My research examines the formation of language communities and the emergence and evolution of language. Currently, I am working as a postdoctoral researcher on the Sign Change project. I am also contributing to several other research projects:
• The formation of early American signing communities, such as those in New England and on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.
• The formation of signing communities in the former Soviet Union and the emergence of new sign languages there, including in Georgia and in Tajikistan.
• The evolution of signed languages and their manual alphabets using phylogenetic methods.
Interests
- Sign languages
- Historical linguistics
- Historical sociolinguistics
- Phylogenetic methods
- Computational approaches to comparative linguistics
Education
PhD in Linguistics, 2020
University of Texas at Austin
MA in Linguistics, 2014
University of North Dakota
BA in American Studies, 2003
University of South Florida