Michael C. Cahill
Contact
7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd.
Dallas, TX 75236 U.S.A.
email:
Degrees
- Ph.D., Linguistics, Ohio State University, 1999
- M.A., Linguistics, University of Texas-Arlington, 1985
- B.S., Biochemistry, Iowa State University, 1977
Current positions
- Editor-in-Chief, SIL academic publications (1999– )
- External examiner, University of Texas at Arlington (2000– )
- Adjunct Associate Professor of Language Development, (GIAL) Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (2000– )
- Reviewer for Linguistic Discovery (2005– )
- Reviewer for Phonology (2002– )
- Reviewer for Journal of West African Linguistics (1998– )
Other experience
- Chair: (LSA) Committee on Endangered Languages and their Preservation (2003)
- Member: (LSA) Committee on Endangered Languages and their Preservation (2001-2003)
- Linguistics teaching:
- Seminar in Linguistics: Tone” [AL5398], 2004, 2008, 2010
- Phonetics [AL4302] instructor, GIAL (Fall 2000); Advanced Phonology [AL5396] (Spring 2000);
- Introductory Linguistics [Ling. 201], Ohio State University (six quarters-1995-1998)
- Readings in Applied Linguistics” [AL5394]: Bantu Linguistics (2009), Gur Tone (2010)
- Field Methods, TXSIL [one semester course head] (1993-1994) )
- Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy, and Bible Translation [GILLBT] (1983-1993):
- Acting Director (3 months 1993)
- Associate Director for Language Projects (1992-1993)
- GILLBT Linguistics Coordinator (1989-1992)
- Fieldwork in Koma language, Ghana, (some literacy/translation)
- Deputy director (1985-1986)
- Business manager (1983-1984)
- High School teacher (chemistry/physics/math) Newell, Iowa (1977-1982)
- President, Newell-Providence Education Association (1981-1982)
Memberships
- Linguistic Society of America
- West African Linguistic Society
- Phi Kappa Phi life member
Research interests
- African languages
- Phonology (tone, ATR vowel harmony, Feature Geometry, Optimality Theory)
- Tone universals
- Historical linguistics
- Labialvelar stops (phonetics, phonology, historical development)
Selected publications
Publications in SIL International Bibliography
2009. Konni Vowel Feature Spread across Consonants. In Selected Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, ed. Masangu Matondo, Fiona McLaughlin, and Eric Potsdam, 17-25. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. www.lingref.com
2008. Why labial-velar stops merge to g͡b. Phonology 25.3: 379-398.
2007. Aspects of the Morphology and Phonology of Konni. Dallas: SIL International
2004. “Tonal Polarity in Konni Nouns.” Studies in African Linguistics 33.1:1-33.
2000/2001. “Noun Classes and Phonology in Konni.” Journal of West African Languages XXVII.1:49-69.
2000. “Tonal associative morphemes in optimality theory.” OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 53: 31-70.
1999. “Aspects of the phonology of labial-velar stops.” Studies in African Languages 28.2: 155-184.
1999. “Diphthongization in Konni: A feature geometry account.” Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 20:21-39.
1999. “Triple splits from Proto-Buli-Konni.” OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 52: Historical Linguistics, pp. 41-50.
1997. (With Frederick Parkinson). “Partial class behavior and feature geometry: Remarks on feature class theory.” Proceedings of NELS 27.
Selected papers presented
2010. “Tonal Polarity and Dissimilation are Distinct.” Paper presented at LSA Annual meeting, Baltimore, MD.
2008. “The phonetics and phonology of labial-velars in Dagbani.” Paper presented at 39th ACAL, University of Georgia, April 18020, 2008.
2007. “Factors in effective orthographies for unwritten languages.” Invited paper, Rice University Linguistics Department Colloquium, Feb. 1, 2007.
2005. “The nature of labialvelar obstruents.” Paper presented at 6th Association for Linguistic Typology, Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia.
2002a. “Text Collection: One Task, Many Benefits.” Paper presented at LSA Symposium on Documenting Languages, San Francisco.
2002. “Dissimilation of /r/ in Konni.” Paper presented at LSA Annual Meeting, San Francisco.
2001. (with John Hajek). “Why [kp]?” Paper presented at LSA Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
2000. “Tonal diversity in languages of Papua New Guinea.” Paper presented at Tone and Pitch Accent conference, Tromsø, Norway.
Works online
2008. (with Elke Karan) “ Factors in designing effective orthographies for unwritten languages.” SIL Electronic Working Papers 2008-001.2007. “More Universals of Tone.” SIL Electronic Working Papers 2007-007.
1999. “From endangered to less endangered: Case histories from Brazil and Papua New Guinea.” SIL Electronic Working Papers 1999-006.