I received my Ph.D. in Linguistics
from the University of Georgia in 2003. My primary training has
been in language variation theory, including dialectology and
sociolinguistics, with a focus on the history and structure of
American English. I also have a strong interest in the linguistic,
social, and political relationship between English and minority
languages.
My dissertation, "Cognitive Patterns
of Linguistic Perceptions," explored the attitudes and perceptions
that nonlinguists have about variation in language and analyzed
how this knowledge is organized cognitively. I showed that people
categorize their knowledge of language in patterned, culturally-determined
ways and that the conceptual organization of language reveals
a complex, interrelated network of both structural and social
information.
I have also conducted research on the
literary representation of dialect, phonological patterns in Linguistic
Atlas data, and linguistic variation in Gullah and African American
English.
Current Courses:
- LING
101, "History of the American Languages"
- LING/ANT
385, "Languages of the World"
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