Salvatore Attardo

Dr. Salvatore Attardo is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Literature and Languages at East Texas A&M University's College of Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts. He previously served as Dean of the College (2011-2018) and Head of the Department (2007-2011). Currently teaching primarily in the online Applied Linguistics program he helped establish, he maintains active research and publication in multiple linguistic subfields.

His research spans Pragmatics, Semantics, Humor Studies, and English Grammar, with recent focus on Social Eye Tracking methodologies. His work bridges theoretical linguistics with practical applications in language teaching and digital communication. Notable contributions include developing frameworks for analyzing humorous discourse structures across cultures and historical periods.

His publication record demonstrates consistent scholarly output, including over ten books and 100+ peer-reviewed articles. Recent works focus on eye-tracking applications in linguistics and satirical news analysis. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Humor: International Journal of Humor Research for ten years and sits on multiple journal editorial boards.

Dr. Attardo collaborates extensively with his wife, Dr. Lucy Pickering, particularly on eye-tracking research. His teaching philosophy emphasizes those transformative moments when students grasp underlying linguistic systems, especially in humor courses where ancient Egyptian jokes reveal structural parallels to modern cartoons.