Shana Poplack

Shana Poplack, CM, D. Litt, F.R.S.C., is a Distinguished Professor of Linguistics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Sociolinguistics Laboratory since 1982. As a Canada Research Chair in Linguistics (Tier I) from 2001–2022, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (since 1998), and Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America (since 2009), her work bridges theoretical and applied sociolinguistics.

• D.Litt, Honoris Causa - University College Dublin (2017)
• Ph.D., Linguistics - University of Pennsylvania (1979)
• M.A., Linguistics and French Literature - New York University (1968)
• B.A., Romance Languages - Queens College, CUNY (1968)

Her research specializes in linguistic variation and change through empirical analysis, focusing on bilingual language mixing, language contact, grammatical convergence, and the historical emergence of African American Vernacular English. She investigates how normative language prescription interacts with actual linguistic praxis, particularly in educational contexts.

Recent work emphasizes code-switching mechanisms, phonetic integration in bilingual borrowing, and real-time language change dynamics. Publications span topics like grammaticalization of future tense in Brazilian Portuguese, subjunctive usage in North American English, and corpus-driven insights into Quebec French evolution.

• Member, Order of Canada (2014–present)
• Fellow, Royal Society of Canada (1998–present)
• Canada Research Chair, Tier I (2001–2022)
• Fellow, Linguistic Society of America (2009–present)

The Sociolinguistics Laboratory under her direction has developed robust data management frameworks for multilingual corpora, contributing to open science initiatives like the Open Handbook of Linguistic Data Management. Her teaching includes advanced courses on sociolinguistic research and urban dialectology.