Professor Dr. Lev Michael

Biography

Lev Michael is an anthropological linguist specializing in the languages of South America, with a focus on the interplay of language structure and social activity. His research explores the ways in which social, political, and cultural processes shape, and are shaped by, the structural dimensions of language. He engages in comparative work on the grammars and lexicons of South American languages to illuminate the history of indigenous societies across the continent. Methodologically grounded in language documentation and description as well as historical contact linguistics, his work has led to significant engagements in community-oriented language pedagogy and revitalization activities, particularly within indigenous communities. His research interests include the typologically remarkable nature of Amazonian languages, comparative studies among Arawakan, Tukanoan, Tupí-Guaraní, and Zaparoan language families, and extensive fieldwork involving various language speakers such as Aʔɨwa, Andoa, Iquito, Kashibo-Kakataibo, Máíhɨ̃ki, Matsigenka, Muniche, Nanti, Omagua, and Sápara.

Research Interests