Jessica Coon
Jessica Coon is an associate professor of linguistics at McGill University and Canada Research Chair in syntax and indigenous languages.[1] She was the linguistics expert consultant for the 2016 film Arrival.[2][3]
Jessica Coon | |
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Alma mater | |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Syntax, indigenous languages |
Thesis | Complementation in Chol (Mayan): A Theory of Split Ergativity (2010) |
Website | jessica |
Coon works on ergativity, split-ergativity, case and agreement, nominalization, field methodology, and collaborative language work in Ch'ol and Chuj (Mayan) and Mi'gmaq (Algonquian).[4]
Early life and education
Coon received her PhD from MIT in 2010 with a dissertation on ergativity in the Ch'ol language.[5]
Coon received her BA in linguistics-anthropology from Reed College in May 2004.[6]
Career
Coon teaches linguistics to both graduate and undergraduate students at McGill University.[7]
In 2011, she began collaborating with language teachers in the Mi’gmaq Listuguj community, in order to document, research, and develop teaching materials for Mi’gmaq, a First Nations language of Quebec.[8]
Coon was consulted during the finalization of the script for Denis Villeneuve's Arrival for her linguistics expertise.[9] She wrote a piece for the Museum of the Moving Image on fieldwork and alien grammars, following her work on Arrival.[10]
Since 2018, Coon has led a National Geographic project "to record, transcribe, and translate narratives across different dialects of Ch’ol."[11]
Key publications
- Coon, Jessica (2017). Ch’ol. The Mayan Languages, eds. Judith Aissen, Nora England, and Roberto Zavala. London: Routledge.[12]
- Coon, Jessica (2013). Aspects of Split Ergativity. New York: Oxford University Press.[13]
References
- "25 Canada Research Chairs for McGill : McGill Reporter". publications.mcgill.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
- "CTV National News: The McGill prof who taught filmmakers to speak alien". CTVNews. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
- "The Scientist Who Helped Amy Adams Talk to Aliens in "Arrival" - Facts So Romantic - Nautilus". Nautilus. 2016-11-11. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
- "Jessica Coon". jessica.lingspace.org. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
- (MITWPL), MIT Working Papers in Linguistics. "Complementation in Chol (Mayan): A Theory of Split Ergativity | MITWPL". mitwpl.mit.edu. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
- "CV | Jessica Coon". jessica.lingspace.org. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
- "Jessica Coon". Linguistics. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- "Mi'gmaq Language Resources". Retrieved 2017-02-27.
- Abley, Mark (November 4, 2016). "Watchwords: Denis Villeneuve's new film, Arrival, gets to the heart of language". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
- "Sloan Science & Film". scienceandfilm.org. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- "Ch'ol | Documentation Project". Ch'ol. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- "Ch'ol. Jessica Coon, McGill University" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-02-27.
- Coon, Jessica (2013). Aspects of Split Ergativity. Oxford Studies in Comparative Syntax. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199858743.
External links