EDUCATION
Ph.D., December, 1992, Linguistics, University of Georgia. Areas of Specialization: Sociolinguistics, Anthropological Linguistics, Dialectology.
B.A., June, 1980, Foreign Languages, Rhodes College.
Writing Across the Curriculum Workshop, Berry College, 2001, and writing workshop with John Bean, 2003.
Faculty development workshops, Western Kentucky University Center for Teaching and Learning, Microcomputing Services, and Training and Development Program, 1996-97.
Completion of 3.5-year mentoring program to become a Certified Teacher, Dances of Universal Peace, 2002.
NCATE/ TESOL Accreditation
Standards Workshop, Berry College Charter School of Education, 2002.
DISSERTATION
Lexical Change and Variation in the Southeastern United States in the
Twentieth Century.
Director: William A. Kretzschmar,
Jr.
This study compared data on 39 speakers gathered from fieldwork in 30
counties in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina in 1990 with data
collected from similar speakers in the same communities for the Linguistic Atlas project in the 1930s.
It noted patterns of variation for 150 lexical variables based on age, sex,
race, education, region, and rurality and how they have changed. Vocabulary
change is discussed in the context of cultural and demographic changes.
BOOKS
Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Language. Edited by Michael Montgomery and Ellen Johnson. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, in press.
Instructor's Manual for Reflections on Language (Stuart Hirschberg and Terry Hirschberg, eds.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Lexical Change and Variation in the Southeastern United States, 1930 - 1990. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1996 (reprinted 2004).
Handbook of the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States. Eds. William A. Kretzschmar, Jr., Virginia G. McDavid, Theodore K. Lerud, and Ellen Johnson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Computer Methods in Dialectology. Eds. William A. Kretzschmar,
Jr., Edgar W. Schneider, and Ellen Johnson. Special issue of the Journal of English Linguistics
(22.1), 1990.
ARTICLES
"Learning Spanish in the North Georgia Mountains," by Ellen Johnson and David Boyle. Language Variation and Change in the American Midland: A New Look at "Heartland" English. Eds. Thomas E. Murray and Beth Lee Simon. Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2006. 235-244.
"Spanish in Appalachia." Encyclopedia of Appalachia. Knoxville: Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2006.
"United States," "Color Terms," and "Kinship Terms." Encyclopedia of Linguistics, ed. by Phillip Strazny. New York: Routledge (2005).
"Making Linguistics Relevant: A Service-Learning Experience," by Ellen Johnson and Christina Bucher. CATESOL Journal 15 (2003):143-59.
"Two Views of One Place: The Dialect of Putnam County, Georgia, in the Works of Joel Chandler Harris and Alice Walker," by Ellen Johnson and Stephanie Chastain. The Southern Journal of Linguistics 25 (2001), 174-86.
"Beyond the Vernacular." American Speech 75 (2000), 259-62.
"Cultural Norms Affect Oral Communication in the Classroom." Approaches to Teaching Non-Native English Speakers Across the Curriculum. Eds. David L. Sigsbee, Bruce W. Speck, and Bruce Maylath. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.
"Geographical Influence on Lexical Choice: Changes in the Twentieth Century." Language Variety in the South Revisited. Eds. Cynthia Bernstein, Thomas Nunnally, and Robin Sabino. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1997. 382-91.
"Yet Again: The Midland Dialect." American Speech 69 (1994): 419-30.
"The Distribution of Variants of /aI/ in the Middle and South Atlantic States." Verhandlungen des Internationalen Dialectologenkongresses Bamberg 1990. Vol. 3. Ed. Wolfgang Viereck. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1994. 345-67.
"Gender Differences in Spoken American English." Signos: Estudios de Lengua y Literatura 26 (1993): 103-112.
"The Relationship between Lexical Variation and Lexical Change." Language Variation and Change 5.3 (1993): 285-303.
"Teaching American English: Which Variety?" Tercer Congreso Internacional
de Profesores de Ingles (plenary address). Eds. Gladys Aguilera Muga,
Justo Gallardo Olcay, Emérita Valladares Palma, and Emilio Verdugo
Gonzalez. Arica, Chile: Universidad de Tarapaca, 1993. 149-63.
REVIEWS
Review of Barbara Johnstone, Qualitative Methods in Linguistics. Journal of English Linguistics 29 (2001): 367-71.
Review of Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes, American English. English World-Wide 20 (1999): 315-21.
Review of Michael D. Linn (ed.), Handbook of Dialects and Language Variation, 2nd ed. Language 75 (1999): 600-603.
Review of Michael Montgomery (ed.), The Crucible of Carolina: Essays in the Development of Gullah Language and Culture. Journal of Southern Folklore 55 (1998): 66-71.
Review of Dictionary of American Regional English, vols. 1-3. Language 74 (1998): 386-89.
Review of Dennis Preston (ed.), American Dialect Research. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 5 (1995): 239-42.
Review of Timothy C. Frazer (ed.), "Heartland English": Variation and Transition in the American Midwest. The SECOL Review 18 (1994): 201-06.
Review of Joseph Greenberg Language in the Americas. The
SECOL Review 14 (1990): 77-80.
PRESENTATIONS
“Learning Linguistics and Learning Tolerance.” Paper presented at the Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, Raleigh, NC, April 2005.
"Can Southerners Learn Spanish?" Language Variety in the South III, April 2004.
"Online Classrooms and Student Citizenship: A Comparative Study of Student Discourse in Online and Face-to-Face Discussion," by Ellen Johnson and Lara Whelan. Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2004.
"Language Attitudes Research: Literary Dialect, Ma'am and Sir, and a Newly Bilingual Community." Food for Thought faculty research series, Berry College, February 2003.
"Language Differences between Women and Men." Guest lecture, Women's Studies course, Berry College, January 2003.
"Attitudes Facing Migrants in an Atypical Destination in the Southern United States." International Conference on Global Diasporas and the United States, November 2002.
"Language Attitudes in a Changing Southern Town: The Case of Dalton, Georgia (US)." International Conference on Methods in Dialectology, August 2002.
"Language Attitudes in a Changing Culture: Hispanics in Southern Appalachia." Appalachian Studies Association, March, 2002.
"Language and Politics in Africa" and "Linguistics." Guest lectures, Cultures of Africa and Cultural Anthropology courses, Berry College, February 2002.
"African American English: Features, History, and Educational Implications." Guest lecture, African American History course, Dept. of History, Berry College, April 2001.
"Yes Ma'am: A Study in Perceptual Sociolinguistics." Linguistic Association of the Southwest, September, 2001.
"Words and Food and Cultural Change." Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, April, 2000.
"Two Views of One Place: The Dialect of Putnam County, Georgia, in the Works of Joel Chandler Harris and Alice Walker." American Dialect Society at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association, November, 1998.
"Letters in Dialect Research." New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English, October, 1998.
"Change and Variation in Southern English Vocabulary." Invited Lecture, Program in Linguistics, University of Tennessee, April, 1998.
"How the Apatosaurus Got Its Name." Guest lecture, Mrs. Lewandowski's first grade class, Natcher Elementary School, Bowling Green, KY. January, 1998.
"Women's Speech and Men's Speech." Guest lecture, Gender and Communication course, Dept. of Speech and Communication, Western Kentucky University, November, 1997.
"The Discipline of Linguistics." Guest lecture, English Honors Forum, Western Kentucky University, October, 1997.
"Buffalo and Brontosaurus: Playing Adam." Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, April, 1997.
"The History and Significance of Linguistics." Guest lecture, Senior Seminar, Dept. of English, Western Kentucky University, January, 1997.
"In the Family Way: Euphemism and Dysphemism Surrounding Childbirth and Kinship." South Atlantic Modern Language Association, November, 1996.
"Lexical Change: Findings and Questions." New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English, October, 1996.
"The Hegemony of SWINE (Standard White Inland Northern English)." Guest lecture, American Culture, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Memphis, April, 1996.
"The Hidden Meanings of Names of Rock Bands in Athens, Georgia." American Name Society/ American Dialect Society, December, 1995.
"Kinship Terms in Southern American English: From Ma and Pa to Mom and Dad." Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, November, 1995.
"How to Discover Lexical Variation." New Ways of Analyzing Variation, October, 1995.
"Access and Use of Linguistic Atlas Materials." Workshop, Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, April, 1995.
"American Spanish Dialectology." American Dialect Society, December, 1994.
"What Can ESL Studies and English Dialectology Offer One Another?" Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, April, 1994.
"Social and Regional Dialects of American English." Plenary, TESOL Chile, October, 1993.
"Current North American Research in Sociolinguistics and Dialectology." Invited lecture for faculty at the Academia de Idiomas del Norte.
"Using Linguistic Atlas Databases for Phonetic Analysis." Ellen Johnson and William A. Kretzschmar, Jr. Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing, June, 1993.
"Change and Variation in the Lexicon: A Study in Real Time." New Ways of Analyzing Variation, October, 1992.
"Lexical Variation in the Southeastern US, 1990." Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, April, 1992.
"Lexical Variation in the Southeastern US in the 1930's." American Dialect Society at New Ways of Analyzing Variation, October, 1991.
"Use of 'Dialect Humor' by Linguists in Professional Communication." Modern Language Association, December, 1989.
"Women's Speech: Schoolmarmish, Status-Conscious, and Conformist?" Invited lecture for the University of Georgia Women's Studies Series, May, 1989.
"Prepositions in Australian and American Emotional Expressions." Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, March, 1989.
"Cultural Contact and Language Change: American Indians and American English."
Southeastern
Conference on Linguistics, April, 1988.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Associate Professor (since 2006), Berry College, Dept. of English, Rhetoric,
and Writing, 2000-present.
Introduction to Linguistics (undergraduate)
Sociolinguistics (undergraduate)
Southern English (honors undergraduate)
The Politics of Language (undergraduate)
Rhetoric and Writing I and II (undergraduate)
Explorations in Diverse Cultures (undergraduate)
Language and Gender (undergraduate)
First-Year Seminar (incoming freshmen)
Instructor, University of Georgia, Linguistics Program, 1998-2000.
Field Methods (graduate)
American English (undergraduate)
Anthropology of Language (undergraduate)
English Grammar (undergraduate)
Southern English (undergraduate)
Language Variation (undergraduate)
Introduction to English Linguistics (undergraduate)
Study of Language (undergraduate honors)
Assistant Professor, Western Kentucky University, Dept. of English,
1996-98.
Descriptive Linguistics (graduate)
Psycho/Sociolinguistics (graduate)
Word Study (undergraduate)
Language and Communication (undergraduate)
English Composition (undergraduate)
Pedagogical web page designed and implemented, 8/97.
Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Memphis, Dept. of English,
1995-96.
Dialectology (graduate)
The American Language (undergraduate)
History of the English Languge (graduate)
Research Methods in Applied Linguistics (graduate)
Thesis committee: Mary Berni Schremp.
Instructor, Georgia State University Dept. of Applied Linguistics and
ESL, 1995.
Sociolinguistics (graduate)
Second Language Acquisition (graduate)
Adjunct Professor, Piedmont College,
Dept. of English, 1994-95.
Developmental English (undergraduate)
English Composition and Literature I and II (undergraduate, adult and traditional)
Adjunct Faculty, University of Georgia, Linguistics Program, 1993-94.
English Composition (undergraduate)
Study of Language (undergraduate)
Visiting Professor, Universidad
de Chile, 1993.
Dept. of Linguistics: English Dialectology (graduate)
Dept. of Literature: American English (graduate)
Also supervised research on literary dialects
Visiting Professor, Universidad Arturo
Prat English Teaching Program, 1993.
American English (graduate, also faculty seminar)
Teaching Assistant, University of Georgia Dept. of Anthropology and Linguistics,
1990.
Study of Language (undergraduate)
French and Spanish Teacher, Fulton County, GA, and Broward and
Dade Counties, FL, 1984-86.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Co-Director, 2005 Southern Women Writers Conference, Berry College, 2004-05
Pronunciations Copyeditor, Oxford University Press, U.S. Dictionaries Program, 1999-2001.
Expert witness, Educational Assessment and Evaluation, Inc., 2000, 2003, 2005.
Research Coordinator and Archivist, Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States, 1987-94, continuing appointment as LAMSAS editor by the American Dialect Society since 1992.
Editorial Associate, Journal of English Linguistics, 1992-94.
Research Assistant, Professors Ben Blount and Salikoko Mufwene,
1986-87.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND SERVICE
Georgia Professional Standards Content Review Panel for teacher preparation programs, 2003.
American Speech Advisory Board, 1995-2002.
Reviewer: Journal of English Linguistics, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, National Endowment for the Humanities, Reza Odoubadian Student Paper Award (Southeastern Conference on Linguistics), various publishers.
Berry College: Southern Women Writers Conference co-director (04-05), executive committee, (02-03); Interfaith Council, representing Faculty Assembly (02-); Faculty Advisor, Krannert Center Activities Board (02-); Teacher Education Unit (01-); Evans School Interdisciplinary Studies Committee (01-03); Chair, Website Committee, Dept. of English, Rhetoric, and Writing (01-05); Coordinator, "Food for Thought" Faculty Research Presentations Series (00-02).
Completed a 186-page finding aid for the Linguistic Atlas Archives located at the Hargrett Library of the University of Georgia, 1997.
Western Kentucky University, Potter College Teacher Education Comm. (96-98); English Dept. committees: Library (96-98), Composition (96-98), English as a Second Language (96-98), Linguistics (96-98), Computers (96-98), English Education (96-98), Travel and Professional Development (97-98).
Implemented and maintained the website for the Women's Studies Program, Western Kentucky University, 1997-98: http://wkuweb1.wku.edu/Dept/Academic/Graduate/WStudy/
Advanced Grant Workshop reviewer, Office of Sponsored Programs, Western Kentucky University, 1997.
South Atlantic Modern Language Association. Chair and organizer, 1995 Linguistics Section; Secretary, 1994 Linguistics Section; Linguistics Section Nominating Comm., 1996-98 (Chair, 1998).
Southeastern Conference on Linguistics. Executive Comm., 2005-. Nominating Comm., 1995-97 (Chair, 1997); Co-Chair, 1995 Local Arrangements Comm.
American Dialect Society. Chair and organizer, 1992 SAMLA Session; SAMLA Nominating Comm., 1993-95 (Chair, 1995).
University of Georgia Linguistics Society. Founding member; President 1988-89.
Conference Coordinator, Workshop on Computer Methods in Dialectology,
1989.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Georgia Humanities Council and Georgia Council for the Arts, for Southern Women Writers Conference, 2005.
International Travel Grant, Berry College, 2002 (slideshow).
Faculty Development Grants, Berry College, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004.
Junior Faculty Research Grant, Western Kentucky University, 1998-99.
Fulbright Senior Scholar Award to teach graduate seminars in Chile, 1993.
Phi Kappa Phi, 1992.
American Association of University Women American Fellowship to support a year of dissertation work, 1990-91.
American Dialect Society Presidential Scholar honorary membership, 1989-92.
University of Georgia University-Wide
Graduate Assistantships, 1987-90.
Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 1990.
Rhodes College Four-Year Merit Award,
National Merit Scholarship, 1977-80.
LANGUAGES
Moderate fluency in speaking and reading: Spanish, French, German.
Coursework in: Swahili, Sanskrit, Portuguese, Arabic.