I am a sociohistorical linguist with a PhD from UPenn. From 2005 to 2018 I taught a wide range of courses in English and linguistics at Tougaloo College (with some interdisciplinary forays into public health and social sciences). Many of these courses were ones I developed myself in response to the needs of my students. My passion as a college professor was for teaching undergraduates to think critically about the relationship between language attitudes and social justice. In my historical research I focus on contact-induced diversity and change in the history of the English language, particularly in Middle English pronouns. In 2018 I left my tenured position to move back to Massachusetts for family reasons. For two years I taught as an adjunct or visiting instructor at UMass Amherst, Bard Microcollege Holyoke, and Mount Holyoke College. In 2020 I became certified to teach secondary school and started to teach English for Speakers of Other Languages at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Springfield, Massachusetts. I'm learning what language-focused social justice advocacy looks like at the middle school level. Supervisors: Donald A. Ringe, Anthony Kroch, and James Milroy Phone: 601 500 0166
... swif.te it is also foot-medial. Whatever syllable division we assume for words of thewestan &... more ... swif.te it is also foot-medial. Whatever syllable division we assume for words of thewestan 'ravage' type, either we.stan, or wes.tan, or west.an, the <s> can be described as foot-medial. The situation may be remedied (a) by additional ...
THEY, THEIR, and THEM are of Scandinavian origin, having entered English in the wake of the 9th -... more THEY, THEIR, and THEM are of Scandinavian origin, having entered English in the wake of the 9th -century Viking settlements of northern England. In spite of having surprised and intrigued linguists for a century this phenomenon is still poorly understood. I investigate both its linguistic ...
THEY, THEIR, and THEM are of Scandinavian origin, having entered English in the wake of the 9th -... more THEY, THEIR, and THEM are of Scandinavian origin, having entered English in the wake of the 9th -century Viking settlements of northern England. In spite of having surprised and intrigued linguists for a century this phenomenon is still poorly understood. I investigate both its linguistic ...
Page 1. www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 332 1 APRIL 2011 35 LETTERS edited by Jennifer Sills COMME... more Page 1. www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 332 1 APRIL 2011 35 LETTERS edited by Jennifer Sills COMMENTARY LETTERS I BOOKS I POLICY FORUM I EDUCATION FORUM I PERSPECTIVES C RE D IT : M A R Y FR A N C ES H O W A RD /W IK EM ED IA C O M M O N ...
2003 UPenn dissertation Viking Pronouns in England
Bibliography / Works Cited
Download for refere... more 2003 UPenn dissertation Viking Pronouns in England Bibliography / Works Cited Download for references from all chapters.
2003 UPenn dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England
Chapter 3: Pronoun Forms and Uses: Etymologie... more 2003 UPenn dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England Chapter 3: Pronoun Forms and Uses: Etymologies and Attested Paradigms Summary: I provide evidence bearing on two of the principal questions posed by the Scandinavian to English pronoun transfer: whether the English demonstrative was a factor in the rise of some of the th- forms, and when the Scandinavian forms appeared in English. The problematic identity of “English” is discussed, along with the possibility that insular “Scandinavian” differed from continental varieties. The pronoun paradigms of runic Scandinavian, Old Norwegian, and Old Danish on the one hand, and of Anglian and early Middle English on the other hand, are described. The Scandinavian forms differ significantly from the Old Icelandic ones usually cited, and therefore traditional assumptions abut the modifications of the Scandinavian forms (such as loss of -r and monophthongization) are invalid. I discuss the implications of both the early-transfer hypothesis and the late-transfer hypothesis.
2003 UPenn dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England
Chapter 2: Scandinavian and English Regions
S... more 2003 UPenn dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England Chapter 2: Scandinavian and English Regions Summary: In order to facilitate later comparisons between levels of Scandinavian settlement and acquisition of Scandinavian pronouns, I identify four Anglo-Scandinavian territories: the north-west, Yorkshire, the Five Boroughs, and East Anglia. The north-west is the area of initially Hiberno-Norse immigration; their settlements stretched northwards from the Wirral peninsula and appear to have increased in density or impact the farther north they went. York was the heart of Scandinavian activity in England, a busy mercantile city and seat of governance disputed by Norwegian, Danish, and English kings. Lincolnshire is second only to York in most measures of Scandinavian influence, though Lincoln itself yields surprisingly little archeological evidence of the settlers. The Scandinavian impact on the Five Boroughs decreases with distance from Lincolnshire, both southward and inland. Relatively few traces of Danish influence are to be found in East Anglia, despite the strong documentary evidence for Scandinavian activity there; what there is is concentrated in Norfolk, particularly in the coastal area around Yarmouth. I divide the historically English possessions into the far north-east; the central Midlands; the south-east Midlands; the West Midlands; and the South: Wessex and Kent. We shall see in Chapter 4 that the patterns of Scandinavian pronoun attestation follow some of the divisions and distinctions set forth here, but not all of them. Broadly speaking, the Scandinavian character of the entire North is confirmed, while most of the Midlands fail to evince clear differences between “Danelaw” and “English” regions.
2003 UPenn Dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England
Chapter One: Setting the Stage
Summary: For ... more 2003 UPenn Dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England Chapter One: Setting the Stage Summary: For two and a half centuries Scandinavians raided, campaigned, settled or dwelled within the boundaries of modern England. The chronicles of brutality and conquest do not jibe with the linguistic evidence of prolonged routine contact between English and Scandinavians. The first step towards resolving this apparent paradox is to move beyond the long-standing traditional perception of England as a single social and political entity threatened by undifferentiated hordes of Viking warriors. However, other analyses swing too far in the other direction when they suggest that the Scandinavian influence on England was carried out chiefly by the English themselves, whose ready cultural assimilation magnified the practices of a thin scattering of influential Vikings. The nature of the transfer of the third person plural Scandinavian pronouns into English is not compatible with this view.
... swif.te it is also foot-medial. Whatever syllable division we assume for words of thewestan &... more ... swif.te it is also foot-medial. Whatever syllable division we assume for words of thewestan 'ravage' type, either we.stan, or wes.tan, or west.an, the <s> can be described as foot-medial. The situation may be remedied (a) by additional ...
THEY, THEIR, and THEM are of Scandinavian origin, having entered English in the wake of the 9th -... more THEY, THEIR, and THEM are of Scandinavian origin, having entered English in the wake of the 9th -century Viking settlements of northern England. In spite of having surprised and intrigued linguists for a century this phenomenon is still poorly understood. I investigate both its linguistic ...
THEY, THEIR, and THEM are of Scandinavian origin, having entered English in the wake of the 9th -... more THEY, THEIR, and THEM are of Scandinavian origin, having entered English in the wake of the 9th -century Viking settlements of northern England. In spite of having surprised and intrigued linguists for a century this phenomenon is still poorly understood. I investigate both its linguistic ...
Page 1. www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 332 1 APRIL 2011 35 LETTERS edited by Jennifer Sills COMME... more Page 1. www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 332 1 APRIL 2011 35 LETTERS edited by Jennifer Sills COMMENTARY LETTERS I BOOKS I POLICY FORUM I EDUCATION FORUM I PERSPECTIVES C RE D IT : M A R Y FR A N C ES H O W A RD /W IK EM ED IA C O M M O N ...
2003 UPenn dissertation Viking Pronouns in England
Bibliography / Works Cited
Download for refere... more 2003 UPenn dissertation Viking Pronouns in England Bibliography / Works Cited Download for references from all chapters.
2003 UPenn dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England
Chapter 3: Pronoun Forms and Uses: Etymologie... more 2003 UPenn dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England Chapter 3: Pronoun Forms and Uses: Etymologies and Attested Paradigms Summary: I provide evidence bearing on two of the principal questions posed by the Scandinavian to English pronoun transfer: whether the English demonstrative was a factor in the rise of some of the th- forms, and when the Scandinavian forms appeared in English. The problematic identity of “English” is discussed, along with the possibility that insular “Scandinavian” differed from continental varieties. The pronoun paradigms of runic Scandinavian, Old Norwegian, and Old Danish on the one hand, and of Anglian and early Middle English on the other hand, are described. The Scandinavian forms differ significantly from the Old Icelandic ones usually cited, and therefore traditional assumptions abut the modifications of the Scandinavian forms (such as loss of -r and monophthongization) are invalid. I discuss the implications of both the early-transfer hypothesis and the late-transfer hypothesis.
2003 UPenn dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England
Chapter 2: Scandinavian and English Regions
S... more 2003 UPenn dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England Chapter 2: Scandinavian and English Regions Summary: In order to facilitate later comparisons between levels of Scandinavian settlement and acquisition of Scandinavian pronouns, I identify four Anglo-Scandinavian territories: the north-west, Yorkshire, the Five Boroughs, and East Anglia. The north-west is the area of initially Hiberno-Norse immigration; their settlements stretched northwards from the Wirral peninsula and appear to have increased in density or impact the farther north they went. York was the heart of Scandinavian activity in England, a busy mercantile city and seat of governance disputed by Norwegian, Danish, and English kings. Lincolnshire is second only to York in most measures of Scandinavian influence, though Lincoln itself yields surprisingly little archeological evidence of the settlers. The Scandinavian impact on the Five Boroughs decreases with distance from Lincolnshire, both southward and inland. Relatively few traces of Danish influence are to be found in East Anglia, despite the strong documentary evidence for Scandinavian activity there; what there is is concentrated in Norfolk, particularly in the coastal area around Yarmouth. I divide the historically English possessions into the far north-east; the central Midlands; the south-east Midlands; the West Midlands; and the South: Wessex and Kent. We shall see in Chapter 4 that the patterns of Scandinavian pronoun attestation follow some of the divisions and distinctions set forth here, but not all of them. Broadly speaking, the Scandinavian character of the entire North is confirmed, while most of the Midlands fail to evince clear differences between “Danelaw” and “English” regions.
2003 UPenn Dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England
Chapter One: Setting the Stage
Summary: For ... more 2003 UPenn Dissertation: Viking Pronouns in England Chapter One: Setting the Stage Summary: For two and a half centuries Scandinavians raided, campaigned, settled or dwelled within the boundaries of modern England. The chronicles of brutality and conquest do not jibe with the linguistic evidence of prolonged routine contact between English and Scandinavians. The first step towards resolving this apparent paradox is to move beyond the long-standing traditional perception of England as a single social and political entity threatened by undifferentiated hordes of Viking warriors. However, other analyses swing too far in the other direction when they suggest that the Scandinavian influence on England was carried out chiefly by the English themselves, whose ready cultural assimilation magnified the practices of a thin scattering of influential Vikings. The nature of the transfer of the third person plural Scandinavian pronouns into English is not compatible with this view.
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Bibliography / Works Cited
Download for references from all chapters.
Chapter 3: Pronoun Forms and Uses: Etymologies and Attested Paradigms
Summary: I provide evidence bearing on two of the principal questions posed by the Scandinavian to English pronoun transfer: whether the English demonstrative was a factor in the rise of some of the th- forms, and when the Scandinavian forms appeared in English. The problematic identity of “English” is discussed, along with the possibility that insular “Scandinavian” differed from continental varieties. The pronoun paradigms of runic Scandinavian, Old Norwegian, and Old Danish on the one hand, and of Anglian and early Middle English on the other hand, are described. The Scandinavian forms differ significantly from the Old Icelandic ones usually cited, and therefore traditional assumptions abut the modifications of the Scandinavian forms (such as loss of -r and monophthongization) are invalid. I discuss the implications of both the early-transfer hypothesis and the late-transfer hypothesis.
Chapter 2: Scandinavian and English Regions
Summary: In order to facilitate later comparisons between levels of Scandinavian settlement and acquisition of Scandinavian pronouns, I identify four Anglo-Scandinavian territories: the north-west, Yorkshire, the Five Boroughs, and East Anglia. The north-west is the area of initially Hiberno-Norse immigration; their settlements stretched northwards from the Wirral peninsula and appear to have increased in density or impact the farther north they went. York was the heart of Scandinavian activity in England, a busy mercantile city and seat of governance disputed by Norwegian, Danish, and English kings. Lincolnshire is second only to York in most measures of Scandinavian influence, though Lincoln itself yields surprisingly little archeological evidence of the settlers. The Scandinavian impact on the Five Boroughs decreases with distance from Lincolnshire, both southward and inland. Relatively few traces of Danish influence are to be found in East Anglia, despite the strong documentary evidence for Scandinavian activity there; what there is is concentrated in Norfolk, particularly in the coastal area around Yarmouth.
I divide the historically English possessions into the far north-east; the central Midlands; the south-east Midlands; the West Midlands; and the South: Wessex and Kent.
We shall see in Chapter 4 that the patterns of Scandinavian pronoun attestation follow some of the divisions and distinctions set forth here, but not all of them. Broadly speaking, the Scandinavian character of the entire North is confirmed, while most of the Midlands fail to evince clear differences between “Danelaw” and “English” regions.
Chapter One: Setting the Stage
Summary: For two and a half centuries Scandinavians raided, campaigned, settled or dwelled within the boundaries of modern England. The chronicles of brutality and conquest do not jibe with the linguistic evidence of prolonged routine contact between English and Scandinavians. The first step towards resolving this apparent paradox is to move beyond the long-standing traditional perception of England as a single social and political entity threatened by undifferentiated hordes of Viking warriors. However, other analyses swing too far in the other direction when they suggest that the Scandinavian influence on England was carried out chiefly by the English themselves, whose ready cultural assimilation magnified the practices of a thin scattering of influential Vikings. The nature of the transfer of the third person plural Scandinavian pronouns into English is not compatible with this view.
Bibliography / Works Cited
Download for references from all chapters.
Chapter 3: Pronoun Forms and Uses: Etymologies and Attested Paradigms
Summary: I provide evidence bearing on two of the principal questions posed by the Scandinavian to English pronoun transfer: whether the English demonstrative was a factor in the rise of some of the th- forms, and when the Scandinavian forms appeared in English. The problematic identity of “English” is discussed, along with the possibility that insular “Scandinavian” differed from continental varieties. The pronoun paradigms of runic Scandinavian, Old Norwegian, and Old Danish on the one hand, and of Anglian and early Middle English on the other hand, are described. The Scandinavian forms differ significantly from the Old Icelandic ones usually cited, and therefore traditional assumptions abut the modifications of the Scandinavian forms (such as loss of -r and monophthongization) are invalid. I discuss the implications of both the early-transfer hypothesis and the late-transfer hypothesis.
Chapter 2: Scandinavian and English Regions
Summary: In order to facilitate later comparisons between levels of Scandinavian settlement and acquisition of Scandinavian pronouns, I identify four Anglo-Scandinavian territories: the north-west, Yorkshire, the Five Boroughs, and East Anglia. The north-west is the area of initially Hiberno-Norse immigration; their settlements stretched northwards from the Wirral peninsula and appear to have increased in density or impact the farther north they went. York was the heart of Scandinavian activity in England, a busy mercantile city and seat of governance disputed by Norwegian, Danish, and English kings. Lincolnshire is second only to York in most measures of Scandinavian influence, though Lincoln itself yields surprisingly little archeological evidence of the settlers. The Scandinavian impact on the Five Boroughs decreases with distance from Lincolnshire, both southward and inland. Relatively few traces of Danish influence are to be found in East Anglia, despite the strong documentary evidence for Scandinavian activity there; what there is is concentrated in Norfolk, particularly in the coastal area around Yarmouth.
I divide the historically English possessions into the far north-east; the central Midlands; the south-east Midlands; the West Midlands; and the South: Wessex and Kent.
We shall see in Chapter 4 that the patterns of Scandinavian pronoun attestation follow some of the divisions and distinctions set forth here, but not all of them. Broadly speaking, the Scandinavian character of the entire North is confirmed, while most of the Midlands fail to evince clear differences between “Danelaw” and “English” regions.
Chapter One: Setting the Stage
Summary: For two and a half centuries Scandinavians raided, campaigned, settled or dwelled within the boundaries of modern England. The chronicles of brutality and conquest do not jibe with the linguistic evidence of prolonged routine contact between English and Scandinavians. The first step towards resolving this apparent paradox is to move beyond the long-standing traditional perception of England as a single social and political entity threatened by undifferentiated hordes of Viking warriors. However, other analyses swing too far in the other direction when they suggest that the Scandinavian influence on England was carried out chiefly by the English themselves, whose ready cultural assimilation magnified the practices of a thin scattering of influential Vikings. The nature of the transfer of the third person plural Scandinavian pronouns into English is not compatible with this view.