My understanding of the English language comes from two directions of study: synchronic and diachronic; synchronic means across the current landscape while diachronic means historically, with a view to the changes that occur over time.

I am originally from St. Louis, Missouri -- one of the oldest, American cities, situated at the biggest bend of the mighty Mississippi river. My native language is Mid-Western, American English. St. Louis was once considered an "accent-free" city, or the place where "broadcasters' English" was spoken. I have also lived in two small towns in Missouri where rural "dialects" were spoken, full of colorful idioms and expressions.

Altogether, I have lived in ten different American states: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington state. I have also traveled to six different English-speaking countries: Canada, England, Ireland, Jamaica, South Africa, and Wales.

As a student of theater (BA '79), I have studied English accents, dialects and idioms, with the aim of imitation and character portrayal. As a teacher of Germanic languages (MA '89), I have learned the historic structures and evolution of English - how it came to be and what is happening to it now. As a doctor of Second Language Acquisition (Ph.D. '02), I have studied language learning theories and researched teaching methodologies and learning techniques.