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Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir

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This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Sigríður.
Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir
Born27 September 1960 (1960-09-27) (age 64)
NationalityIcelandic
OccupationProfessor of Icelandic Linguistics at the University of Iceland

Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir (born 27 September 1960) is a professor of Icelandic Linguistics at the University of Iceland.

Professional experience

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Sigríður completed a BA in General Linguistics and Icelandic from the University of Iceland in 1984, a cand. mag. in Icelandic Linguistics in February 1987 from the same university, and a doctorate in Applied Linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1992.[1] In 1993, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Research Institute for Language and Speech (OTS) at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Since 1994 she has been employed at the University of Iceland since 1994, first as an Assistant Professor 1994–1996, then Associate Professor 1996–2010, and full Professor since 2010.[2]

Research

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Sigríður's main research areas are first language acquisition, language variation, and language change in modern Icelandic.[3][4] She has written several peer reviewed articles on those subjects.[5][6][7] In particular she has focused on Icelandic children's acquisition of syntax, especially binding, question formation, and verb movement, as well as on long distance reflexives in Icelandic, Faroese and Dutch.[8][9][10][11] She has participated in many domestic and international research projects on syntactic change in modern Icelandic. Over the past two decades, she has together with her associate, Joan Maling linguist and Director of the National Science Foundation's Linguistics Program, worked extensively on the syntactic characteristics and sociological distribution of the Icelandic New Impersonal Construction, an innovative syntactic construction which surfaced in Icelandic in the last century.[12][13][14] Sigríður and Joan conducted the first systematic study of this construction in the winter of 1999 to 2000.[15][16][17]

Currently, Sigríður is focusing on the influence of the globally dominant English language on Icelandic through digital media and smart devices. She was the principal investigator (together with Eiríkur Rögnvaldsson Professor emeritus) of the research project: Modeling the Linguistic Consequences of Digital Language Contact, which was awarded a three-year grant of excellence from the Icelandic Research Fund in 2016.[18] The main goal of the project was to construct a nation-wide profile of the amount and intensity that Icelandic speakers of different ages receive of Icelandic and English input, their attitudes to Icelandic and English,[19][20] as well as of their language use and competence. The results of the project shed light on the status of Icelandic, which in recent years has been brought into close contact with English through digital media.[21][22][23]Drude, Sebastian; Sigurðsson, Einar Freyr; Ingason, Anton Karl; Rögnvaldsson, Eiríkur; Kristinsson, Ari Páll; Nowenstein, Iris Edda; Arnbjörnsdóttir, Birna; Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður (October 2017). "Digital resources and language use: Expanding the EGIDS scale for language development into the digital domains" (PDF). In Ostler, Nicholas; Ferreira, Vera; Moseley, Chris (eds.). Communities in Control: Learning tools and strategies for multilingual endangered language communities. 21st FEL Conference. Hungerford, United Kingdom: Foundation for Endangered Languages. pp. 98–106. ISBN 978-0-9560210-9-0. Sigríður is also on the board of directors of a research project from 2018 to 2021 on young people's Icelandic directed by Helga Hilmisdóttir, Associate Research Professor at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.[24]

Other work and projects

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Sigríður has served on various committees both within and outside academia. She was vice-chairman of the Icelandic Sign Language Council from 2016 to 2020, and she served on the executive committee of the Icelandic Language Council from 1998 to 2008. These Councils provide advice to the Icelandic government on matters concerning Icelandic and Icelandic sign language policy. Sigríður was Chairman of the Icelandic Linguistics Society from 1997 to 2001, Director of the Institute of Linguistics at the University of Iceland from 2006 to 2010, and Chairman of the expert panel in Humanities & Social Sciences for the Icelandic Student Innovation Fund from 2015 to 2017. She also served as one of the language specialists who on behalf of the Ministry of Education composed a curriculum guide in Icelandic for compulsory schools in 2007, participated in developing a framework of criteria for final examinations in Icelandic at the upper secondary school level, and as a member of the Icelandic Language Council took part in composing the Icelandic language policy, which was legalized by the Icelandic parliament Althingi on 12 March 2009.[2] In addition, Sigríður has organized and taken part in organizing several international conferences and workshops on linguistics at the University of Iceland, e.g. GALANA 9, NELS 48, DiGS17, SCL 25, CGSW 17, and is on the editorial board of the journal Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics.[25]

Childhood and personal life

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Sigríður's parents are Sigurjón Hreiðar Gestsson (1930- ), upper atmosphere observer at the Icelandic Meteorological Office from 1950 to 2000, and Inga Guðrún Gunnlaugsdóttir, practical nurse (1930–2015). Sigríður grew up in Reykjavik and graduated from Hamrahlíð Junior College (upper secondary school) in the spring of 1979. She is married to Eiríkur Steingrímsson, Professor of genetics at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Iceland,[26][27] and they have two daughters.[28]

References

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  1. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður (1992). Binding in Icelandic: Evidence from language acquisition. UCLA Working Papers on Psycholinguistics 2 (PhD). University of California, Los Angeles.
  2. ^ a b "Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir - Professor | Háskóli Íslands". Retrieved 2021-04-18.
  3. ^ "University of Iceland. Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir, Professor in Icelandic Linguistics. Published work".
  4. ^ Google Scholar. Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir.
  5. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Nowenstein, Iris E. (2006). "Passives and the "New Impersonal" Construction in Icelandic Language Acquisition" (PDF). In Perkins, Laurel; Dudley, Rachel; Gerard, Juliana; Hitczenko, Kasia (eds.). Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America (GALANA 2015). Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America (GALANA). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. pp. 110–121. ISBN 978-1-57473-468-3.
  6. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður (April 2005). "The Different Properties of Root Infinitives and Finite Verbs in the Acquisition of Icelandic". In Brugos, Alejna; Clark-Cotton, Manuella R.; Ha, Seungwan (eds.). BUCLD 29: Proceedings of the 29th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD). Vol. 2. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. pp. 540–551. ISBN 978-1-57473-054-8.
  7. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður (March 1999). "Root Infinitives and Null Subjects in Early Icelandic". In Greenhill, Annabel; Littlefield, Heather; Tano, Cheryl (eds.). BUCLD 23: Proceedings of the 23rd annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD). Vol. 2. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. pp. 630–641. ISBN 978-1-57473-042-5.
  8. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður (2013). "The acquisition of reflexives and pronouns in Faroese children". In Becker, Misha; Grinstead, John; Rothman, Jason (eds.). Generative Linguistics and Acquisition. Language Acquisition and Language Disorders. Vol. 54. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 129–156. doi:10.1075/lald.54.06sig. ISBN 9789027253163.
  9. ^ Reuland, Eric; Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður (1997). "14. Long Distance 'Binding' In Icelandic: Syntax or Discourse?". In Bennis, Hans; Pica, Pierre; Rooryck, Johan (eds.). Atomism and Binding (PDF). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Foris Publications. pp. 323–340. ISBN 90-6765-535-X. hal-00208029 – via HAL.
  10. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Coopmans, Peter (1996). "The Acquisition of Anaphoric Relations in Dutch". In Philip, William; Wijnen, Frank (eds.). Connecting Children's Language and Linguistic Theory. Amsterdam Series in Child Language Development. Vol. 5. University of Amsterdam. pp. 51–72.
  11. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Hyams, Nina (1992). "Reflexivization and Logophoricity: Evidence from the Acquisition of Icelandic" (PDF). Language Acquisition. 2 (4). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: 359–413. doi:10.1207/s15327817la0204_5.
  12. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Maling, Joan (2019). "From passive to active: diachronic change in impersonal constructions". In Herbeck, Peter; Pöll, Bernhard; Wolfsgruber, Anne C. (eds.). Semantic and syntactic aspects of impersonality. Linguistische Berichte - Sonderhefte. Vol. 26. Hamburg, Germany: Buske. pp. 99–124. ISBN 978-3-87548-892-0. ISSN 0935-9249.
  13. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Maling, Joan (2015). "3. From passive to active: Stages in the Icelandic New Impersonal". In Biberauer, Theresa; Walkden, George (eds.). Syntax over Time: Lexical, Morphological, and Information-Structural Interactions. Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics. Vol. 15. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 36–53. ISBN 978-0-19-968792-3. LCCN 2014941343.
  14. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Maling, Joan (2012). "Syntactic change in progress: The Icelandic "New Construction" as an active impersonal". In Ackema, Peter; Alcorn, Rhona; Heycock, Caroline; Jaspers, Dany; van Craenenbroeck, Jeroen; van den Wyngaerd, Guido (eds.). Comparative Germanic Syntax: The State of the Art. Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today. Vol. 191. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 249–278. doi:10.1075/la.191.09mal. ISBN 9789027255747. ISSN 0166-0829.
  15. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Maling, Joan (January 2002). "The 'new impersonal' construction in Icelandic". Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics. 5. Springer: 97–142. doi:10.1023/A:1021224923742. S2CID 118130997.
  16. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Maling, Joan (2001). Þráinsson, Höskuldur (ed.). ""Það var hrint mér á leiðinni í skólann": Þolmynd eða ekki þolmynd?" [“Það var hrint mér á leiðinni í skólann”: Passive or not passive?]. Íslenskt mál og almenn málfræði (in Icelandic). 23. Reykjavík, Iceland: Íslenska málfræðifélagið: 123–180.
  17. ^ Sigurðardóttir, Kristín; Harðarson, Birgir Þór (2019-04-08). ""Síðan var borðað kökuna" sýnir kynslóðabil" [“Síðan var borðað kökuna” shows a generation gap]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  18. ^ "MOLICODILACO | Modeling the Linguistics Consequences of Digital Language Contact". MOLICODILACO. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
  19. ^ "Siri og Alexa og framtíð íslenskunnar" [Siri, Alexa, and the future of Icelandic]. Háskóli Íslands (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  20. ^ Kristjándóttir, Þórunn (2018-03-09). "Yngra fólkið kýs að tala ensku frekar en íslensku" [Young people prefer to talk English rather than Icelandic]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  21. ^ Hálfdánardóttir, Arnhildur. "Geri ekki kröfu um málkunnáttu fyrri kynslóða" [Previous generation's language skills not required]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  22. ^ Nordal, Lars Ivan (January 2019). "Tospråklige kids – eller dårlige i både engelsk og norsk?" [Bilingual kids – or bad in both English and Norwegian?]. Språknytt (in Norwegian). Språkrådet. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  23. ^ Sigurjónsdóttir, Sigríður; Nowenstein, Iris E.; Þorvaldsdóttir, Þorbjörg; Guðmundsdóttir, Dagbjört (2020). "Contact without Contact: English Digital Language Input and Its Effects on L1 Icelandic" (PDF). In Brown, Meghan M.; Kohut, Alexandra (eds.). BUCLD 44: Proceedings of the 44th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD). Vol. 2. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. pp. 606–619. ISBN 978-1-57473-057-9.
  24. ^ "Íslenskt unglingamál: Rannsókn á samskiptaaðferðum í raungögnum" [Icelandic teenager's speech: A study of communication methods with real data]. Stofnun Árna Magnússonar (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  25. ^ "The Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics | Editors". Springer. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  26. ^ Google Scholar. Eiríkur Steingrímsson
  27. ^ O'Connor, Terry (2019-12-09). "New chair of EMBL Council: First Icelander to hold the post will oversee important developments". EMBL. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  28. ^ "Heiður og ábyrgð í senn: Íslenskur prófessor kjörinn í virt samtök evrópskra sameindalíffræðinga" [Honor and responsibility at the same time: Icelandic professor elected to the prestigious European Molecular Biology Organization]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2020-04-14.
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