Department of Second Language Studies

I was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. I completed my undergraduate degree in Hispanic Studies at the University of Manchester, specializing in Latin American literature. During this time, I spent a year studying anthropology at the University of Quindío, Colombia, and at PUC in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I then taught English as a Foreign Language in Valencia, Spain; Verona, Italy; and Nara, Japan, before pursuing graduate studies in linguistics at the University of Durham. I returned to Japan for another four years to teach linguistics and English language at Mie University. I joined the Department of Second Language Studies at Indiana University in 2006 and was promoted to tenure in 2012.

My main research areas are language acquisition, bilingualism, and environmental linguistics. Theoretical work in second language acquisition sheds light on the nature of the human language faculty and also relates directly to language pedagogy. In my work on lexical semantics and syntax across languages, I am interested in universal aspects of word meaning that play a role in grammar, as well as facets of language that shed light on particular cultures and environments.

My recent work on language hotspots and biodiversity examines how ecological knowledge is encoded in endangered languages, in the context of the current global mass extinction of languages and species. In particular, this interdisciplinary work – subsuming research on language acquisition, language attrition, ethnobiology, biocultural diversity conservation, and the natural sciences – seeks to link language revitalization in Indigenous societies to the conservation of ecosystems.

For more about the relationships between Indigenous languages and environmental knowledge, see:
Panel on Language, Knowledge and the Environment: Implications for Biocultural Conservation, with Luisa Maffi, David Stringer, and Marianne Ignace (org. Francisca Saavedra, mod. Robert Buschbacher). Tropical Conservation and Development Program, University of Florida, April 19, 2024.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB3nTuUh2ac
[My talk 30:40 – 56:25; Q&A: 1:25 – 1:59:30]

My interests extend to all formal aspects of second language acquisition and multilingualism, and I enjoy working with students on a wide range of projects.

As an extension of my course Language Hotspots and Biodiversity, I have initiated an outreach program in local elementary schools. The course examines how ecological knowledge is encoded in endangered languages, with a focus on tropical ecoregions with high linguistic diversity (the Amazon, the Congo, New Guinea). The child-friendly slideshow aims to encourage a sense of wonder at the linguistic and biological diversity of life on earth and to raise awareness of efforts to create sustainable systems of development.

Read more about the project here: Helping Fifth-graders Understand the Relationship Between Saving Rainforests and Language

I have curated several events at Indiana University Bloomington related to biocultural diversity:

Fall 2017, film series at IU Cinema: Biocultural Diversity: A Film Journey
Fall, 2021, Webinar: Indigenous Resilience and Regeneration: Beyond the Global Pandemic
Fall, 2021, film series at IU Cinema: Islands of Resilience, and panel discussion

I enjoy the creative aspects of experimental design. Here are four examples of audiovisual materials used to elicit production data as well as judgment data in studies of the linguistic realization of motion events. They were all designed for use with young children as well as adults. These materials may be copied or adapted with appropriate citations.

Aladdin Animation: These animated slides were originally used with linguistic stimuli in embedded sound files. The linguistic stimuli have been removed so as to make the default presentation easier to adapt. See supplementary notes. Original article (with no images reproduced): Stringer, D. Burghardt, B., Seo, H.K., and Wang, Y-T. (2011). Straight on through to Universal Grammar: Spatial modifiers in second language acquisition. Second Language Research 27 (3): 289-311.

Dr. Doodle and Charlie: These figures were created to elicit descriptions involving the expression of Manner and Change of State in locative motion events. Original source of images: Stringer, D. (2012). The lexical interface in L1 acquisition: What children have to say about radical concept nativism. First Language, 32(1-2): 116-136.

Toto the Robot: This figure was created so that children could give grammaticality judgments by interacting with a puppet rather than talking directly to an experimenter. Original source for description (with no images reproduced): Stringer, D. (2005). Paths in First Language Acquisition: Motion through Space in English, French and Japanese. Doctoral dissertation, University of Durham.

Monkey Book: These pictorial stimuli are monochrome sketch versions of colour originals in an A4-size book (lamination made direct scanning impossible). Each stimulus page represents both Manner and Path. Original source of images: Stringer, D. (2005). Paths in First Language Acquisition: Motion through Space in English, French and Japanese. Doctoral dissertation, University of Durham.

• Mliless, M., Larouz, M., Stringer, D., Forte, D.L., Jacobs, G.M., Forte, D.L, & Chau, M.H. (Eds.) (in prep.). Ecolinguistics, Social Justice, and Sustainability: Voices from the Global South.

• Stringer, D. (in prep). Grammatical reflections of sentient landscapes: Linguistic evidence for environmental personhood. For submission to: Mliless, M., Moubtassime, M., Mentak, S., Larouz, M., Stringer, D., & Forte, D.L. (Eds.), Language, Society, and the Environment: How the Environment is Shaped in and through Discourse.

• Stringer, D. (under review). A critical period for the linguistic encoding of ecological knowledge. For submission to: Ortactepe Hart, D., Ennser-Kananen, J., & Borde, R. (Eds.), Intersections of Environmental and Language Justice. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

• Stringer, D. (in press). Folkbiology in endangered languages: Cognitive universals and lexical relativity. Sociolinguistic Studies [Special Issue: Ethnobotany; guest editors: Robbie Hart & K. David Harrison]. Prepublication version.

• Stringer, D. (2024). Relative clauses. In T. Ionin, S. Montrul, & R. Slabakova (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, Morphosyntax, and Semantics (pp. 397-411). New York: Routledge.

• Stringer, D. (2023). Lexical semantics and morphological productivity in Arabic: Incorporating patterns in pedagogical lexicography. In M. Larouz, H. Laabidi, M. Mliless, & F. Akki (Eds.), Proceedings of Transformations of Meaning and Investments in the Field of Applied Linguistics: The Doha Historical Dictionary of Arabic Language as a Case (pp: 17- 38). Meknes, Morocco: University Moulay Ismail Press.
• Stringer, D. (2022). Indigenous Resilience and Regeneration: Beyond the Global Pandemic. Langscape 11: 95-102.
• Stringer, D. (2022). Knowledge beyond usage: Potential and limitations of cognitive corpus linguistics for pedagogy. Pedagogical Linguistics 3(2): 166-173.
• Stringer, D. (2021). Commitment in L3 relationships: Sacred vows or polyamory? Second Language Research 37(3): 495-500. 
• Stringer, D. (2020). Not all acquisition entails attrition: The persistence of syntax in the teeth of lexical breakdown. Second Language Research, 36(2): 225-230.
• Stringer, D. (2019). Lexical semantics: Relativity and transfer. In Erdogan, N. & Wei, M. (Eds.), Applied Linguistics for Teachers of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners (pp. 180-203). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
• Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Stringer, D. (2019). Syntax and phonology in L2 attrition: Modularity and resilience. In Schmid, M.S.& Kopke, B. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Language Attrition (pp. 364-376). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Stringer, D. (2018). Quando gafanhoto significa relâmpago: Como o conhecimento ecológico é codificado nas línguas ameaçadas [When grasshopper means lightning: How ecological knowledge is encoded in endangered languages]. Ecolinguística: Revista Brasileira de Ecologia e Linguagem (ECO-REBEL), 4(2): 41-48.
• Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Stringer, D. (2017). Beyond steady-state models of ultimate attainment.  Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism,7(6): 673–677.
• Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Stringer, D. (2017). Unconventional expressions: Productive syntax in the L2 acquisition of formulaic language.Second Language Research, 33(1): 61-90.
• Stringer, D. (2016). Introduction. In D. Stringer, J. Garrett, B. Halloran, & S. Mossman (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference (GASLA 2015). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. Available at : https://www.lingref.com/cpp/gasla/13/index.html
• Stringer, D., Garrett, J., Halloran, B., & Mossman, S. (Eds.)(2016), Proceedings of the 13th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference (GASLA 2015). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. Available at: https://www.lingref.com/cpp/gasla/13/index.html
• Stringer, D. (2016). When grasshopper means lightning: How ecological knowledge is encoded in endangered languages. Langscape, 5(1): 14-19.
• Stringer, D. (2015). Embedded wh-questions in L2 English in India: Inversion as a main clause phenomenon. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37(1):101-133.
• Stringer, D. (2013). Modifying the teaching of modifiers: A lesson from Universal Grammar. In Whong, M., Gil, K-H., & Marsden, H. (eds.), Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom, 77-100. Dordrecht: Springer.
• Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Stringer, D. (2013). The lexicon in second language attrition: What happens when the cat's got your tongue?  In J. Altarriba and L. Isurin (Eds.), Memory, Language, and Bilingualism: Theoretical and Applied Approaches, 291-308. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Stringer, D. (2012). a) Acquisition of motion expressions (pp. 4-5); b) Attrition (pp. 48-51); c) World Englishes (pp. 699-703). In P. Robinson (Ed.), The Routledge encylopedia of second language acquisition. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.
• Stringer, D. (2012). Spatial feature assembly in first and second language acquisition Spatial Cognition and Computation, 12(4): 252-274.
• Stringer, D. (2012). The lexical interface in L1 acquisition: What children have to say about radical concept nativism. First Language , 32(1-2): 116-136.
• Stringer, D. (2011). Phonomimesis and directional predication in the acquisition of L1 Japanese and L2 English. Japanese and Korean Linguistics 18: 16-27.
• Stringer, D., Burghardt, B., Seo, H.K., and Wang, Y-T. (2011). Straight on through to Universal Grammar: Spatial modifiers in second language acquisition. Second Language Research, 27 (3): 289-311.
• Stringer, D. (2010). The gloss trap. In Z-H Han and T. Cadierno (eds.) Linguistic Relativity in SLA: Thinking for Speaking, 102-124. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
• Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Stringer, D. (2010). Variables in second language attrition: Advancing the state of the art.  Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 32 (1): 1-45.
• Stringer, D., Burghardt, B., Seo, H.K. & Wang, Y-T. (2009). L2 acquisition of P-modifiers: Fine-tuning the linguistic expression of trajectories. In J. Chandlee, M. Franchini, S. Lord, & M. Rheiner (Eds.), BUCLD 33: Proceedings supplement of the 33rd annual Boston University Conference on Language Development: 1-13.
• Ludwig, J., Fu, D., Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Stringer, D. (2009).  Serious games for second language retention.  Proceedings of the Industry/Interservice, Training, Simulation & Education Conference (I/ITSEC 2009): 1-10.
• Stringer, D. (2008). What else transfers? In R. Slabakova, J. Rothman, P. Kempchinsky and E. Gavruseva (eds.), GASLA 9: Proceedings of the 9th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference, 233-241. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla.
• Stringer, D. (2007).  Motion events in L2 acquisition:  A lexicalist account. In H. Caunt-Nulton, S. Kulatilake and IH. Woo (eds.), BUCLD 31:  Proceedings of the 31st annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, Vol. II: 585-596. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla.
• Stringer, D. (2007). Extending the PP hierarchy: The role of bare nominals in spatial predication. In T. Scheffler, J. Tauberer, A. Eliam, and L. Mayol (eds.), Penn Working Papers in Linguistics (PWPL) Vol.13.1: Proceedings of the 30th Annual Penn Linguistics Colloquium: 379-392.
• Stringer, D. (2006). Coming and Going, Toing and Froing: VP/PP Parallels in L1 Acquisition. In Y. Ostu (ed.), Proceedings of the Seventh Tokyo Conference on Psycholinguistics, 247-271. Tokyo: Hitsuji Shobo.
• Stringer, D. (2006). Lexical mismatches as a source of errors in comparative linguistic analysis. Philologia 37: 137-160.
• Stringer, D. (2006). The development of PATHS: Spatial complexity and the multiple predicate strategy. In S. Unsworth, T. Parodi, A. Sorace, and M. Young-Scholten (eds.), Paths of Development in L1 and L2 Acquisition, 135-160. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
• Stringer, D. (2006). Typological tendencies and universal grammar in the acquisition of adpositions. In P. Saint-Dizier (ed.), Syntax and Semantics of Prepositions, 57-68. Dordrecht: Springer.
• Hattori, N.,  Ayano, S.,  Herrick, D.,  Stringer, D., and Sugisaki,  K. (2006). Topics in Child Japanese. In Y. Ostu (ed.), Proceedings of the Seventh Tokyo Conference on Psycholinguistics, 103-119.  Tokyo: Hitsuji Shobo.
• Stringer, D. (2005). Children's structuring of motion events: Syntactic universals and lexical variation. In Y. Ostu (ed.), Proceedings of the Sixth Tokyo Conference on Psycholinguistics, 319-343. Tokyo: Hitsuji Shobo.
• Stringer, D. (2005). Paths in First Language Acquisition: Motion through Space in English, French and Japanese. Doctoral dissertation, University of Durham. Part I, Part II, Part III, Appendices
• Stringer, D. (2003). Acquisitional evidence for a universal syntax of PP. In P. Saint-Dizier (ed.), Proceedings of the ACL-SIGSEM Workshop on The Linguistic Dimensions of Prepositions and their Use in Computational Linguistics Formalisms and Applications, 44-55. Toulouse: IRIT.
• Stringer, D. (2003). Splitting the conceptual atom: Acquisitional evidence for semantic decomposition. Durham Working Papers in Linguistics, 9: 81-94.
• Stringer, D. (2002). Predication of path in French and Japanese. Durham Working Papers in Linguistics, 8: 153-166.
• Stringer, D. (2002). The syntax of paths and boundaries. In M. Andronis, C. Ball, H. Elston and S. Neuvel (eds.), CLS 37: The Panels. Papers from the 37th Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society, Vol. 2: 139-154.
• Stringer, D. (2001). Syntactic and conceptual mechanisms in argument selection. Durham Working Papers in Linguistics, 7: 111-125.
• Stringer, D. (2000). 'Ground rules': Locative verbs in first language acquisition. Newcastle and Durham Working Papers in Linguistics, 6: 145-157.