About me

I am from Ziguinchor, Senegal, a region celebrated for its linguistic diversity, where I was immersed in a multilingual environment that included languages such as Wolof and Mandinka. This early exposure to linguistic variation and complexity sparked my passion for understanding languages in greater depth.

 

I hold a Master’s degree in Linguistics, specializing in Sociolinguistics and phonology, from Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis (Senegal). I was subsequently awarded a Fulbright scholarship by the U.S. Department of State, which facilitated my pursuit of a second Master’s degree in Linguistics, with a focus on Syntax, at Eastern Michigan University.

 

Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Linguistics Department at Boston University, where I also earned an additional Master’s degree in Linguistics. My research centers on Sociolinguistics, Mandinka Ajami, and Mandinka language documentation. In addition to my doctoral studies, I serve as a Teaching Fellow at the African Studies Center, where I teach the Mandinka language and its cultural context. Additionally, I am a core contributor to the Mandinka Ajami Project, a collaborative initiative dedicated to documenting and analyzing the linguistic and cultural dimensions of this rich writing tradition.