Kaufman Hall 117
(405) 701-9776
Profile
Ryan Kasak completed his Ph.D. in Linguistics at Yale University in 2019. He joined the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma as an Assistant Professor of Linguistics in the Fall of 2020. Prior to coming to OU, he was an Adjunct Professor of Education at Elmhurst University, a Linguistics Instructor at Northeastern Illinois University, and a Language Instructor at the Manda-Hidatsa-Arikara Summer Institute at Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College.
His research focuses on the documentation and description of Indigenous languages of the Americas. Dr. Kasak specializes in historical linguistics and morphological change, as well as the phonology-morphology interface and prosody. His primary research languages are Mandan and Hidatsa, though he has broad interests in all Siouan and Caddoan languages, with work on Algonquian and Quechuan languages as well.
At OU, Dr. Kasak teaches General Linguistics, Phonology, Second Language Acquisition Theory, Techniques of Historical Linguistics, and will be teaching Sociolinguistics, and the Linguistics Capstone Course in the Spring. Currently, he is the Linguistics Club sponsor. In addition to his duties at OU, Dr. Kasak is also the general editor of the Proceedings of the Siouan and Caddoan Languages Conference.
Selected Publications
• Kasak, Ryan M. Kasak & Samiron Dutta (eds.). 2021. Proceedings of the 40th Siouan and Caddoan Languages Conference (SCLC 40). Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics.
• Kasak, Ryan M., Samiron Dutta, & Justin T. McBride (eds.). 2020. Proceedings of the 39th Siouan and Caddoan Languages Conference (SCLC 39). Broken Arrow, OK: Northeastern State University Department of Languages and Literature.
• Torres Carolan, Jonnia & Ryan M. Kasak. 2019. A phonetic analysis of obstruent series in Hidatsa. In Ryan M. Kasak (ed.), Proceedings of the 38th Siouan and Caddoan Languages Conference (SCLC 38), 123-144. Chicago, IL: Northeastern Illinois University Linguistics Department.
• Kasak, Ryan M. & Sarah Lundquist. 2019. Nasal harmony in Hoocąk and Mandan. In Ryan M. Kasak (ed.), Proceedings of the 38th Siouan and Caddoan Languages Conference (SCLC 38), 99-122. Chicago, IL: Northeastern Illinois University Linguistics Department.
• Kasak, Ryan M. 2016. A distant relationship between Siouan-Catawban and Yuchi. In Catherine Rudin & Binah T. Gordon (eds.), Advances in the study of Siouan languages and linguistics, 5-39. Berlin, Germany: Language Science Press.
Invited Talks
• 2019. Phonological innovation in Missouri Valley Siouan: Debuccalizations and tonogenesis. Invited talk given at the Workshop on the Phonetics and Phonotactics of Hidatsa and Missouri Valley Siouan. Fresno, CA: California State University, Fresno.
• 2016. Modern methodologies in historical linguistics: Using computational phylogentics to investigate ancient relationships in North America. Invited talk given at the Northeastern Illinois University Linguistics Colloquium. Chicago, IL: Northeastern Illinois University.
Education
• Ph.D. in Linguistics. 2019. Yale University
• M.A. in Linguistics. 2015. Yale University
• M.A. in Linguistics. 2011. Northeastern Illinois University
• B.A. in Russian, Spanish, and Secondary Foreign Language Education. 2006. University of Iowa
Teaching Schedule for Spring 2023
LING 3033 Phonetic Description
LING 4313 Techniques of Historical Linguistics
