Dennis R. Preston

Professor
PhD, University of Wisconsin

Areas of Interest & Expertise

• Sociolinguistics, dialectology, ethnography, discourse, SLA

Recent Upper Division & Graduate Courses Taught

• Sociolinguistics
• Folk Linguistics
• Dialectology

Selected Publications

(2008-09 only)

2009

With James Stanford (eds). Variation in indigenous minority languages. Amsterdam: Benjamins (Impact series).

With Robert Bayley. Variationist linguistics and second language acquitition. W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia (eds), The new handbook of second language acquisition. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley UK: Emerald, 89-113.

With Nancy Niedzielski. Folk pragmatics. G. Senft, J.-O. Östman, and J. Verschueren (eds). Culture and language use. (Handbook of Pragmatics Highlights 20. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 146-55.

Are you really smart (or stupid, or cute, or ugly, or cool)? Or do you just talk that way? In M. Maegaard, F. Gregerson, P. Quist, & J. N. Jørgensen (eds). Language attitudes, standardization and language change — perspectives on themes raised by Tore Kristiansen on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Oslo: Novus Forlag, 105-29.

With Nancy Niedzielski. Folk linguistics. N. Coupland & A. Jaworski (eds), The new sociolinguistics reader. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England: Palgrave/Macmillan, 356-73.

Linguistic profiling: The linguistic point of view. M. R. Salaberry (ed.), Language allegiances and bilingualism in the US. Bristol/Buffalo/Toronto: Multilingual Matters, 53-79.

Language, space, and the folk. P. Auer & J. Schmidt (eds), Language and space: Vol. I. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 179-201.

2008

With Robert Bayley. Variation and second language grammars. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 1,2:385-97.

With Mercedes Viejobueno and Carol G. Preston, US and Argentine impoliteness. M. Locher, & J. Strässler (eds), Standards and Norms in the English Language. Contributions to the Sociology of Language 95. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 367-91.

Offices & Honors

Organizational Activity

• American Association for Applied Linguistics (Nominating Committee, 1993-94; Distinguished Scholarship & Service Award Committee 2009
• American Dialect Society (Chairperson, Research Committee, 1989 Centennial year celebration; Executive Committee, 1990-93; Vice-president 1999-2000; President, 2001-02; Representative to ACLS-NHA, 2002; Nominating Committee 2003-06)
• International Conferences on Methods in Dialectology (Executive Committee, 1997-2002)
• Linguistic Society of America (Associate Editor, Language, 1997-99; Director, LSA Institute, 2003; Linguistic Institutes and Fellowships Committee, 2003-; Executive Committee, 2005-07; Resolutions Committee 2005; Audit Committee, 2005-07; Chair, Bloomfield Book Award Committee, 2007; Directorate Transition Committee 2007; Representative to COSSA 2007-8; Nominating Committee 2009-11; Public Relations Committee 2009-11)
• Michigan Linguistic Society (President, 1988-89; meeting co-organizer 1992)
• Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (Advisory Council, Applied Linguistics Special Interest Group, l976-79; Associate Director, TESOL Summer Institute 1990)

Honors & Awards

• Regents Professor, Oklahoma State University (2009)
• Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Polish Republic (2004)
• University Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University (2003)
• Paul Varg Arts & Letters Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award, College of Arts & Letters, Michigan State University (2002)
• Erskine Fellowship, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand (2000)
• Distinguished Faculty Award, Michigan State University (2000)
• Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (1998)
• Medal of the University, Adam Mickiewicz University (1986)

Grants

(2000 and later only)

2009-12
International advisor, Helsinki Finnish: diversity, social identity and linguistic attitudes in an urban context. Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

2005-09
International Council member, Centre for Language Change in Real Time (LANCHART), Copenhagen University, Danish National Research Foundation

2005-07
The acquisition of dialect phonology by non-English language background speakers, National Science Foundation

2004-05
Dissertation fellowship, Bartłomiej Plichta, National Science Foundation

2003-04
with Mutsuko Endo Hudson. The 13th meeting of the Japan/Korea Linguistics Society, The Japan Foundation

2002-06
with John Baugh, Washington University in St. Louis. Linguistic Profiling, Ford Foundation

2002-
Sponsorship of an American Dialect Society Professorship at Linguistic Society of America Institutes, American Dialect Society

2002-03
A Korean Linguistics track in the 2003 LSA Institute, The Korea Foundation
with Ivan Sag, a computational linguistics track at the 2003 LSA Institute, American Association for Computational Linguistics

2001
Consultant planning grant, with Artemis Media Project, Montgomery, AL. A series of PBS radio segments on American dialects, National Endowment for the Humanities

1999-2000
Research Experience for Undergraduates, Supplement to National Science Foundation Grant 1998-2000 with Brian Joseph, a State Linguistic Profiles Conference, Columbus, OH, May 11-13, Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities (The Ohio State University)

1998-2000
Accomodation to the Northern Cities Shift, National Science Foundation

National and International Conference Presentations
(2006 or later only)

Abbreviations:
AAAL = American Association for Applied Linguistics
ADS = American Dialect Society
AILA = International Association for Applied Linguistics
ICMD = International Conference on Methods in Dialectology
LSA = Linguistic Society of America
NWAV = New Ways of Analyzing Variation
TESOL = Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

2008

With Michael Silverstein. Attitudes, ideologies, and folk linguistics. Invited lecture, Symposium on sociolinguistics and linguistic theories, LSA, Chicago, January

Linguistic profiling: How your brain can fool your ear. Plenary lecture, AAAL, Washington, DC, March

Discourse in folk linguistics and language attitude studies. Invited lecture, Workshop on micro and macro approaches to language attitudes, folk linguistics, and language ideologies, Sociolinguistics 17, Amsterdam, April

Perceptual linguistics, Invited lecture, Centruum voor Linguïstiek, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, May

Perceptual dialectology in the 21st Century, Invited inaugural lecture, perceptual dialectology — Neue Wege der Dialektologie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, May

Second language background speakers’ acquisition of Michigan vowels. ICMD, Leeds, August 2008

With Michael Pasquale, A folk linguistic taxonomy of language teaching and learning. AILA, Essen, August

Canada: The big sibling to the north. Invited lecture, University centenary celebration, University of Alberta, September

When ultimate achievement isn’t native-like. Invited lecture, High-Level Proficiency in Second Language Use, Stockholm University, October

Communities, Invited plenary lecture, NWAV, Rice University, Houston, November

The ecology of speech communities, Invited lecture, The Ecology of language, Agder University, Kristiansand, November

General American and other mythical creatures, University of Stockholm American English Lecture Series, November   

2007

Variationist linguistics and SLA. Invited lecture, Language Learning panel for the 30th anniversary of AAAL, Costa Mesa, CA, April

With Michael Pasquale, A folk linguistic taxonomy of language teaching and learning. AAAL, Costa Mesa, CA, April

The myth of General American English. Invited lecture, John F. Kennedy Institute, Free University, Berlin, June

The cognitive foundations of language attitude studies. Plenary lecture, GradEast and LANCHART Summer School, Copenhagen University, June

The cognitive foundations of language attitude studies. Invited lecture, Symbolic Minds lecture series, Humboldt University, Berlin, June

The cognitive foundations of language attitude studies. Invited lecture, Meertens Institute, Amsterdam, June

The cognitive foundations of language attitude studies. Invited lecture, University of Alcalá, November

Varieties of American English. Invited lecture, University of Alcalá, November

With Jaclyn Ocumpaugh & Rebecca Roeder. The acquisition of English by Spanish speakers in Michigan. Invited lecture, Proyecto para el Estudio Sociolingüistico del Español de España y de América, Comillas, Spain, November

2006

Peterson & Barney: What did they know about American dialects (and when did they know it)?ADS, Albuquerque, January

Systemic accommodation: Contact among emerging American vowel systems. Invited lecture, Department of English, University of Stockholm, March

Theoretical concerns in folk linguistics: Methodological implications. Invited lecture, Approaches to the Study of Folk Linguistics, Sociolinguistic Awareness, & Language Attitudes, Faculty Seminar Series (3rd Symposium), The Center for Research on Bilingualism, University of Stockholm, March

Theoretical concerns in folk linguistics: Methodological implications. Invited lecture, LANCHART Research Meeting, University of Copenhagen, May

Theoretical concerns in folk linguistics: Methodological implications. Invited lecture, Meertens Institute, Amsterdam, June

“It’s too hat in here” Perceptions of NCS a-fronting. Invited Lecture, Department of Linguistics Symposium, Göteborg University, March

Words of art, half art, and no art. Invited lecture, Linguistic Profiling and Linguistic Human Rights. Washington University in St. Louis, April

Why can’t you understand your own language? Invited plenary lecture, 23rd Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States Forum, University of Toronto, August

Why can’t you understand your own language? Invited lecture, Department of English, University of Heidelberg, October

Variation in folk linguistics. Invited lecture, Variatio delectat, University of Heidelberg, October

Variation in folk linguistics. NWAV, The Ohio State University, October

With Michael Pasquale, The folk linguistics of language teaching and learning, Second Language Research Forum, Seattle, October

English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Oklahoma State University
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-9474
For Information about English Programs: english.information@okstate.edu
Webmaster: engweb@okstate.edu

Address: 112B Morrill Hall

Phone: 405-744-3631

Message: 405-744-9474

E-mail: dennis.preston@okstate.edu