I am a Professor of Linguistics and specialize in Tibeto-Burman languages of the Himalayas. Most of my work has been on a language called Dolakha Newar, which is spoken in Nepal. (It is also called Dwālkhae, Dwālkha Khã, Dolakha language, and Dolakhali.) I continue my engagement with the Dolakha community and my research in the area. See the Projects page for current work.
My research spans many subfields, including language documentation, typology, phonology, morphology, syntax, prosody, and grammaticalization. On the Publications page, click on a title to find a PDF.
At New York University Abu Dhabi I teach interdisciplinary undergraduate courses related to language and linguistics as part of the Core Curriculum. Prior to moving to NYU Abu Dhabi in 2020, I spent 30 years on the faculty of the Department of Linguistics at UC Santa Barbara. I am officially retired from UC and hold the title Professor and Dean Emerita. A list of my courses at both institutions is on my Classes page. One of my favorite classes is Introduction to Linguistics. I am the editor (and sometimes author) of the introductory textbook How Languages Work and its associated web content (2nd edition 2019, Cambridge University Press).
I was one of three founding editors of the open-source online journal Himalayan Linguistics, and essentially spent 20 years working on that journal in various ways.
I am the founding director of the biennial Colang Institute (originally titled InField) that provides collaborative training in language documentation and revitalization for linguists and speakers of minority languages. Other synergistic activities are listed on my Bio page. You can find my CV there as well.
My research spans many subfields, including language documentation, typology, phonology, morphology, syntax, prosody, and grammaticalization. On the Publications page, click on a title to find a PDF.
At New York University Abu Dhabi I teach interdisciplinary undergraduate courses related to language and linguistics as part of the Core Curriculum. Prior to moving to NYU Abu Dhabi in 2020, I spent 30 years on the faculty of the Department of Linguistics at UC Santa Barbara. I am officially retired from UC and hold the title Professor and Dean Emerita. A list of my courses at both institutions is on my Classes page. One of my favorite classes is Introduction to Linguistics. I am the editor (and sometimes author) of the introductory textbook How Languages Work and its associated web content (2nd edition 2019, Cambridge University Press).
I was one of three founding editors of the open-source online journal Himalayan Linguistics, and essentially spent 20 years working on that journal in various ways.
I am the founding director of the biennial Colang Institute (originally titled InField) that provides collaborative training in language documentation and revitalization for linguists and speakers of minority languages. Other synergistic activities are listed on my Bio page. You can find my CV there as well.
I also spent many years in academic administration. At UCSB I served as Chair of the Department of Linguistics, Associate Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts, and the Anne and Michael Towbes Dean of the Graduate Division. At NYUAD, I served as Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs. I have now returned to the delightful life of full-time research and teaching, and back to the roots of the passion that led me here.