Joseph W. Windsor, Linguistics & Global Health

Joseph W. Windsor, PhD, University of Calgary

About me

I completed my PhD in theoretical linguistics in 2017 with a dissertation entitled From Phonology to Syntax--and Back Again: Hierarchical Structure in Irish and Blackfoot supervised by Darin Flynn and Elizabeth Ritter. The focus of that research was investigating measurable phonetic correlates of hierarchical structures in both the phonological and syntactic components, and how the grammatical components related to each other.

I am a knowledge translator in the Kaplan Global Epidemiology lab in Global Health (University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine), where I assist the team in epidemiologic research. I take what is learned in the studies we perform and packaging it as accessible publications for a popular audience without watering down the content.

Outside of academia: I am an avid conlanger, using my knowledge of theoretical linguistics to construct languages for humanoid races in fantasy settings (eg. Dungeons and Dragons). Aside from inventing my own conlangs, I also frequently work with the constructed language, Klingon (tlhIngan Hol) from the Star Trek franchise, using it as a medium to engage non-specialist audiences in linguistics, providing information on what linguistics is.  Some of my conlang work can be seen in the Conlang section.

I also do woodworking, where I take on projects from charcuterie boards and dice trays to custom furniture.  You can see a few examples of some of my products on my woodworking page, or check out my Instagram, which is entirely woodworking (@jwwindso) (and I'll try to get better at posting again...).

Contact