New paper in "Language and Communication"

I have a new article in Language & Communication w/Felipe de Jesus & Sarah Bellavance, in which we examine how a US expat in Toronto negotiates her New Yorker identity in conversation with 2 Canadians via epistemic stance-taking. You can download the article for free for 50 days via this link.

Paper Abstract:

This paper investigates knowledge management in interaction and the role of epistemic stance in place identity construction. We examine how a US expat in Toronto negotiates her New Yorker identity in conversation with two Canadians by demonstrating how authoritative epistemic stances are employed to produce relations of distinction, adequation, and authentication in service of place identity construction. We also discuss ‘epistemic disputes’, wherein epistemic stances and claims to place identity are challenged through the notion of epistemic rights. In doing so, we argue for the fundamental connection between information state, management of knowledge in interaction, and processes of identity construction.

Nev[æ]da or Nev[ɑ]da?

As a person from New Jersey who now lives in DC, I do not have strong opinions about how “Nevada” is pronounced - but Nevadans sure do! I’m quoted a few times in this fun Atlas Obscura piece on the sociolinguistics of this perennial debate.

LSA Executive Committee

I’ve been elected as an At-Large member of the Linguistic Society of America Executive Committee for a three-year term starting in January! I’m looking forward to serving my field and learning more about how the professional society sausage is made.

NWAV51 talk

Just back from NWAV51 in Queens, where I presented some work examining the use of classic New York City English features by native New Yorkers who’ve been living in Toronto. The larger point of the talk was that the way we assess second dialect acquisition - taking the (rate of) use of “D2” forms as a straightforward indication of acquisition - is flawed, and that it’s important to consider the positive reasons why mobile speakers might continue to use D1 forms even after they’ve acquired D2 variants.