Welcome to the Department of Linguistics

Language is the most massive and inclusive art we know, a mountainous and anonymous work of unconscious generations.

Edward Sapir, Language: an Introduction to the Study of Speech

Mission

A hanging sign with a blue border and interior tiled decoration with flowers and a rectanagle reading 'Department of Linguistics'The UNM Department of Linguistics is the only degree-granting linguistics program in one of the most multilingual and multicultural states in the U.S. As such, it bears particular responsibilities both to the field of linguistics and to the residents of the region it serves. The department thus has two concerns:

  1. Teaching and research on language structure and use
  2. Service to society on language-related issues
The department's approach to linguistic theory takes a primarily cognitive-functional perspective that focuses on language structure as interacting with language use. Data-driven and fieldwork methods are emphasized to support usage-based analyses of dynamic language phenomena.  This orientation emphasizes the study of language typology, change, discourse, interaction, variation, interpreting, processing, and acquisition. The department is particularly concerned with the study of regional languages (especially Navajo, varieties of Spanish, and indigenous languages of the Americas) and signed languages (American Sign Language, in particular). This theoretical approach provides the foundation for effectively addressing our commitment to the application of linguistics to social concerns, including minority language maintenance and empowerment of minority communities. Thus, the department not only studies and teaches about the structure and use of language, but also encourages faculty and student involvement as advocates and participants in outreach to the linguistic communities in which we carry out research. 

Land Acknowledgement Statement

Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New Mexico – Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache – since time immemorial, have deep connections to the land and make significant contributions to the broader community statewide. We honor the land itself and those who are stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We recognize their linguistic histories and affirm the value their languages and cultures carry within their communities, our state, and the world.

Announcements

 Jens Van Gysel

  • Big congratulations to Dr. Jens Van Gysel whose dissertation, "A Usage-based Account of Ongoing Structural Changes in Sanapaná: Grammar Sketch and Case Studies", has been selected for the SSILA Mary R. Haas Book Award, 2024!

    The selection committee writes: "This very detailed and first in-depth description of an endangered language is over 700 pages long and the result of 39 months of fieldwork. It does not only represent great breadth and depth of coverage, but also originality, as it includes three separate studies on sociolinguistic variation (vowel production, inalienable possession, and the framing of motion events).”

    Jens's dissertation is available here: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ling_etds/83/

  • Congratulations to Dr. Naomi Shin who was selected to be a member of the newest cohort of LIFT, the OVPR's Leadership Development Program. The LIFT program provides concrete support and mentoring to a small cohort of tenured, research-intensive faculty, thereby enabling them to pursue opportunities and professional development that will increase their own professional standing as well as the university’s renown on a national level in research, scholarship, and inclusive practices. Fellows identify and pursue specific ambitious goals to develop their research and scholarship achievement beyond current levels.  

  • Congrats to Jadin Moore for succesfully defending their thesis: "Factors Influencing L2 Tone Perception in Cherokee"

  • Congratulations to Dr. Daejin Kim on successfully defending his dissertation titled, Articulation of the Tongue Back in American English and Seoul Korean. Congratulations also on a new postdoctoral position at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Dept. of Speech and Hearing Sciences! 

  • Congratulations to Devin Tankersley, PhD candidate, who was awarded a Fulbright Open Research Award! This award will support his research in Tawain of lexical variation in Taiwan Sign Lanugage.
  • Congratulations to Jens Van Gysel for successfully defending his dissertation: "A usage-based account of ongoing structural changes in Sanapaná: Grammar sketch and case studies" and passing with distinction!
  • Congratulations to Aaron Marks for succesfully defending his dissertation, "Topics in Wappo Phonology" and passing with distinction!
  • Congratulations to Cormac League for defending his thesis, "Negation in Dene Languages" and passing with distinction!
  • Congratulations to Eliza Forrest for defending their thesis, "‘People with Disabilities,’ ‘Disabled People,’ or ‘The Disabled’: A Corpus Analysis of Disability Labeling Constructions." They passed with distinction following an amazing presentation!