Claire Bowern

Claire Bowern is Associate Professor of Linguistics with a concentration in language documentation and historical linguistics. Her 2004 PhD was from Harvard University and examined language change in a family of non-Pama-Nyungan (Australian) languages. Her current research focuses on the Indigenous languages of Australia and elsewhere, and is concerned with language documentation/description and prehistory. This includes fieldwork in Northern Australia with speakers of highly endangered languages, as well as archival work, shedding light on the linguistic history of Pama-Nyungan. She also works with Native American communities on language documentation and reclamation.