Faculty Member, Modern Languages
Professor and Chair
About
I am a linguist, focusing primarily on the Slavic languages; my research and teaching interests also include the Finno-Ugric languages. Foci within these areas include historical linguistics, variation and language change, language contact, phonology and phonetics, and morphology; I have also lectured on phonology (as part of general linguistics courses), language in society, and various aspects of the question of "language and identity." I apply structuralist linguistic principles to my more "purely" linguistic research projects, to work that ranges from classical historical grammar to descriptive linguistics. One of the most important areas of linguistic inquiry to me is that of language contact and its consequences for language change. In the past my focus has been on language contact and the development of such languages as Ukrainian and Karelian. Currently I am concentrating on various aspects of the Rusyn language: grammar, history, language contact, and its position within East Slavic. It is also extremely important to consider the Rusyn language in terms of minority and endangered languages, as it is both.
The first edition of a linguistically-oriented grammar of Rusyn has been published, and I will soon finish a grammar that is more suited to self instruction and the classroom. I also hope to be able to produce another edition of the first grammar: the first edition was necessarily a learning experience, and requires additions and corrections. Volume 2 of the New Historical Grammar of the East Slavic Languages (declensional morphology) is well under way, and it will include corrections to Volume 1.
I have also always been very committed to teaching: my teaching has mainly been focused on the Slavic languages, especially Russian, but also Polish, Ukrainian, Old Church Slavonic, some Russian Church Slavonic, and (most recently) Rusyn. Other subjects I have taught include the history and structure of the East Slavic languages (phonology and morphology), language contact, general phonology, as well as Finnish. My (small but dedicated!) Finnish classes have ranged from introductory and intermediate-level grammar and reading classes to groups dedicated to the study of the linguistic structure of the language.
Contact Information
| Telephone: |
Work: (001) (937) 775-2642 |
