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Department of Geography

 

 

Leah Palmer

MPhil in Polar Studies student

Who Counts? A Critical Approach to Indigenous Language Demography in the Yukon

Biography

Qualifications

  • BA in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, First Class, University of Cambridge (2019-2022)

Awards

  • MPhil Studentship in Scandinavian Studies, 2022
  • Selwyn College Scholarship, elected 2021
  • Selwyn College Tripos Prize for achievement in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, 2021 and 2022

Research

My current research interests are in the field of Indigenous language demography, including how and why languages and their speakers are counted, language demography as a political and social tool, and how language demography can be practiced in a way that is useful to speakers in Indigenous language communities. My thesis focuses on the Yukon, but I am interested in Indigenous languages and their speakers across the circumpolar regions and the world.

My other research interests include the practice and theory of language revitalisation, the intersection between language, culture, and health, and oral histories. I am currently taking part in the 40 Years of Women at Corpus oral history project as a student interviewer.

Publications

  • Palmer, L. (2022). A diachronic study of place and manner assimilation in eastern Canadian Inuit apical-initial consonant clusters. In Wilson, C. (ed.) Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the Undergraduate Linguistics Association of Britain. pp. 186-214. [Undergraduate Dissertation]