Marlyse Baptista is a

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

specializing in

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

syntax In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...

pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

and

creole languages A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable form of contact language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form (often a pidgin), and then that form expanding and elaborating into a full-fl ...

language contact Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact with and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. Language contact can occur at language borders, between adstratum ...

, and

language documentation Language documentation (also: documentary linguistics) is a subfield of linguistics which aims to describe the grammar and use of human languages. It aims to provide a comprehensive record of the linguistic practices characteristic of a given speec ...

. Until 2022, Baptista was the

Uriel Weinreich Uriel Weinreich (, ; May 23, 1926 – March 30, 1967) was a Jewish–American linguist. Life Uriel Weinreich was born in Wilno, Poland (since 1945, Vilnius, Lithuania), the first child of linguist Max Weinreich () and Regina Szabad, to a fam ...

Collegiate Professor of Linguistics at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and now holds the position of President's Distinguished Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Biography

Baptista's parents are from

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

, and she grew up in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as part of the

Cape Verdean diaspora The Cabo Verdean diaspora refers to both historical and present emigration from Cape Verde. Today, more Cabo Verdeans live abroad than in Cape Verde itself. The country with the largest number of Cape Verdeans living abroad is the United States ...

. After studying for a

licence A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

(1986) and then an MA (1987) in Anglophone literatures and civilizations at the Université de Bordeaux III, she moved to the United States to study for a further MA in

ESL English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

at the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

(1990). Her subsequent studies took place at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where she completed a third MA and then a PhD in linguistics, awarded in 1997. Post-PhD she spent a year as a visiting scholar in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

. From 1998 to 2007 she was first assistant professor then associate professor of linguistics at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. In 2007 she moved to the

to take up a position as associate professor of linguistics and Afroamerican and African studies. She was promoted to full professor in 2011 and took up an

endowed chair A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are ...

in 2019. She now has an endowed chair at the University of Pennsylvania.

Honors

Since 2017 she has been a Fellow of the

Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...

(LSA). She served on the Executive Committee of the LSA from 2018-2020. She was elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

for 2024. She is also a past President (2011–2015) of the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics.

Research

Baptista's work has focused on the

morphosyntax In linguistics, morphology is the study of words, including the principles by which they are formed, and how they relate to one another within a language. Most approaches to morphology investigate the structure of words in terms of morphemes, wh ...

of pidgin and creole languages. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Cape Verdean archipelago, particularly on

Cape Verdean Creole Cape Verdean Creole is a Portuguese-based creole languages, Portuguese-based creole language spoken on the islands of Cape Verde. It is the native creole language of virtually all Cape Verdeans and is used as a second language by the Cape Verd ...

. In current research she is investigating the cognitive underpinnings of language contact situations, particularly the role of congruence in second language acquisition, bilingualism, and the origins and development of creoles. She has also collaborated with geneticists to gain a better understanding of the founding population of Cape Verde using field data and DNA.

Selected publications

* Baptista, Marlyse. 2002. ''The syntax of Cape Verdean Creole: the Sotavento varieties.'' Amsterdam: John Benjamins. * Baptista, Marlyse. 2005. New directions in pidgin and creole studies. ''Annual Review of Anthropology'' 34, 33–42. * Baptista, Marlyse, and Jacqueline Guéron (eds.). 2007. ''Noun phrases in creole languages: a multi-faceted approach.'' Amsterdam: John Benjamins. * Baptista, Marlyse. 2007. On the syntax and semantics of DP in Cape Verdean Creole. In Baptista and Guéron (eds.), 61–105. * Obata, Miki, Samuel D. Epstein, and Marlyse Baptista. 2015. Can crosslinguistically variant grammars be formally identical? Third factor underspecification and the possible elimination of parameters of UG. ''Lingua'' 156, 1–16. * Verdu, Paul, Ethan M. Jewett, Trevor J. Pemberton, Noah A. Rosenberg, and Marlyse Baptista. 2017. Parallel Trajectories of Genetic and Linguistic Admixture in a Genetically Admixed Creole Population. ''Current Biology'' 27 (16), 2529–2535.e3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptista, Marlyse Living people Women linguists American people of Cape Verdean descent University of Bordeaux alumni University of Massachusetts Boston alumni University of Michigan faculty University of Georgia faculty Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Linguistic Society of America Linguistic Society of America presidents University of Pennsylvania faculty