As a public scholar, I aim to centre communities beyond academia in my research process and output. In the context of my project, this means orienting my research goals around the perspectives of the Ktunaxa community. More generally, this means working to increase and improve science communication in the academic community.
Research Description
My project documents and analyzes linguistic expressions of humor, sarcasm, surprise — known as expressive meaning—in Ktunaxa, a language isolate spoken in British Columbia and parts of the United States. With 31 speakers in Canada, Ktunaxa is critically endangered, but there is also an active body of learners. With community collaborators, I will develop a descriptive resource, pedagogical materials, and elicitation tools to support language revitalization. I chose to focus on expressive meaning because speaker attitude is irrevocably tied to language, and the consultants I have collaborated with have expressed specific interest in this topic. The frequency and richness of social contexts provided by consultants to shape linguistic examples demonstrates that their link is crucial to understanding the language. However, in both fieldwork and even much general linguistics research, speaker attitude is typically treated as background material that is not systematically documented, analyzed, or taught. The process and outputs of the proposed project aim to fill this gap in the interests of the Ktunaxa community.
What does being a Public Scholar mean to you?
As a public scholar, I aim to centre communities beyond academia in my research process and output. In the context of my project, this means orienting my research goals around the perspectives of the Ktunaxa community. More generally, this means working to increase and improve science communication in the academic community.
In what ways do you think the PhD experience can be re-imagined with the Public Scholars Initiative?
The Public Scholars Initiative widens the perspective of the PhD research goals by prompting researchers to consider community context when deepening their knowledge in a specialized field. It works towards an environment in which PhD scholars are actively engaging with those outside of academia, and in turn helps better the general public’s understanding of academic research and its applications to other facets of society.
How do you envision connecting your PhD work with broader career possibilities?
I aim to work in language revitalization and collaborate with the Ktunaxa community beyond my time as a PhD student. By pursuing this project, I will further my connections with community members and strengthen my skills as a linguist and fieldworker. This will prepare me to help with additional community projects in meaningful ways.
How does your research engage with the larger community and social partners?
I will collaborate with Ktunaxa speakers and community members through all stages of the research process. I strive to put my consultants’ perspectives forth not just on paper, but through every step of the process. The project goals—a book and pedagogical materials—were discussed and decided upon in tandem with community members. As I interview speakers, I will facilitate constant dialogue about the elicitation structure and process to ensure they align with community interests.
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
One reason I care about science communication is that I hardly understood the meaning of a PhD (its length, requirements, process) until I attended university and took classes alongside graduate students. There I developed a passion for linguistics. In my final year, I took courses on sociolinguistics, child language acquisition, and language documentation which exemplified how linguistics could be applied to communities outside of academia. Curious about these avenues of research and how they related to the world around me, I decided I wanted to pursue the field further.
Why did you choose to come to British Columbia and study at UBC?
UBC Linguistics has an intellectually nourishing, well-respected, and diverse curriculum and research program. As a student here, I have received exceptional support from faculty on my research, and there have been many opportunities for community collaboration.
As a public scholar, I aim to center communities beyond academia in my research process and output.
