Peggy Speas
Margaret "Peggy" Speas is a linguist who works on syntax, specifically evidentiality and Navajo. She is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Speas received her PhD in Linguistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986.[1] Speas's work focuses on differences between elicitation, documentation and linguistic data analysis on North American Native Languages.[2] She also works with preservation of Navajo and is a founding member of the Navajo Language Academy.[3]
Work with language preservation
[edit]Peggy Speas has been heavily involved with the preservation of North American native languages, with focus on Navajo. She is a founding member of the Navajo Language Academy,[3] where she has served as president for two years. Founded in 1997, the Academy is a nonprofit organization which promotes the study and preservation of Navajo.[4] In the end of 1999, she finished her term as an associate editor on the journal, Language.[5] Speas is a co-author, with Evangeline Parsons Yazzie, on the book Diné Bizaad Bináhoo'aah: Rediscovering the Navajo Language,[6] which is now used as the official state textbook for the Navajo language in New Mexico.[7] In 2011, she was recognized as a Spotlight Scholar for her over 20 years of work in preserving North American native languages.[8]
Key publications
[edit](2007) Yazzie, Evangeline Parsons, Jessie Ruffenach, Margaret Speas, and Berlyn Yazzie. Diné Bizaad Bináhoo'aah. Salina Bookshelf, 2007.
(2004) Speas, Margaret. "Evidentiality, logophoricity and the syntactic representation of pragmatic features." Lingua 114.3: 255-276.
(2003) Speas, Peggy, and Carol Tenny. "Configurational properties of point of view roles." Asymmetry in grammar 1: 315-345.
(1994) Speas, Peggy. "Null arguments in a theory of economy of projection."
(1990) Speas, Margaret. Phrase structure in natural language. Vol. 21. Springer Science & Business Media, 1990.
(1986) Speas, Margaret Jean. Adjunctions and projections in syntax. Dissertation. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge.
References
[edit]- ^ "Margaret Speas (CV)".
- ^ Sims, Christine (2010). "Indigenous Language Revitalization: Encouragement, Guidance & Lessons Learned". American Indian Quarterly. 34 (2): 263–265. doi:10.1353/aiq.0.0110. S2CID 161810295. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ a b "UMass Amherst Linguist Recognized for Preserving Native American Languages". Indian Country. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08.
- ^ "Navajo Language Academy | UMass Amherst Worldwide". www.umass.edu. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ "The Editor's Department". Language. 76 (2): 502. June 2000. doi:10.1353/lan.2000.0092. S2CID 257979691.
- ^ Parsons-Yazzie, Evangeline (2007). Dine Bizaad Binahoo'aah: Rediscovering the Navajo Language. Salina Bookshelf.
- ^ "Canku Ota - December 1, 2008 - NM governor unveils new Navajo language textbook". www.turtletrack.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ "Education Briefs". Navajo Times. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2015 – via Bibliography of Native North Americans - EBSCOhost.