Christian Puma Ninacuri

Christian Puma Ninacuri is a Lecturer in Hispanic Studies at Bowdoin College, affiliated with the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. He conducts interdisciplinary research in sociolinguistics, focusing on language contact, diaspora communities, and linguistic landscapes in Ecuador, New York City, and Madrid.

His educational background includes a PhD and MA in Hispanic Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a BA in Applied Linguistics to Language Teaching from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito.

• PhD, Hispanic Linguistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• MA, Hispanic Linguistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• BA, Applied Linguistics to Language Teaching, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito

Puma Ninacuri's research explores the sociolinguistic dynamics of Ecuadorian Andean Spanish among diaspora communities, particularly in NYC. He investigates how language ideologies, social networks, and cultural practices contribute to language maintenance. His work extends to the visual domain through linguistic landscape studies, analyzing how public signage reflects power, identity, and belonging in urban spaces.

His recent publications and conference presentations reveal a strong trend in transnational sociolinguistics, emphasizing the interplay between indigenous languages (especially Kichwa) and Spanish, the commodification of language in tourism, and the re-creation of cultural spaces in diaspora. His work often combines ethnographic methods with linguistic analysis to uncover nuanced patterns of language use.

He is an active member of the interdisciplinary project Oralidad Modernidad, which examines the status of indigenous languages in Ecuador through collaborative research across linguistics, anthropology, sociology, and health sciences.

Puma Ninacuri has contributed to significant scholarly outputs, including articles in Languages, Boletín de Filología, and Cuadernos de Lingüística Hispánica, as well as chapters in edited volumes on linguistic landscapes and Latin American migration. He frequently presents at international conferences such as the Linguistic Association of the Southwest and interdisciplinary forums on endangered languages.

He has been interviewed by media outlets like Univision News and UMass Amherst Public Writing Fellows, discussing topics such as language, migration, and identity in the context of Ecuadorian migration and the impact of the pandemic.