguistics field methods research (Indiana University, 2000-2001)

Hausa: Beginning level studies (Indiana University audit, 2005; plus subsequent independent studies in Adamawa State, Nigeria, 2012-2013)

Amharic: Beginning level studies (MESALI Language Institute, Wash. DC, Fall 2011; Ethiopian Community Center, Wash. DC, Summer 2012)

Igbo: Beginning level studies (Global Language Network, Wash. DC, Fall 2011)

Somali: Beginning level studies (Dictyon Language Services, Wash. DC, Spring 2012)

Kinyarwanda: Beginning level studies (Indiana University African Languages Program summer intensive/independent tutoring, 1999)

Pashto: U.S.-based fieldwork on Pashto morphology (University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language, 2009-2010

Hungarian: Beginning level studies (Beginner-5 Level with the Hungarian-America Foundation Hungarian Language Program, Spring 2009; University of Maryland FOLA Audit, Spring 2010); independent studies

Italian: Beginning level studies (3 months independent practice in Italy; Intermediate Italian class audit, Indiana University, Fall 2005)

Other: (Undergraduate studies: German (advanced level studies as an undergraduate (1988-1994), independent study); Spanish, Portuguese (some independent studies); Russian, Japanese (beginning studies as an undergraduate))

Research Interests:

African Languages and Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Register Variation, Sociolinguistic Variation, African Varieties of English, Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis, Corpus Linguistics, Written and Spoken Communication, Language and Politics, Literacy, Mother Tongue Literacy and Education, Language Policy, Language & Ethnicity, Information Structure, Serial Verb Constructions, Reduplication, Relative Constructions, Hesitation Phenomena, Oral Traditions, Language Documentation, Morphology, Second Language (L2) Reading and Writing, English for Academic Purposes.