My work focuses on documenting the endangered Norton Sound Kotlik Yugtun (NSKY) dialect of Central Alaskan Yup'ik. I have been working with Elders in Kotlik since 2014 to develop a corpus of spoken, natural discourse to support both community goals and scientific research. I collaborate with the Kotlik community to support dialectal revitalization and develop a documentary record for prosperity. My research is focused on functional approaches to language description with a strong emphasis on the natural contours of the "world's largest demonstrative system," as it is used in vivo. I am also describing the language's structure on its own terms using a cognitive and constructional framework. Additionally, in development is an NSKY dictionary for community use.

 

My interests additionally reside in the examination of:

• Lexical categorization

• Deictic categories, particularly demonstratives and modality

• Verb agreement

• Polysynthesis

• Linguistic Theories (CxG, CG, CSL, CCG, FDG)

• Language documentation

• Best practices in higher education pedagogy

• Conlanging and world-building

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I hope to have the opportunity to learn from many of the world's languages and cultures. To date, I have studied Norton Sound Kotlik Yugtun (Inuit-Yupik-Unangam), Tsova-Tush (Nahk-Dagastani), Unangam Tunuu (Inuit-Yupik-Unangam), Naleh (Austronesian), Cham (Austronesian), Tetum (Austronesian), Cuzco Quechua (Quechuan), and Zarma (Songhay) from a linguistic perspective and hope to learn from many more.