Biljana Konatar

Biljana Konatar is a Multi-Term Lecturer and Language Coordinator for Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian (BCMS) at the University of Kansas. She holds a Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics from the University of Washington (2023) and an M.A. in Russian and Slavonic Studies from the University of Missouri (2019). Her research focuses on linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, and language pedagogy with an emphasis on heritage language learning and translation studies.

Her academic contributions include analyzing language attitudes in Montenegro, syntactic variation in BCMS narration among heritage speakers, and political ideologies affecting Balkan language policies. She has presented at major conferences like the Biennial Conference on Balkan and South Slavic Linguistics (2024) and the Slavic Linguistics Society Conference (2023).

• Education:
• Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics, University of Washington, Seattle (2023)
• Graduate Certificate in Foreign/Second Language Teaching, University of Washington (2021)
• M.A. in Russian and Slavonic Studies, University of Missouri (2019)

Dr. Konatar has received prestigious awards including the Presidential Dissertation Fellowship (2023) and Joff Hanauer Fellowship (2022-2023). Her work bridges theoretical linguistics with applied language education, particularly in BCMS heritage communities.