Hussain Modaffar

Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, Language Acquisition and Discourse Analysis

Hussain Modaffar is affiliated with Jazan University in KSA and a current Ph.D. student at GMU specializing in Generative Syntax, with a focus on the interface of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. His research explores the intricate relationships between these domains to better understand linguistic structure and meaning. In addition to his primary focus, Hussain has also contributed to the fields of language acquisition and discourse analysis, examining how language is learned and processed, and how it contributes to the understanding of meanings in real-life contexts.

Current Research

A Cross-Cultural Study of Child-Directed Speech Among Saudi Mothers

Family Discourse in Mexican Households: Exploring Gender Roles, Identities, and Power Dynamics in Everyday Conversations

A Grammatical Sketch of Negation Patterns in Hawrami Kurdish

Negative Concord in Farasani Arabic: Evidence for a Uniform Syntactic Agreement Model (USAM)

Courses Taught

ENG-253 Introduction to Linguistics

ENG-376 Syntax

ENG-457 Discourse Analysis

ENG-462 Sociolinguistics

ENG-461 Phonology

ENG-244 Phonetics

ENG-335 Translation 2

ENG-345 Academic Writing

ENG-122 Writing 2

Education

Earned his Bachelor's degree from Jazan University in 2012 and completed his Master's degree at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago in 2017. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at George Mason University (GMU).