James A. Crippen

Assistant Professor of Linguistics at McGill

Dzéiwsh James A. Crippen joined the Department of Linguistics at McGill University in 2021. He received his PhD in linguistics at the University of British Columbia in 2019 with a dissertation on syntactic structure in the Tlingit language.

Dzéiwsh is Tlingit, a member of the Kaaḵáakʼw Hít (Basket/Arch House) of the Deisheetaan clan in the Raven moiety (Laayineidí) and a child of the Sʼiknax̱.ádi clan in the Wolf/Eagle moiety. He comes from the Shtaxʼhéen Ḵwáan (Stikine) in Ḵaachx̱an.áakʼw (Wrangell, Alaska). He lives among and works primarily with the Daḵká Lingít (Inland Tlingit people) of the Deisḻeen Ḵwáan (Teslin), Taageesh Ḵwáan (Tagish & Carcross, Yukon), and Aatlein Ḵwáan (Atlin, BC).

Research interests

My research interests revolve around the Tlingit language, covering all aspects of its structure and use. I work primarily on morphology and syntax in Tlingit, looking at its interfaces with the lexicon, phonology, and information structure. Having a background in historical linguistics, I also study linguistic phenomena both diachronically and synchronically in related languages. As a student of traditional Tlingit knowledge, I explore many issues in orality (conversation, narrative, and oratory), art, and history. As an indigenous person doing research in my own community, I encounter and study the mismatches between traditional Tlingit ethics and ethical rules in Canadian and American academia.

See Tlingit language resources for language materials and publications.