Linguistics Faculty, Staff and Graduate Students

Mizuki Miyashita

Professor, Director of Linguistics Program

Contact

Office
Social Sciences 213
Email
mizuki.miyashita@umontana.edu
Office Hours

Mondays 1-3pm or by appointment

Website
https://www.umt.edu/indigenous-language-linguistics-applied-science/default.php

Personal Summary

Dr. Mizuki Miyashita is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Montana. She earned a Ph.D. in Linguistics at the University of Arizona (2002). Her specialization is sound pattern analysis in Native American languages. Her dissertation concentrates on syllable analysis of Tohono O’odham (formerly known as Papago, an endangered indigenous language spoken in Southwestern Arizona and Northern Mexico). She has presented and published several articles in phonology and Native American languages. Her current research interest is Blackfoot phonology. Her research in Blackfoot aims to contribute both to linguistics research and language revitalization.

Education

Ph.D. in Linguistics, University of Arizona, 2002.
  Dissertation: "Tohono O'odham Syllable Weight: Descriptive, Theoretical and Applied Aspects"
  Committee: Mike Hammond (chair), Jane Hill, and Ofelia Zepeda.

M.A. in Linguistics, University of Arizona, 1998.
B.A. in Linguistics, University of Arizona, 1995.

Courses Taught

Courses I Teach
LING 270S: Introduction to Linguistics
LING 477Bilingualism
LING 471/571: Phonetics-Phonology
LING 489/589: Morphology
LING 491: Special Topic (Audio Data Processing)

LING 570: Graduate Seminar: Blackfoot Linguistics

Other Courses I Have Taught 

LING 375X: Endangered Languages
LING 470: Introduction to Linguistic Analysis
LING 473: Language and Culture
LING 484/584: North American Indigenous Languages and Linguistics
LING 570: Graduate Seminar: Language Preservation
LING 570: Graduate Seminar: Second Language Phonology
LING 570: Graduater Seminar: Advanced Phonology

 

Research Interests

Blackfoot Linguistics

I have been studying the Blackfoot language spoken in Alberta, Canada and Montana, US. My interest is to investigate prosody of the language as well as to promote the use of the language assisting the Piegan Institute and the Language Culture Division at the Blackfeet Community College.

Phonology in a Yamagata Dialect of Japanese

I am interested in phonetics, phonology, and morphology in a Yamagata dialect of Japanese particularly spoken in Kahoku-cho (Yachi), Yamagata-ken.
Currently, I am researching on Rendaku in this dialect as a member of the group directed by Dr. Timothy Vance at National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (INJAL).
I also collaborate with Dr. Mark Irwin at the Yamagata University in developing the Rendaku Database.

Projects

Research and Dissemination Activities: Blackfoot Language Group

CoLang 2022 - Institute on Collaborative Language Research

Field of Study

Phonology
Prosodic Analysis
Documentary Linguistics
Blackfoot Language and Linguistics
Tohono O'odham Language and Linguistics
Yamagata Japanese Phonology and Morphology

Selected Publications

2021  Timothy J. Vance, Shigeto Kawahara, and Mizuki Miyashita. The diachronic origins of Lyman’s Law: Evidence from phonetics, dialectology and philology. Phonology, 38(3), 479-511. doi:10.1017/S0952675721000270

2021  Min Chen, Jignasha Borad, Mizuki Miyashita, and James Randall. Integrated Cloud-based System for Endangered Language Documentation and Application. In 2021 IEEE 4th International Conference on Multimedia Information Processing and Retrieval (MIPR) (pp. 235-238). IEEE.

2021  Miyashita, Mizuki, Richard Littlebear, Susan Penfield, Alyce Sadongei, Leora Bar-el, and Irene Appelbaum. “Collaborative Language Planning Project in Montana.” Proceedings of the 25th Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium, 7-9 June 2018, Lethbridge, Alberta. Edited by Lisa Crowshoe, Inge Genee, Mahaliah Peddle, Joslin Smith and Conor Snoek. 81-88.

2021  Fish, Naatosi and Mizuki Miyashita. “Blackfoot Word Melody of Second Language Learners.” Proceedings of the 25th Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium, 7-9 June 2018, Lethbridge, Alberta. Edited by Lisa Crowshoe, Inge Genee, Mahaliah Peddle, Joslin Smith and Conor Snoek. Under review at Athabasca University Press. 158-172.

2020  Mizuki Miyashita and Natalie Weber. Blackfoot Pitch Contour: An Instrumental Investigation. Papers of the Forty-Ninth Algonquian Conference. Eds. by Monica Macaulay and Margaret Noodin. 149-166.

2019  Mizuki Miyashita. Lexical Pitch in Blackfoot. Papers of the Forty-Eighth Algonquian Conference. Eds. by Monica Macaulay and Margaret Noodin. 173-190.

2018  Sonya Bird and Mizuki MiyashitaTeaching phonetics in the context of Indigenous language revitalization. Proceedings of ISAPh 2018 International Symposium on Applied Phonetics. 39-44, DOI: 10.21437/ISAPh.2018-7.

2018  Mizuki Miyashita. "Vowel-consonant coalescence in Blackfoot." Papers of the Forty-Seventh Algonquian Conference. Eds. by Monica Macaulay and Margaret Noodin. pp217-235.

2017. Naatosi Fish and Mizuki Miyashita. “Guiding Pronunciation of Blackfoot Melody.” In Honoring Our Teachers. Eds. by Jon Reyhner, Joseph Martin, Louise Lockard and Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert. Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University. 203-210

2016. Mizuki Miyashita, Mark Irwin, Ian Wilson, and Timothy Vance. “Rendaku in Tōhoku Japanese: The Kahoku-chō Survey”. Sequential Voicing in Japanese: Papers from the NINJAL Rendaku Project (Studies in Language Companion Series). Eds. by Timothy Vance and Mark Irwin. Jon Benjamins. 173-193.

2015. Darren Kipp, Jesse DesRosier and Mizuki Miyashita. “Memoir and Insights of Darrell R. Kipp.” Jon Reyhner, Joseph Martin, Louise Lockard & Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert (eds.), Honoring Our Elders: Culturally Appropriate Approaches for Teaching Indigenous Students (Dedicated to the Memory of Darrell R. Kipp 1944-2013). pp1-14.

2015. Mizuki Miyashita and Annabelle Chatsis. “Respecting Dialectal Variations in a Blackfoot Language Class” Jon Reyhner, Joseph Martin, Louise Lockard & Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert (eds.). In Honoring Our Elders: Culturally Appropriate Approaches for Teaching Indigenous Students (Dedicated to the Memory of Darrell R. Kipp 1944-2013). pp109-116.

2014. Timothy Vance, Mizuki Miyashita, and Mark Irwin. "Rendaku in Japanese Dialects that Retain Prenasalization." S. Nam, J. Jun and H. Ko (eds.), Japanese/Korean Linguistics. Vo21. Standard: CSLI Publications. pp33-42.

2013. Timothy J. Vance, Mizuki Miyashita, Mark Irwin, and Richard Jordan. 2013. Benibana to Kahoku-cho Hogen. (Safflowers and the Kahoku-cho Dialect.) In Ajia no hitobito no shizenkan o tadoru. (Tracing Asian Views of Nature.) Kibe, Nobuko, Kazuhiko Komatsu, and Yo-ichiro Sato (eds.) Tokyo: Bensei Press. pp185-192.

2013. Mizuki Miyashita and Annabelle Chatsis. “Collaborative Development of Blackfoot Language Courses.” Language Documentation & Conservation. Vol. 7, pp302-330.

2013. Shannon Bischoff, Deborah Cole, Amy Fountain, and Mizuki Miyashita (eds). The persistence of language: Constructing and confronting the past and present in the voices of Jane H. Hill. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 440pp.

2013. Annabelle Chatsis, Mizuki Miyashita, and Deborah Cole. "A documentary ethnography of a Blackfoot language course: Patterns of Variationism and Standard in the organization of diversity." In The Persistence of Language: Constructing and confronting the past and present in the voices of Jane H. Hill. Bischoff, et al. (eds.) Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 257-290.

2011. Mizuki Miyashita.  "Diphthongs in Tohono O'odham." Anthropological Linguistics. 53:4 323-342.

2011. Mizuki Miyashita.  "Five Blackfoot Lullabies." Proceedings of The American Philosophical Society. 155:3 276-293.

2011. Min Chen and Mizuki Miyashita.  "Audio Classification for Blackfoot Language Analysis." Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

2009. Kyoko Masuda and Mizuki Miyashita.  "Acquisition of English /r/ and /l/: A Longitudinal Study of Japanese. Learners of English." Sophia Linguistica 57. 225-282.

2009. Mizuki Miyashita and Shirlee Crow Shoe.  "Blackfoot Lullabies and Language Revitalization." Indigenous Language Revitalization: Encouragement, Guidance & Lessons Learned. (Ed.) J. Reyhner. Northern Arizona University. 183-190.

2006. Debbie Cole and Mizuki Miyashita. “The Function of Pauses in Metrical Studies: Acoustic Evidence from Japanese Verse”. In Formal Approaches to Poetry. Elan Dresher and Nila Friedberg, eds. Mouton de Gruyter. 173-192.

2006. Tsuyoshi Ono and Mizuki Miyashita.  "The development of the final particle ha in Yamagata Japanese." Canadian Review of East Asian Studies. Vol. 2, No. 1. 65-74.

2006. Mizuki Miyashita.  "Tohono O’odham" In Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 2nd Edition. Online version. Elsevier.

2000. Mizuki Miyashita. "Sequential Grounding and Consonant-Vowel Interaction." Coyote Papers: Working Papers in Linguistics from A-Z, 122-134.

2000. Mizuki Miyashita. “Less Stress, Less Pressure, Less Voice.” In Proceedings of Southwest Workshop on Optimality Theory Conference 4, eds. by Jessica Maye and Mizuki Miyashita. Linguistics Circle, The University of Arizona. 43-55.

Professional Experience

Instructor, 2018. Institute on Collaborative Language Research, University of Florida, Gainesville.
Associate Professor, 2010-2016. Linguistics Program, Dept. of Anthropology, U of Montana.
Assistant Professor, 2006-2010. Linguistics Program, Dept. of Anthropology, U of Montana.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, 2003-2006. Linguistics Program, Dept. of Anthropology, U of Montana.
Visiting Assistant Professor, 2002-2003. Dept. of Linguistics, U of Kansas.
Program Coordinator, 2000-2002. Teaching Teams Program, U of Arizona.
Graduate Teaching Assistant, 1996-2000. Dept. of Linguistics, U of Arizona.

Honors / Awards

External Grants Awarded

2022    $5,000. "Language Reclamation and Beyond: Models Plenaries at CoLang 2020." Humanities Montana.

2021    $116,142. [NSF DLI-DEL BCS-2109437] "Collaborative Research: Prosodic Analysis and Visualization of Phonetic Samples for Improved Understanding of Stress and Intonation." Collaborative grant with Min Chen (UW-Bothell) and Sean Chandler (Aaniiih Nakoda College).

2018    $189,948. [NSF DEL BCS-1836602] Collaborative Research: Conference: 2020 Institute on Collaborative Language Research. Co-PI: Susan Penfield. Collaborative grant with Richard Littlebear (Chief Dull Knife College).

2018    $ 49,588. “Planning Grant: Collaborative Research: Increasing Montana's Tribal College Engagement in Language Documentation and Revitalization.” (PI: Miyashita, co-PI: Susan Penfield), in collaboration with Chief Dull Knife College, PI: Richard Littlebear). NSF-DEL grant. [BCS-1800820]

2017    $ 2,584. “Language Revival and Healing through Language.” Regular Grant, Humanities Montana.

2015    $1,000. “Stakeholders in Indigenous Writing, Speaking, and Language Revitalization” Humanities Montana, Major Grant. 

2013    $139,424. “Documentation and Analysis of Stress and Prosody in Blackfoot (Algonquian)” National Science Foundation (NSF), Documenting Endangered Languages (DEL)  Program.  [BCS:1251684]

2013    $3,500. Phillips Fund, American Philosophical Society. “Documentation and Investigation of Blackfoot Pitch Accent.” Fieldwork for 2013-2014.

2010    $50,400. Documenting Endangered Languages Fellowship. NSF/NEH/Smithsonian. One year fellowship for 2011-2012. “Blackfoot Documentation: Transcription, Interlinear Analysis, and Electronic Database”

2009    $24,999. “Computer-Based Data Processing and Management for Blackfoot Phonetics and Phonology” with Min Chen, Dept. of Computer Science, U Montana. NEH Digital Humanity Start-up Grant.

2009    $5,000. “Blackfoot Linguistic Transcription and Discourse Analysis.” Research Fellowship. Humanities Montana.

2009    $13,176 for 2009-2011. Native Voice Endowment Grant. “Recording Digital Video Language Materials for Blackfeet Documentation and Revitalization” with Darrell Kipp, Piegan Institute, co-director project and manager. The Endangered Language Fund.

2008    $3,000. Jacobs Research Fund, Whatcom Museum. “Blackfoot Phonology.” Recording Blackfoot conversations for linguistic research.

2007    $2,500. Phillips Fund, American Philosophical Society. “Blackfoot Prosody.” Folksong and nursery rhymes recording project for 2007-2008.