It’s just a matter of semantics.

My linguistic research interests lie at the intersection of formal semantics and historical linguistics. My undergraduate thesis
The diachronic semantics of Diyari marla: A formal correspondence between contexts, scales, and polarity
posits a formal semantic pathway for a lexeme attested as an intensifier, comparative, and aspectual negative polarity item.

My thesis was advised by Josh Phillips and was initiated and developed in Claire Bowern’s Yale lab focusing on the study and documentation of Australian languages.
It served as the basis for a FoDS 7 paper (w/ Phillips, Jack Sullivan & Bowern), a NELS 53 poster (w/ Phillips & Bowern), and a SALT 33 poster (w/ Phillips & Bowern).

The FoDS 7 abstract is included above and also accesible here.

Past and ongoing projects include work on the diachronic semantics of singular they, the English vernacular modal verb dast/dasn’t, and the cross-linguistic recruitment of comparative lexemes for aspectual functions. Reach out for information about current work.