Jessica Coon is a professor of
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...
at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
and
Canada Research Chair
Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program.
Program goals
The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...
in
syntax and
indigenous languages
An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...
. She was the linguistics expert consultant for the 2016 film ''
Arrival
Arrival(s) or The Arrival(s) may refer to:
Film
* ''The Arrival'' (1991 film), an American science fiction horror film
* ''The Arrival'' (1996 film), an American-Mexican science fiction horror film
* ''Arrival'' (film), a 2016 American science ...
''.
Coon works on
ergativity,
split ergativity
In linguistic typology, split ergativity is a feature of certain languages where some constructions use ergative syntax and morphology, but other constructions show another pattern, usually nominative–accusative. The conditions in which ergati ...
,
case and
agreement Agreement may refer to:
Agreements between people and organizations
* Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law
* Trade agreement, between countries
* Consensus, a decision-making process
* Contract, enforceable in a court of law
** Meeting of ...
,
nominalization
In linguistics, nominalization or nominalisation is the use of a word that is not a noun (e.g., a verb, an adjective or an adverb) as a noun, or as the head of a noun phrase. This change in functional category can occur through morphological tr ...
,
field methodology, and
collaborative language work in
Ch'ol and
Chuj (Mayan) and
Mi'gmaq (Algonquian).
Early life and education
Coon received her PhD from
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
in 2010 with a dissertation on aspect-based split ergativity, with a focus on the Ch'ol (Mayan) language, and cross-linguistic extensions.
Coon received her BA in linguistics-anthropology from
Reed College
Reed College is a private university, private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor style architecture ...
in May 2004.
Career
Coon teaches linguistics to both graduate and undergraduate students at McGill University.
In 2011, she began collaborating with language teachers in the Mi’gmaq Listuguj community, in order to document, research, and develop teaching materials for
Mi’gmaq, a First Nations language of Quebec.
Coon was consulted during the finalization of the script for
Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, '' Incendie ...
's
''Arrival'' for her linguistics expertise. She wrote a piece for the Museum of the Moving Image on fieldwork and alien grammars, following her work on
''Arrival''.
Since 2018, Coon has led a
National Geographic project "to record, transcribe, and translate narratives across different dialects of
Ch'ol."
Key publications
*Coon, Jessica and Lauren Clemens (2018). 'Deriving verb-initial word order in Mayan.' ''Language'', 94,2: 237–280.
*Coon, Jessica (2017). ''Ch’ol''. The Mayan Languages, eds. Judith Aissen, Nora England, and Roberto Zavala. London: Routledge.
*Coon, Jessica, Pedro Mateo Pedro, and Omer Preminger (2014). 'The role of case in A-bar extraction asymmetries: Evidence from Mayan.' ''Linguistic Variarion'', 14,2: 179–242.
*Coon, Jessica (2013). ''Aspects of Split Ergativity''. New York: Oxford University Press.
References
External links
Academic homepage*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coon, Jessica
Linguists from the United States
Linguists from Canada
Syntacticians
Women linguists
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century linguists
Linguists of Algic languages
Linguists of Mesoamerican languages
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Reed College alumni
McGill University faculty
21st-century Mesoamericanists