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Education

B.A. May 2019

Dual major: Linguistics; Classical Languages and Literature

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Publications

• Struthers-Young. 2022. A Preliminary Account of the Northern Toussian Balafon Surrogate Language. Frontiers in Communication.

Talks and Conference Presentations

• 2022 HistLing (historical linguistics meeting) presentation. The History of Multiple Exponence and Serial Verbs in the Toussian Languages. University of Michigan.
• 2022 Guest lecture, LIGN 111 phonology, discussing surrogate languages
• 2021 MultEx@ZAS presentation, Multiple Exponence in Northern Toussian. ZAS Berlin.
• 2021 WOCAL (World Congress of African Linguistics) oral presentation, Same subject reference in Northern Toussian, Leiden University
• 2021 ACAL (Association of Contemporary African Linguistics) oral presentation, Multiple Exponence in Northern Toussian, University of Florida
• 2021 UCSD Linguistics Fieldwork Working Group presentation, Multiple Exponence in Northern Toussian
• 2021 UCSD PhonCo presentation, Northern Toussian Musical Surrogate Language
• 2021 Guest lecture, LIGN 111 phonology, discussing speech surrogates
• 2020 UCSD PhonCo presentation on multiple exponence in Northern Toussian
• 2019 Gender in Gur languages Workshop, presentation. Toussian: a survey and a discussion of its vestigial gender system, University of Berlin
• 2019 ACAL (Association of Contemporary African Linguistics) oral presentation Development of grammatical tone in Northern Toussian, University of British Columbia
• 2019 Classics department research symposium presentation on the Toussian language and value of a classical education in linguistic research
• 2019 HistLing (Historical Linguistic) Discussion Group presentation on Toussian, University of Michigan
• 2018 Conference talk on development of grammatical tone in Northern Toussian at the Workshop on Tone and Prosody of West African Languages, in Bobo-Dioulasso

Experience

• Abstract evaluation for ACAL 53 at UC San Diego. 2022
• Website design and creation for ACAL 53 at UC San Diego. 2021-2022
• Translation of Grammatica Linguae Selinae by Gregorio Mengarini for Professor Sally Thomason (Linuistics Department, University of Michigan), begun October 2019
• Research assistant for Professor Benjamin Fortson (Classics Department, University of Michigan), begun October 2019
• Field Linguistic Documentation Research on Toussian, Burkina Faso, July 21 – October 2 2019
• Editing of Jeffrey Heath’s and Brahima Tioté’s A grammar of Pere (Bere, Mbre) of Côte d’Ivoire, May 2019
• Field Linguistic Documentation Research on Toussian, Burkina Faso, May 14 – December 11 2018
• Organization of the Workshop on Tone and Prosody of West African Languages, 2018
• Research assistant for Professor Jeffrey Heath (Linguistics Department, University of Michigan), January 3 – December 11, 2018
• Research on genetics and its implications on linguistics funded through Mcubed, January 3 – April 30, 2018
• Gabii Archaeological Dig, Italy, June 18 – July 22, 2017

Awards and Honors

• Graduated from the University of Michigan with High Distinction 2019
• Classical Linguistics Prize, University of Michigan, 2019
• Funding for Linguistic Fieldwork through the University of Michigan linguistics department, 2018
• Phillips Prize for Greek Translation, University of Michigan, 2018
• Two term Angell Scholar, University of Michigan, 2018
• Carrie Arbour Scholarship for travel to Gabii Archaeological dig, 2017
• Phillips Prize for Greek Translation, University of Michigan, 2017
• University of Michigan Alumni Club, Dayton, Alumni Scholarship 2015

Research Interests

• Phonology, with focus on tone
• Fieldwork and documentation
• Surrogate languages, i.e. encoding speech of tonal languages by means of playing an instrument
• Gur languages and reconstruction of Proto-Gur
• Historical linguistics
• Indo-European Studies

Languages Studied

• Northern Toussian, Gur, Burkina Faso (nort2787, tsp)
• Southern Toussian, Gur, Burkina Faso (sout2797, wib)
• Jula, Mande, Burkina Faso (dyul1238, dyu)
• French
• Latin
• Ancient Greek
• Hittite
• Middle Egyptian

Programming Languages

• Python
• Javascript, HTML, and CSS