Focus of research

Speech variation and dialectal vitality of Indigenous languages in what is now British Columbia (BC) and the application of these understandings into language planning and curriculum development.

Interests

Language revitalization and documentation; dialectology; morphosyntax; sociolinguistics; fieldwork; Wakashan languages

Education

2020  Bachelor of Arts (BA) Double Specialization in First Nations and Endangered Languages and Linguistics at University of British Columbia

About

Ben (he/him) is an MA student and ally in Indigenous language revitalization and rights, locally and globally. He is non-Indigenous from a mixed Korean and Ashkenazi background and has worked with communities in BC as a partner in revitalization efforts for the last seven years. He is interested in working with Nations to understand language change and variation in and across communities and through archival documentation. Most closely, Ben has had the great honour and pleasure to work with the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation in curriculum development and language technology projects as well as learn from Kwak̓wala and Tŝilhqotʼin (Chilcotin) speakers. Aside from linguistics, Ben enjoys cooking and strength training. He also spends a lot of time with his dog, Sundae, a chiweenie. 

Publications and presentations

Carpenter, J., Chase, B., Chung, B., Humchitt, R., & Turin, M. (2021). Mobilizing and Activating Haíɫzaqvḷa (Heiltsuk Language) and Culture Through a Community-University Partnership. KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.18357/kula.127 

Turin, M., & Chung, B. (2020). Temporal concepts and formulations of time in Tibeto Burman languages. The Journal of Asian Linguistic Anthropology, 1(1), 39-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/s0zk-v035

Turin, M., & Chung, B. (2018). Colour terms in Tibeto-Burman languages. Rocznik Orientalistyczny/Yearbook of Oriental Studies, 71(2), 198-248. http://doi.org/10.24425/ro.2019.127213 

Awards and recognitions

SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship — Master’s