Concentrations

Language varies across space and time, and my passion is to explore the "how" and "why" of linguistic variation and change. My research focuses on the spread of linguistic change between Amish communities across North America — a long term, fieldwork oriented project on the dialectology of Pennsylvania German.

In my classes students investigate both the marvelous systematicity of all languages and the intersection of language use with aspects of social identity such as age, ethnicity, gender, history, region, and religion.

Courses Taught

Linguistics

Research Interests

Linguistic change in Amish communities across the U.S.

Publications

2015 "Religious Identity and the perception of linguistic difference: the case of Pennsylvania German” Language and Communication 42. (May 2015): 125-134.
2007 “Ditching the Immigration Line.” American Speech 82:3 (Fall 2007): 330-6.
2006 “Portable Community: The Linguistic and Psychological Reality of Midwestern Pennsylvania German.” Eds. Thomas Murray and Beth Simon. Language Variation and Change in the American Midland: A New Look at "Heartland" English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 263-74
2003 “Pennsylvania German and the ‘Lunch Pail Threat’: Language Shift and Cultural Maintenance in two Amish Communities.” When Languages Collide: Perspectives on Language Conflict, Language Competition, and Language Coexistence. Eds. B. Joseph, J. Destefano. N. Jacobs, I. Lehiste. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press. 3-20

Honors and Awards

2007 Summer Faculty Fellowship Grant. Marquette University. For writing A Dialectology of Pennsylvania German.
2004 Curriculum Enhancement Grant, Diversity. Marquette University. For course development: Language in the City, focusing on language and social diversity