Contact Info
mike_cahill@sil.org(972) 708-7632
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Ohio State University
1999, Ph.D., Linguistics
University of Texas at Arlington
1985, M.A. in Linguistics
Iowa State University
1977, B.S. in Biochemistry
Professional Experience
Dallas International University, Dallas, TX
1999-Present: Adjunct Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics
Field methods, phonetics, phonology
SIL International, Dallas, TX
1971 – Present
Administration
1999-present: International Linguistics Coordinator
Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (11 years)
Business manager (1 year)
Deputy director (1 year)
Linguistics Coordinator (3 years)
Associate Director for Language Projects (1 year)
Acting Director (3 months)
Linguistics
Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation
Working with the Koma language project in Ghana, with some literacy and translation work completed
High School (Newell, Iowa)
Teacher
5 years high school teaching (chemistry, physics, math)
President
1981-82: Newell-Providence Education Association
Professional Associations
Memberships
Linguistic Society of America
West African Linguistic Society
Reviewer
Journal of West African Linguistics
Phonology
Studies in African Linguistics
Africana Linguistica
Written Language and Literacy
Natural Language and Linguistic Theory
Journal of Historical Linguistics
Folia Linguistica
Diachronica
Publications and Monographs
Monographs
2014 Developing Orthographies for Unwritten Languages (ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
2007 Aspects of the Morphology and Phonology of Konni. Dallas: SIL International.
1999 Aspects of the Morphology and Phonology of Konni. Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University.
1992 A Preliminary Phonology of the Konni Language. Collected Field Notes Series No. 20. The Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.
Chapters in Books (invited)
2018. Orthography design and implementation for endangered languages. In Rehg, Kenneth, and Lyle Campbell (eds.), Handbook of Endangered Languages. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Pp. 327-346.
2018. Labial-velars of Africa: Phonetics, phonology, and historical development. In Agwuele, Augustine and Adams Bodomo (eds.). Handbook of African Linguistics. New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 150-167
2016. Kɔnni Intonation. In Rialland, Annie and Laura Downing (eds.), Intonation in African Languages. Phonetics & Phonology 24.Berlin: DeGruyter Press, 53-88.
2015. Kɔnni. In Grandi, Nicola, and Körtvélyessy (eds.), Edinburgh Handbook of Evaluative Morphology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 480-486.
2015. Endangered languages and Bible translation in Brazil and Papua New Guinea. In Beerle-Moor, Marianne, and Voinov, Vitaly (eds.), Language Vitality Through Bible Translation . Berkeley Insights in Linguistics and Semiotics, Vol. 95. New York: Peter Lang, pp. 125-141.
2014. Non-linguistic factors. In Cahill, Michael, and Keren Rice (eds.) Developing Orthographies for Unwritten Languages (ed. with Keren Rice). Dallas: SIL International. Pp. 9-25.
Journals
2011 (with Keith Benn). Overliteralness and Mother Tongue Translators. Journal of Translation 7.1:49-61. http://www.sil.org/siljot/2011/1/928474543393/siljot2011-1-03.pdf
2008 Why labial-velar stops merge to g͡b. Phonology 25.3: 379-398
2004 Tonal Polarity in Konni Nouns, Studies in African Linguistics 33.1:1-33
2000-2001 Noun Classes and Phonology in Konni. JWAL XXVII.1:49-69
1999 Aspects of the phonology of labial-velar stops. Studies in African Languages 28.2: 155-184.
1999 Diphthongization in Konni: A Feature Geometry Account. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 20:21-39.
1992 The Case of the Missing Konni ‘P’. Journal of West African Languages XXI, 1:15-24.
Conference proceedings
2019 Tone, orthographies, and phonological depth in African languages. In Samson Lotven, Silvina Bongiovanni, Phillip Weirich, Robert Botne & Samuel Gyasi Obeng (eds.), African linguistics across the disciplines: Selected papers from the 48th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, 103–123. Berlin: Language Science Press. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.3520575, http://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/226
2017 Intonation and emotions in Kɔnni: A preliminary study. In Payne, Doris L., Sara Pachiarotti & Mokaya Bosire. (eds.) Diversity in African Languages: Selected Papers from the 46th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. (Contemporary African Linguistics 2.) Berlin: Language Science Press. Pp. 7-24. http://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/121
2017 Labial-velars: A Questionable Diagnostic for a Linguistic Area. In Kaji, Shigeki (ed.) Proceedings of the 8th World Congress of African Linguistics Kyoto 2015. Tokyo: ILCAA, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Pp. 13-23.
2015 Polar Question Intonation in Five Ghanaian Languages. In Selected Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, ed. Ruth Kramer, Elizabeth C. Zsiga, and One Tlale Boyer, 28-36. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. www.lingref.com, document #3124. http://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/44/paper3124.pdf
2012 Polar Question Intonation in Kɔnni. In Selected Proceedings of the 42Nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics, ed. Michael R. Marlo, Nikki B. Adams, Christopher R. Green, Michelle Morrison, and Tristan M. Purvis, 90-98. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. http://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/42/index.html, document #2761
2009 Konni Vowel Feature Spread across Consonants. In Selected Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, ed. Masangu Matondo, Fiona McLaughlin, and Eric Potsdam, 17-25. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.www.lingref.com2004. Tonal Polarity in Konni. In Chege Githiora, Heather Littlefield, and Victor Manfredi (eds.), Trends in African Linguistics 6: Selected Papers from the 31st Annual Conference on African Linguistics, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc. pp. 53-62.
2006 Perception of Yoruba Word-Initial [g͡b] and [b]. In Selected Proceedings of the 36thAnnual Conference on African Linguistics, Olaoba F. Arasanyin and Michael A. Pemberton, eds., 37-41. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.www.lingref.com , document #1404. Or more alternatively and directly,http://www.lingref.com/cpp/acal/36/abstract1404.html
2006 Tone dissimilation or tone polarity? Gur Papers/Cahiers Voltaïques No 7: 5-15.
2004 Marked Tones and Texture – The Necessity of High Tones in Konni. In Akinlabi, Akinbiyi and Oluseye Adesola (eds.), Proceedings of the 4th World Congress of African Linguistics: New Brunswick 2003. Cologne, Germany: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 97-106.
2003 The phonology of /r/ in Konni. Gur Papers/Cahiers Voltaïques 6: 33-42.
2000 Phonology of Konni Verbs. Gur Papers/Cahiers Voltaïques 5: 31-38.
1999 Vowel Harmony in Konni. In Paul Kotey (ed.) New Dimensions in African Linguistics and Languages. Trends in African Linguistics 3, pp. 55-74. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc.
1998 Nasal Assimilation and Labial-Velar Geometry. In Maddieson, Ian, and Thomas J. Hinnebusch (eds.) Language History and Linguistic Description in Africa. Trends in African Linguistics 2, pp. 127-136. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc.
1997 The phonology of labio-velar stops. Gur Papers/Cahiers Voltaïques No. 2: 69-80.
1997 with Frederick Parkinson. Partial Class Behavior and Feature Geometry: Remarks on Feature Class Theory. Proceedings of NELS 27.
1995 Peaking at Zero: Null Anaphora and other Indicators of Peak in Konni. In Akinbiyi, Akinlabi (ed.), Theoretical Approaches to African Linguistics. Trends in African Linguistics 1. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc. pp. 345-357.
Working Papers and Notes on … Series
2011 Tonal Diversity in Languages of Papua New Guinea. SIL Electronic Working Papers 2011-008. http://www.sil.org/silewp/2011/silewp2011-008.pdf.
2008 Factors in designing effective orthographies for unwritten languages, with Elke Karan. SIL-EWP 2Cahill008-001. http://www.sil.org/silewp/abstract.asp?ref=2008-001
2007 More Universals of Tone. SIL Electronic Working Papers 2007-007. (http://www.sil.org/silewp/abstract.asp?ref=2007-007).
2001 Linguistics and Translation: Crucial Partners. Notes on Translation 15.3: 38-50.
2001 Avoiding Tone Marks: A Remnant of English Education? Notes on Literacy 27(1):13-21.
2000 From Endangered to Less Endangered: Case Histories from Brazil and Papua New Guinea. Notes on Sociolinguistics 5.1:23-34.
2000 Positional Contrast and Labial-Velars. OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 53: 71-92.
2000 Tonal Associative Morphemes in Optimality Theory. OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 53: 31-70.
1999 From Endangered to Less Endangered: Case Histories from Brazil and Papua New Guinea. SIL Electronic Working Papers. www.sil.org/silewp/1999/006/
1999 “Unruly Phonology”: An Introduction to Optimality Theory. Notes on Linguistics 2.2:5-20.
1999 Triple Splits from Proto-Buli-Konni. OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 52: Historical Linguistics, pp. 41-50.
1998 Tonal Polarity in Konni Nouns: An Optimal Theoretical Account. OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 51: 19-58.
1997 Perception of Consonant Clusters and Variable Gap Time. OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 50: Papers from the Linguistics Laboratory, pp. 1-10.
1996 ATR Harmony in Konni. Papers in Phonology: OSU Working Papers in Linguistics 48:13-30.
1994 Diphthongization and Underspecification in Konni. UTA Working Papers in Linguistics, Vol. 1:109-126.
1992 A Few Practical Tips for Using CECIL. Notes on Linguistics 59: 11-16.
Reviews
2013 Review of Cairns, Charles E., and Eric Raimy (eds.). 2011. Handbook of the Syllable. Brill’s Handbooks in Linguistics 1. Leiden: Brill. To appear in SIL Electronic Book Reviews.
2012 Review of Dimmendal, Gerrit J. 2011. Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Studies in Language 36:4, 907-914.
2012 Review of David Bellos. 2011. Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything. New York, NY, Faber and Faber. E-Language, May 2012,http://elanguage.net/blogs/booknotices/?p=2133.
2012 Review of David Bellos. 2011. Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything. New York, NY, Faber and Faber. SIL’s Electronic Book Reviews 2012-009http://www.sil.org:8090/silebr/2012/silebr2012-008.
2011 Review of Mark Hale and Charles Reiss (2008), The Phonological Enterprise
Oxford University Press. In Linguist List: http://linguistlist.org/issues/22/22-2895.html.
2010 Book notice of Clara Ikekeonwu. 2007. The Phonetics of Nigerian Languages. LINCOM Language Research 05. Muenchen: LINCOM Europa. In e-Language, posted July 18, 2010, at http://elanguage.net/blogs/booknotices/?p=740.
2008 Book notice of Ross Jones. (2004). Boko Dictionary, LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD/Dictionaries 24. Muenchen: Lincom Europa, Bokobaru Dictionary, LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD/Dictionaries 30. Muenchen: Lincom Europa, Busa Dictionary, LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD/Dictionaries 31. Muenchen: Lincom Europa. In e-Language February 2008 http://elanguage.net/blogs/booknotices/?m=200802 .
2008 Review of Sharon Inkelas and Cheryl Zoll. 2005. Reduplication: Doubling in Morphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. In SIL Electronic Book Reviews 2008-001. http://www.sil.org:8090/silebr/2008/silebr2008-001
2007 Review of Paul DeLacey. 2007. The Cambridge Handbook of Phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. In SIL Electronic Book Reviews 2007-009.http://www.sil.org/lglearning/Links.htm.
2005 Review of Hubert Devonish. 2002. Talking rhythm stressing tone: The role of prominence in Anglo-West African creole languages. Kingston, Jamaica: Arawak Publications. In Journal of Pidgins and Creoles 20.2: 378-382.
2005 Review of Herman Batibo. 2005. Language Decline and Death in Africa: Causes, Consequences, and Challenges. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, Ltd. In LinguistList. http://linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-3542.html.
2005 Review of Hubert Devonish. 2002. Talking rhythm stressing tone: The role of prominence in Anglo-West African creole languages. Kingston, Jamaica: Arawak Publications. In Journal of Pidgins and Creoles 20.2: 378-382.
2005 Book Notice of Jeroen van de Weijer, Vincent J van Heuven, and Harry van der Hulst (eds.). The Phonological Spectrum. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Co, 2003. Language 81:1028-1030.
2005 Review of van Oostendorp, Marc, and Jeroen van de Weijer (eds.). The Internal Organization of Phonological Segments. Studies in Generative Grammar 77. 2005. Mouton de Gruyter. In LinguistList http://linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-2680.html
2005 Review of John T. Jensen. Principles of Generative Phonology. John Benjamins Publishing Company. 2004. In LinguistList http://linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-1258.html
2005 Review of Mark Abley. 2003. Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. In International Bulletin of Missionary Research 29.1: 46
2004 Book Notice of Jie Zhang. 2002. The Effects of Duration and Sonority on Contour Tone Distribution: A Typological Survey and Formal Analysis. Routledge Outstanding Dissertations in Linguistics Series. New York, NY: Routledge. Language 80: 905-906.
2004 Book Notice of Kevin Bretonnel Cohen. 2000. Aspects of the Grammar of Kukú. Muenchen: Lincom Europa. Language 80.2: 340.
2004 Book Notice of Ethelbert E. Kari. 2000. Ogbronuagum (The Bukuma Language). Muenchen: Lincom Europa. Language 80.2: 348.
2004 Book Notice of Claire Bowern and Victoria Lotridge (eds.). 2002. Ndebele. Muenchen: Lincom Europa. Language 80.2: 338.
2003 Review of Janse, Mark and Sijmen Tol, eds. Language Death and Language Maintenance: Theoretical, practical , and descriptive approaches. LinguistList website [http://linguistlist.org/issues/14/14-1892.html]
2002 Review of Hall, T. Alan, ed. (2001). Distinctive Feature Theory. Mouton de Gruyter. LinguistList website [http://linguistlist.org/issues/13/13-1669.html]
2001 Review of MacEachern, Margaret R. (1999). Laryngeal Cooccurrence Restrictions. Garland Press. LinguistList website [http://linguistlist.org/issues/12/12-2990.html]
1999 Review of Bodomo, Adams. The Structure of Dagaare. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications. In Notes on Linguistics 2.2:28-32.
1997 Review of Ka, Omar. Wolof Phonology and Morphology. 1994. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. In WORD 48.1: 78-81.
1997 Review of Connell, Bruce, and Amalia Arvanti (eds.). Phonology and Phonetic Evidence: Papers in Laboratory Phonology IV Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. In Notes on Linguistics 76: 30-33.
1994 Review of van der Hulst, Harry and Keith Snider (eds.) 1993. The Phonology of Tone: The representation of tonal register. Notes on Linguistics 66, pp. 33-45.
1992 Review of Joseph, Brian, and Arnold Zwicky (eds.) 1990. When Verbs Collide: Papers from the 1990 Ohio State Mini-Conference on Serial Verbs. OSU Working Papers in Linguistics No. 39. In Notes on Linguistics 58:54-58.
Other
Dr. Cahill is a Fellow of the Pike Center for Integrative Scholarship.
BACK TO DIRECTORY