For those of you that have followed my analysis of sound systems in (so far) unwritten languages, I’m sure you’ve already heard enough about tone and vowels. So today, I thought I’d write about consonants! Language sound systems generally store Read more…
As we approached the Christmas season, I’ve asked various groups to pray for the depressed on a number of occasions. I’ve been aware of the general increase in depression around Christmas for some time. But I hadn’t thought seriously recently Read more…
As the democratic process in Congo seems to be winding down, it’s weird to think that we saw its beginnings. When we first arrived in Africa, we spend three months in the village house-sitting for a colleague, and learning language Read more…
What a rush the last several weeks have been! I was sicker than I’ve been in a long time, and it took me another week or so to get back to 100%. I’m not sure everyone in the family was Read more…
I presented a poster earlier this term at the Metroplex Linguistics Conference, a conference for linguists throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This year it was sponsored by the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (G.I.A.L.), where a lot of our colleagues Read more…
For our second weekend in the rainforest, it seemed right to visit Simon’s father’s church, which was just 25 km north of Nya-nya — in fact, while it has another name, it is typically referred to as “25km”. Simon’s father Read more…
It hasn’t always been easy describing what I do to a broad audience, but for some time now on immigration forms requiring a short answer, I indicate my profession as “Missionary Linguist”. I heard a chapel talk at the first Read more…
Hi all — Kim and I finally got away this weekend to get some rest and find ourselves again. As the dust has settled after this summer’s anxiety, it is clear that we’ve let our communication slip. So I’m writing Read more…
I’ve been trying to grow a proper plant this summer, with minimal results. I have ten peppers, but only one ripening, and only this much. Anyway, I figured should eat it now, since it will be overdone when I back. Read more…
After a couple days of struggle, and finally giving up, Kim made one more call. God parted the clouds, and let the rainbows through. The tickets we got today are a bit more expensive than the ones we originally had, Read more…