• Linguistics/Sociolinguistics
• Pidgins, creoles and other contact languages
• Belizean Creole (Central America)
• Endangered languages
• Garifuna (Belize and Honduras)
• African-American English
• Chinese-English Pidgin English
• Chinese language variation
• Language, Gender and Identity

 

Honors & Awards

• Semester Leave for Research, Fall 2004
• McKnight Research Award, 2003-06
• NEH Fellowship, January-December 2001
• Graduate School Grant-in-Aid of Research, January 2001-June 2002
• Sabbatical award and supplement, 2000-2001
• Single Quarter Leave, CLA, Winter 1998
• McKnight Summer Fellowship, 1995
• Gordon L. Starr Award (for Advising students), awarded by Minnesota Student Association, 1995
• Sabbatical award and Bush Sabbatical Supplement, 1993-94
• Gordon L. Starr Award (for Advising students), awarded by Minnesota Student Association, 1993
• McKnight Summer Fellowship, 1992
• United Board Fellowship, 1990
• NSF Grant, 1990
• Graduate School Grant-in-Aid of Research, 1988-89
• Graduate School Grant-in-Aid of Research, 1987-88
• Single Quarter Leave, Fall 1987
• Sabbatical award, 1985-86
• Graduate School Grant-in-Aid of Research, 1984-85
• Graduate School Summer Fellowship, 1984
• Graduate School Summer Fellowship, 1981
• Graduate School Grant-in-Aid of Research, 1979-80
• Graduate School Summer Fellowship, 1979
• Single Quarter Leave, Spring 1978
• Graduate School Grant-in-Aid of Research, 1977-78
• Ford Foundation grant, Hollins College, Va, 1971-72

 

Background

Publications

• Books
  • Creoles, Contact and Language Change: Linguistic and Social Implications, Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, Creole Language Library vol. 27, edited with Armin Schwegler, 2004 (354 pages + i-x)
  • Creole and Dialect Continua: Standard Acquisition Processes in Belize and China (PRC), Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, Creole Language Library, vol.18, 1997, 307 pages + i-ix)
• Articles
  • “Pidgins/Creoles and discourse,” The Handbook of Pidgins and Creoles, eds., John Singler & Silvia Kouwenberg, London: Blackwell Handbooks (forthcoming).
  • "Creole Linguistics," Handbook of Pragmatics Online, International Pragmatics Association and John Benjamins (update of Pieter Muysken's article), 2006 (35 pages).
  • “Black/white contacts and the maintenance of identity in Minneapolis African American English: An examination of habitual aspect," Studies in Contact Linguistics: Essays in Honor of Glenn G. Gilbert, eds. Janet Fuller & Linda Thornburg Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, New York: Peter Lang, 2006:  45-70.
  • "Serialization in Chinese Pidgin English," Chinese Pidgin English, eds. S. Matthews, J. Smith & U. Ansaldo, London: Battlebridge Publications (forthcoming; 18 pages)
  • "Pidgins and Creoles" Inaugural Edition of the EOLSS, Encyclopedia of Life Support systems, UNESCO, 2006.
  • “Variation in pidgins and creoles," The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Second Edition. Oxford: Elsevier Publishers, 2005 (text, maps & CDs with speech sample of English-based creoles).
  • “Belize: Language situation," The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Second Edition Oxford: Elsevier Publishers, 2005 (text, maps & CDs with speech samples).
  • “Garifuna in Belize and Honduras,” In Creoles, Contact and Language Change: Linguistic and Social Implications, eds. Geneviève Escure & Armin Schwegler,Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2004: 35-66.
  • “Belize and other Central American varieties: Morphology and syntax,” A Handbook of Varieties of English: The Americas and the Caribbean, ed., Edgar Schneider, The Hague: Mouton, 2004:Vol. 2: 517-544.
  • "Belizean Creole: Gender, creole, and the role of women in language change," Gender Across Languages: The Linguistic Representation of Women and Men, eds., Marlis Hellinger & Hadumod Bussman, Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2001, vol I: 53-84.
  • “The grammaticalization of past in creoles,” American Speech, 1999, 74.2: 165-202.
  • “Gender and tense/aspect in Belizean Creole,” Language Contact, eds., France Mugler & Jan Tent, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University, 1998: 27-41.
  • “Anaphores et catégories sémantiques dans les variétés créolisées de Bélize,” Les Classes Grammaticales des Langues Créoles, ed.,Daniel Véronique, Aix-en- Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence, 1996: 273-286.
  • "Gender and linguistic change in the Belizean Creole community," Locating Power: Second Berkeley Women and Language Conference (1992), eds. K. Hall, M. Bucholz & B. Moonwoman, University of California Press, 1993: Vol. I: 118-131.
  • "Focus, topic particles and discourse markers in the Belizean creole continuum." In Focus and Grammatical Relations, eds. Francis Byrne & Don Winford, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, Creole Language Library, 1993: 233-247.
  • “Adverb Fronting in the Acrolectal speech of Roatan,” (with Glenn Gilbert). Southern Illinois Working Papers in Linguistics and Language Teaching, 1993: 233-250.
  • “Anaphoric reference in creoles and noncreoles.” Language Variation and Change, 1993. 5.3: 233-250.
  • "Gender roles and linguistic variation in the Belizean Creole community," English Around the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives, ed., Jenny Cheshire, Cambridge University Press, 1991: 595-608.
  • "Verb serialization in Creole oral discourse," Development and Structures of Creole Languages: Essays in Honor of Derek Bickerton, eds.,Francis Byrne & Thom Huebner, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, Creole Language Library, 1991: 179-192.
  • "Topic marking particles in creoles and Chinese dialects." Focus and Grammatical Relations in Creole Languages, eds., Francis Byrne & Alexander Caskey, University of Chicago, 1990, Vol II: 339-350.
  • "The acquisition of Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) by speakers of the Wuhan Dialect,” Variation in Language: NWAV-XV at Stanford, eds., John Rickford et al., Stanford, Department of Linguistics, 1987: 121-136.
  • "A copula em Belizano: um caso de mudanca semantica," Cadernos de Estudos Linguisticos 11, Instituto de Estudas da Linguagem, Universidade de Campinas, Brasil, 1986: 39-54.
  • "The Belizean copula: A case of semantactic shift," Dialogue: An Interdisciplinary Approach, vol.1: Pragmatics and Beyond, ed., Marcelo Dascal,  Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1985: 265-281.
  • "Pronunciation Guide,” West's Law and Commercial Dictionary in Five Languages, St Paul: West Publishing Company, 1985: xi-xvi.
  • "The acquisition of creole by urban and rural Black Caribs in Belize.” In York Papers in Linguistics 11: Urban Creoles. Mark Sebba & Loreto Todd (eds.). York, England, University of York (1984): 95-106.
  • "The use of creole as interlanguage by the Black Caribs of Belize." 1982 Mid America Linguistics Conference Papers. Frances Ingemann (ed.). Lawrence: University of Kansas Press (1983): 271-282.
  • "Belizean Creole." Chapter Two: Central American English. John Holm (ed.). Heidelberg: Julius Groos Verlag and Philadelphia: John Benjamins (1983): 29-70.
  • "The Belizean copula: A case of semantactic shift" In Studies in Caribbean Language. Lawrence Carrington (ed.) Trinidad: Society for Caribbean Linguistics (1983) 190-202.
  • "Decreolization in a creole continuum: Belize." In Historicity and Variation in Creole Studies, Arnold Highfield and Albert Valdman (eds.). Ann Arbor: Karoma Press (1981): 27-49.
  • "Linguistic variation and ethnic interaction in Belize: Creole/Carib.” In Language and Ethnic Relations. Howard Giles & Bernard Saint-Jacques (eds.). Oxford:Pergamon Press (1979):101-116.
  • "Vocalic change in the Belizean English-Creole continuum and markedness theory." In Berkeley Linguistics Society IV. Berkeley: University of  California  Press (1978): 158-167.
  • "Vowel-lengthening in French." In Current Studies in Romance Linguistics. Marta Lujan and Fritz Hensey (eds.). Washington: Georgetown University Press (1976): 63-75.
  • "Palatalization: a persistent rule of English." In Berkeley Linguistics Society II.Berkeley: University of California Press (1976): 158-167.

Teaching

• Structure of the English language/linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• World Englishes
• American English and Society
• Language and Gender
• Pidgins and Creoles

Other Activities