About me

Hi, my name is Katharina Pabst. My pronouns are she/her. I am an Assistant Professor of English Linguistics at Radboud University (Netherlands). My research examines synchronic and diachronic patterns of variation and change and their social meaning.

My dissertation investigates the history and use of Southern Aroostook County English, an understudied variety spoken at the border of Northern Maine (USA) and Western New Brunswick (Canada) and how it fits into the surrounding dialect regions. It further explores how speakers of this variety use morphosyntactic features to index their (dis)alignment with local values. I also work on obsolescence and innovations in the 21st century, language contact, computer-mediated communication, and the relationship between language and popular music. To learn more about my research, click here.

I am an active member of the Linguistic Society of America's Committee on Gender Equity in Linguistics (COGEL, formerly known as COSWL). I currently serve on the PUMP subcommittee, which organizes pop-up mentoring events at linguistics conferences.

In my free time, I love baking, catching up on my favourite TV shows, and spending time with my rescue dog Cabbie.