Michelle O’Malley

Michelle O’Malley is an Associate Professor of Instruction in Linguistics and the Undergraduate Chair in the Department of Linguistics at Ohio University’s College of Arts and Sciences. She is actively involved in teaching, curriculum development, and research focused on language variation, sociolinguistics, and language documentation, with regional emphasis on Southeast Ohio and Scotland.

Her primary research interests include:

• Language variation and dialects, particularly American English and Appalachian speech
• Perceptual dialectology and sociolinguistic perception
• Forensic applications of linguistic analysis
• Phonetics and phonology in natural speech
• Language development in first and second language learners
• Corpus construction for endangered and regional language documentation

She also leads a Cultural Linguistics Study Abroad program in Scotland, exploring Scots and Gaelic languages and their historical influence on American English.

Her current projects include the Southeast Ohio Language Project (SOLP), a regional language corpus initiative, and comparative studies across age groups to track linguistic change over time. She is engaged in developing new courses and certificate programs in applied linguistics.

While no scientific awards are listed in the provided text, her interdisciplinary work bridges linguistics, cognitive science, cultural studies, and education.

She advises undergraduate students as Undergraduate Chair and contributes to academic leadership within the department. Her efforts in study abroad, curriculum innovation, and community-based research demonstrate a strong commitment to experiential learning and public engagement in linguistics.

Michelle O’Malley is also involved in lab and field-based research through the Language and Culture Project, where she coordinates data collection, student training, and community outreach in linguistic documentation.