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Anthony M. Lewis, Assistant Professor of Spanish Linguistics

Professor Lewis's primary areas of research and expertise are in fields of Spanish Phonetics and Phonology, and the application of these to instrumentally verify theoretical claims in a laboratory setting. He has a longstanding record of designin g and carrying out laboratory based experimentation on matters related to phonetics and phonology including language acquisition, and dialectal variation. He regularly presents research at major conferences several times a year and publishes on a regular basis. Ongoing research includes the exploration of the resolution of the diphthong/hiatus controversy in Spanish, the search for phonetic evidence for the existence of syllable structure, in Spanish and other languages, laboratory work identifying the es tablishment of phonemic categories in both first and second language learners, and the analysis of stylistically-driven variation in the sound systems of distinct dialects of Spanish and other languages. On the theoretical front, Professor Lewis is partic ularly interested in exploring the interface between phonetics and phonology, and efforts to reject or validate theoretical claims—including constraints proposed in Optimality Theory—by testing hypotheses based on empirical results obtained in a laboratory setting. His most recent research interest is in Variationist Theory, in particular the utility of Corpus Linguistics to augment our understanding of language variation and sound change.

Professor Lewis has taught courses in virtually all areas of Spanish Linguistics over the course of his career. He regularly offers classes and seminars in topics as diverse as Spanish Phonetics and Phonology, History of the Spanish Language, Lin guistic Variation and Spanish Dialectology, Sociolinguistics, and others. His dual appointment in both the Spanish and Linguistic Studies Programs afford him the opportunity to teach an advanced graduate seminar every Fall in general phonological analysis and theory to our most advanced students (Masters level) enrolled in the Linguistic Studies Program. This has kept him updated in recent advances in general phonological theory, to include the optimality-theoretic framework which is presently receiving a great deal of attention in the field. Finally, in addition to his work with language, Professor Lewis regularly teaches Freshman Forum, an orientation course for students in our incoming class.

Professor Lewis has served on the Budget Committee of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. At the College level is the Department of LLL’s representative to the Humanities Council. In addition, Professor Lewis oversees over thirty freshmen and sophomores representing many departments within the College of Arts and Sciences as their primary Academic Advisor. He also regularly participates in the Summer Advising Program for incoming freshmen.