Arlee Jade Pearlswig

Graduate Research Assistant

Morphology, Syntax, Computational Linguistics, Semantics & Pragmatics

Arlee Jade Pearlswig is a Ph.D student and research assistant in the linguistics program. Arlee's main research interests lie in understanding the ways in which syntax and pragmatics interact to create structural variation within a language, particularly with regard to polysynthetic languages. The interest stems from studying Ainu in a seminar course at University of Mary Washington.

By observing the interactions of syntax and pragmatics in Indigenous languages, Arlee hopes to aid in the creation of pedagogical methods which are suitable for the revitalization of Indigenous language structures and adaptable for communities so they can preserve variable orders when desired.

Current Research

An analysis of pragmatic word order in Akuzipik, wh-movement in Hawrami Kurdish, and the pedagogical treatment of phrasal verb syntax in ESL classrooms.

Selected Publications

Patterns of Distribution of Noun Case Frequency, GMU Working Papers in Language and Linguistics

Anime Japanese and Nickname Formation Constraints: Comparing Standard Language to Media Language, GMU Working Papers in Language and Linguistics

Education

2021 - M.A., English: Linguistics, George Mason University

2018 - B.A., French Language & Literature; Linguistics, University of Mary Washington

Recent Presentations

Is It Funnier to Be Rude? Grammatical Politeness in Japanese Comedy, 14th Symposium for Linguistic Politeness, July 2023.