Cameron spent more than 20 years with SIL Cameroon, together with his wife and three children, researching and promoting linguistic research and Bible translation as part of the Ndop cluster, a group of 10 related languages located in the North West Region of Cameroon. He is a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators. He has taught linguistics courses at the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary, and Institut pour le Développement des Langues et de la Traduction en Afrique. He has also led several workshops for mother tongue translators and literacy workers, helping them discover the linguistic structures of their languages.
Certificate of Bible Translation (Jerusalem Center for Bible Translators and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 2017)
Master of Applied Linguistics and Exegesis (Trinity Western Seminary at Trinity Western University; 2008)
Bachelor of Arts: Intercultural Studies (Prairie Bible College; 1995)
Cameron has researched and written on linguistic topics related to the Chufie' language of Cameroon. Research topics include noun classes, morphology, syntax, discourse analysis, pronominal systems, TAM, Grassfields Bantu languages, Bantoid languages.
Hamm, Cameron and Tongwe Rene Majenpoh. 2024. The verb phrase in Chufie’ (Bafanji). Yaoundé: SIL. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.36439.28326 ht
Hamm, Cameron. 2024. Supapyag (Baba 1) Orthography Guide. Yaoundé: SIL. https://www.silcam.org/
Hamm, Cameron (ed.). 2024. Chufie–English Dictionary. Webonary.org SIL International. https://www.
Hamm, Cameron and Tongwe Rene Majenpoh. 2021. Clause and sentence structure in Chufie’ (Bafanji). Yaoundé: SIL. Online. URL: https://www.sil.org/
Hamm, Cameron. 2016. Reduction of noun classes and the emergence of semantic classification in Bafanji (Grassfields, Cameroon). In G. G. Atindogbe and E. F. Chibaka (eds) Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on African Linguistics, Buea, 17-21 August, 2012. Vol 1, pp 132-151. https://www.
Hamm, Cameron. 2016. Boundaries, Backgrounding and Highlighting in a Chufie’ (Bafanji) Narrative Text. Yaoundé: SIL. https://www.sil.org/
Hamm, Cameron 2016. Bafanji (Chufie’) Orthography Guide. (Revision of tone section). Yaoundé: SIL. https://www.sil.org/
Hamm, Cameron. 2011. The noun class system of Chufie' (Bafanji). Yaoundé: SIL. https://www.sil.org/
Hamm, Cameron and Valerie Hamm. 2007. A phonological sketch of Bafanji (Chufie’). Yaoundé: SIL. https://www.sil.org/
Hamm, Valerie and Cameron Hamm. 2007. Bafanji (Chufie’) Orthography Guide. Yaoundé: SIL.
Beavon-Ham, Virginia, Cameron Hamm and Rachel Robinson. 2024. Subjunctive marking in Grassfields languages that lack verbal subject markers. Paper presented at the 2nd Conference on Bantoid Languages and Linguistics, University of Yaounde I, 6-8 June, 2024.
Hamm, Cameron. 2021. Basic and compound subject pronouns in Chufie'. Paper presented at WOCAL 10, 7-11 June, 2021, Leiden University, Netherlands. Online. URL: https://osf.io/erq58/.
Hamm, Cameron. 2019. The particle la in Bafanji (Chufie’) and other Nun languages. NASCAL2, University of Dschang, March 12-13, 2019. Online. URL: https://www.sil.org/
LING 460/560 Morphosyntax II
Bill has lived almost half of his life outside of North America. He became a Christian during high school in the Philippines through a Baptist missionary after having read C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. He initially studied Electrical Engineering at university, then worked for five years with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. It was during this time that he and his wife Lori became interested in Linguistics and Bible Translation and joined Wycliffe.
Bill and his wife Lori worked for 19 years in Africa, which included teaching, language assessment and orthography development in the countries of Congo-Brazzaville, Mozambique and Kenya. He is an SIL Africa linguistics consultant and an ordained minister of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada. Their two sons live in California, each with his wife and two young sons, our four grandsons.
Bill loves phonology, theology, and the beauty of British Columbia. He enjoys the ethos and community at CanIL, and the opportunity to train and mentor others for various roles in Bible translation and minority language development all around the world.
Interesting facts: Bill is familiar with 6 languages: besides English, he is fairly proficient in (continental) Portuguese and French, and is familiar with Koine Greek, ancient Hebrew and Swahili. Along with USA and Canada, Bill and Lori have lived in Kenya (9+ years), Mozambique (7+ years), Philippines (3+ years), Congo-Brazzaville (2 years), Portugal (18 months), and France (6 months).
2005-10. Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA
1991-92. “Diploma de Língua e Cultura Portuguesa” Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal), Faculdade de Letras
1983-1990. Master of Arts in Linguistics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. Thesis Title: “Language Use in Northern Congo”
1988. “Diplôme Élémentaire de Langue Française” Centre Audio-Visuel de Langues Modernes, Vichy, France
1987. Africa Orientation Course of SIL in Kenya
1987. Intermediate Portuguese language study, PortInglis, Carnaxide, Portugal
1986. Introductory Portuguese language study, C.I.A.L. Centro de Línguas, Lisbon, Portugal
1981, 1984-85. Master of Christian Studies (Biblical Studies specialization, New College for Advanced Christian Studies, Berkeley, California
1975-79. B.Sc.in Electrical Engineering with Highest Honours, University of California at Davis
2014. (Summer) Lecturer in Linguistic Field Methods for SIL, University of North Dakota
2013. i-DELTA Domain Leader, Nairobi, Kenya
2010-2012. Anglophone i-DELTA Course Director, Nairobi, Kenya
2001-2005, 2007-2009. Lecturer in Bible and Translation Studies, Pan Africa Christian University, Nairobi, Kenya
2006. Adjunct Lecturer in Applied Linguistics/Translation Biola University, La Mirada, California
1999-2000. Literacy Coordinator and Linguistic Coordinator, SIL-Mozambique
1996-1999. Treasurer, Survey Coordinator, and Liaison to University and Ministry of Education for SIL-Mozambique
Summers 1990, 1991, 1995. Teaching Assistant in Phonology 1 and 2 and Syntax 1 for SIL, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
1992-1995. Lecturer in Phonetics and Translation Theory Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique
1993-1995. Country Director for SIL-Mozambique (Eastern Africa Group
1988-1990. Administrative assistant and language survey work for SIL Brazzaville, Congo (Central Africa Group)
1979-1984. Campus Staff Member for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at California State University, Sacramento, and University of Nevada
2013. Presented paper at Phonetics and Phonology of Sub-Saharan Languages conference at Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa on “Morphophonemic alternations in the initial consonants of stems in Olunyole, a Luyia Bantu Language”
2010. Dissertation: “Toward Transcultural Training in Phonological Processes for Bantu Language Mother Tongue Translators,” Pasadena: Fuller Theological Seminary
2000. Member of Bantu Initiative Technical Committee, coordinated by SIL
1998. Led the Ndau language survey in central Mozambique
1995-1999. Research on the phonology and orthography of the Ndau language
1988-1989. Participated in the Babole language survey and led the Bomitaba survey in northern Congo (Brazzaville)
2006. “Language Use in the Epena District of Northern Congo,” in SIL Electronic Survey Reports (http://www.sil.org/silesr/2006/silesr2006-005.pdf)
2004. “An Introduction to the Phonology of New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew,” in SIL-Mozambique Working Papers, Vol. 3
2004. SIL Electronic Book Review of: “Ikalanga phonetics and phonology: a synchronic and diachronic study,” by Joyce T. Mathangwane
2001. “Orthography Challenges in Bantu Languages,” in Notes on Literacy, Vol. 27, #4
2000. “Consonant Mutation in Shona Languages,” in SIL-Mozambique Working Papers, Vol. 2
1991. “Toward a Theology of Translation,” in Notes on Translation, Vol. 5, #3
2014. Minister with the Evangelical Covenant Church
2013. Certified Linguistics Consultant with SIL Africa
Portuguese and French, good proficiency
Koine Greek and ancient Hebrew, reading ability
Swahili, conversant
LING 330 Phonological Analysis
LING 4/593 OL Semantics & Pragmatics
LING 210 Language & Society
LING-210 Language & Society
LING-230 Articulatory Phonetics
LING-593 Semantics & Pragmatics
Dana is originally from Jamaica and grew up in a strong Christian home. She made a personal commitment to follow Christ at the age of 11 and this laid the foundation for what God would later have in store for her in ministry at Wycliffe Bible Translators and CanIL.
Dana is passionate about teaching and Linguistics and counts it a privilege that she gets to do both at CanIL. Her enthusiasm for Linguistics began during her undergraduate years as a Linguistics major at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. As an undergraduate student, Dana took particular interest in a course called Sociolinguistics (also called Language and Society), the course she now teaches at CanIL. Through Language and Society, her eyes were
opened to the variability and complexities of her own language use as a bilingual person, and the social significance of language as a marker of one’s identity. Dana’s exposure to Linguistics not only gave her a better understanding of the ways she uses language, but she also gained perspective and a greater appreciation for the ways in which others choose to use language.
As a final year student, her growing interest in Linguistics took her on trips to Curacao, Suriname, Guyana (Bartica) and Accompong Town (one of four Maroon communities in Jamaica) to collect and analyze data on Creoles spoken in these areas. During this time, Dana also learned about Wycliffe and how she could use her training in Linguistics as a tool for empowering linguistically marginalized communities through Bible translation and literacy.
Through her teaching at CanIL, Dana raises awareness about the need for mother language Bible translation and hopes to inspire her students to use their training in Linguistics also to make a difference in lives of others. It is also Dana’s hope that her students would develop a greater awareness of their own language use and grow in their understanding and appreciation for how language is used by others within their social networks and beyond.
Dana has been a member of Wycliffe since 2009 and has served in various roles including language development assistant, cross-cultural camp facilitator, Bible camp teacher, workshop presenter. She has also engaged in advocacy work to promote the translation of the Jamaican Creole New Testament. Dana looks forward to exploring this exciting world of Linguistics with you!
English (level 5), Jamaican Creole (level 5) and Spanish (level 2);
Also studied, basic Japanese, basic Jamaican Sign Language and Hebrew
2012-2015. M.A. in Linguistics and Exegesis, ACTS Seminaries, Langley, BC, Canada
2004-2007 B.A. in Linguistics with honours, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
Spring 2017. Co-Instructor, Language & Society, Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL)
Fall 2016. Co-Instructor, Language & Society, CanIL
Summer 2016. Teaching Assistant, Language & Society, CanIL
Fall 2015. Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Linguistics, CanIL
Spring 2013. Teaching Assistant, Training Across Cultures, CanIL
Fall 2012. Teaching Assistant, Language & Society, CanIL
LING-210 Language & Society
Jeremy was born and raised hiking and camping in the mountains of Colorado; he aspired to climb the highest peaks and explore the wildest places of the world. Having grown up in the church, he was sixteen when he truly got serious about the faith he inherited from his family. Introverted and book-ish, and having been blessed with a love of language, an interest in philosophy, and a heart for the Lord, Jeremy went off to college to study to be a pastor, a calling which never felt like a good fit, but which he thought was inevitable. After college, he worked in various things while searching for the sort of ministry that was actually a good fit, or perhaps just being a pastor. It was finally after meeting and marrying his sweetheart, Jamie, a missionary to Africa, that things began to come into focus. Jamie wanted to return to Africa. Jeremy wanted to use his more academic interests in ministry. Quite naturally, the two desires led to joining Wycliffe Bible Translators and going to Africa to serve in translation. Since 2006, Jeremy and Jamie and their three kids have served in various capacities in Bible Translation, doing leadership, administration, and translation consulting and advising. Prior to joining CanIL, Jeremy served with Seed Company, an affiliate organization of Wycliffe. As a Translation Consultant for mother-tongue language teams in East and West Anglophone Africa, he helped them work on their Old Testament translations. Jeremy taught informally at both the translation desk and in the workshop setting during that time. In the summer of 2020, Jeremy and his family moved to CanIL to lend his skills and experience to our faculty team.
2009. Master of Arts (Translation Studies). Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (Africa International University), Nairobi, Kenya.
2002. Bachelor of Arts (Biblical Studies, Philosophy). Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA, USA.
Old Testament translation. Biblical translation quality assurance and advisory development. Ethics in Translation. Bible Translation as Discipleship.
LING-483/583 Language Program Design and Management
LING-485/585 Principles of Translation
Bruce Wiebe began in computing science and math but came to realize there was a place for academic skills in language development and Bible translation work. After volunteering at CanIL in various roles, he (and his wife Raewyn) joined Wycliffe Bible Translators. He has taught courses in alphabet-making and dictionary making and worked on developing writing systems for languages in Nigeria, Cameroon, and most recently in Mexico.
As Research Officer for CanIL, Bruce's professional goal is to encourage best practices and quality assurance in language development projects with a particular interest in projects with Bible translation.
Education
Professional experience
2019-present. Research Officer, Canada Institute of Linguistics
2019(-2021). Linguistics Consultant (in training), SIL Mexico.
2012-2017. Linguistics Consultant (in training), SIL Nigeria.
2012-2015. Linguistics Specialist, SIL Cameroon.
1998-2010. Instructor (phonology, lexicography), Canada Institute of Linguistics.
Carol is a lifelong lover of language and languages. She loves to reach across the barriers of language and culture to connect with people, and that has served her well in her many years working with Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International. Early on in her career, she did linguistic field work in rural Mexico and in Cameroon, but most of Carol's career has been as a consultant and trainer in the area of Language and Culture Learning. Carol has taught in SIL training programs in the US, the UK, in Canada and in Thailand and has facilitated workshops in Thailand, Indonesia, Mozambique, Hungary and Albania, among other places. She also teaches online courses for language coaches from many different mission organizations through Wheaton College’s Institute for Cross-cultural training. Along with teaching LACA (Language and Culture Acquisition) at CanIL, Carol also regularly assists teaching similar courses at the Graduate Institute for Applied Linguistics, now part of Dallas International University, in Dallas Texas, USA.
Carol's interests include making quilts, knitting socks, gardening, reading mysteries, singing in the church choir, cooking interesting food from different countries and, especially, sharing it with friends.
Language and Culture Acquisition (LING 470, LING 570, LIN 570)
Lezlie and her husband Sean have been members of Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL since 1995. They are involved in a Bible translation project in Africa to an unreached people group and have four children. They love being part of the CanIL community and having the opportunity to work with eager young people as they prepare for the roles God may have for them in Bible translation and minority language development.
Lezlie and Sean’s passion is to see God’s Word available to every people group in an understandable and accessible form. Lezlie says, “I am thankful for this opportunity to serve at CanIL where I can help prepare future cross cultural workers for their roles in the wonderful work of Bible translation around the world.”
Interesting fact: Both Lezlie’s husband Sean and his twin sister Bonnie married Parisians, but neither of the twin’s spouses grew up speaking French or even living in Europe. Lezlie grew up in Paris, Texas (second largest Paris in the world…and yes, it too has an Eiffel Tower…google it!) and Bonnie’s husband is from Paris, Ontario.
Education
1995. M.A., Linguistics, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas.
1992. B.A., Anthropology and Sociology, Davidson College, North Carolina.
Teaches
LING 4/581 Anthropological Linguistics: Ethnography
James and his wife, Lois, joined Wycliffe and began a New Testament translation in 1995 among the Wuvulu people of Papua New Guinea (PNG). In parallel with the translation work, James started vernacular schools, and conducted workshops on orthography, grammar, lexicography, and literacy. The translation team dedicated the Wuvulu New Testament in 2005, with Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare in attendance as the emcee! After completing the New Testament, James taught linguistics at the University of Hawai‘i (Mānoa) while working on his Ph.D. James and Lois are presently mentoring Wuvulu Old Testament translators remotely, utilizing a broadband global access satellite system and Paratext software.
James also serves as a linguistics consultant and has worked at SIL PNG with translation teams from a variety of Austronesian and Papuan languages, including Barai, Buhutu, Koluwawa, Mekeo, Miniafia, Siar-Lak, and Ubir.
2015. Ph.D. in Linguistics, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
1999. M.A. in Linguistics, University of Texas, at Arlington.
1983. B.A. in Computer Science, Pacific Lutheran University.
LING 360 Morphosyntax I
LING 555 Historical & Comparative Linguistics
fluent: English, Tok Pisin, Wuvulu; studied: German, Greek, Hebrew.
2015. Wuvulu grammar and vocabulary. Ph.D. dissertation U. of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
2012. The Wuvulu velar obstruent puzzle solved. Working Papers in Linguistics: University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Vol. 43(2).
2008. Pidgins and Creoles. Chapter in linguistics reader, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
2005. Wuvulu New Testament, Wycliffe Bible Translators.
2005. Organized phonology data supplement: Wuvulu language. Data papers on PNG Languages (47) 95-108.
1999. Elements of Wuvulu grammar. University of Texas at Arlington, M.A. thesis.
Larry counts it a privilege to work with highly motivated young people who want to serve in a variety of language development roles around the world. His interest in linguistics was sparked while studying biology. He found the two fields very similar in terms of their examination of form or structure and the functions of those structures. Larry had some proficiency in French and learned a tiny bit of Japanese (most favorite food items!) while growing up and has been exposed to a number of languages over the years while software consulting with SIL International and in Field Methods classes. In his travels, Larry has lived in Belgium, Cameroon, Texas, Oregon, Alberta and British Columbia.
Larry loves working with dictionaries (a field called lexicography), discovering unique aspects of each language as people try to fit the data into a variety of linguistic databases. Both Larry and his wife Kim love to spend time with students outside of the classroom, whether over a meal or in a game of ultimate frisbee. Larry has an IT background and has been involved in the development of a number of linguistic software applications. Larry says, “Whether serving overseas, in software development or in training, I find that God continues to accompany and direct me and my family on a journey towards deeper love and greater freedom through Him.”
1991. M.A. Linguistics, University of Oregon
1986. B.Ed. Secondary Sciences, University of Alberta
1984. B.Sc. Biology, University of Alberta
Assistant Vice President of Administration
Linguistics Instructor – LIN(G) 4/580 Field Methods: Data Management and Analysis, LIN(G) 587 Lexicography
Language Software Development and Training
Summer@CanIL leadership team
2001-present. CanIL – Language Software Development and Training. Comparalex, Phonology Assistant, FieldWorks Language Explorer development.
2008-2015. CanIL Director of Communications
1998-2003. Summer Oregon SIL – Field Methods staff and IT support
1996-2001. SIL International, Dallas, TX. Language Software Developer LinguaLinks, FieldWorks
1995-1996. SIL Cameroon. Language Studies Department. Archivist and language studies reports manager.
1994. Brussels, Belgium. French language study.
1991-92. Retail computer consultant
Functional typological linguistics
Language software development for descriptive linguistics
FieldWorks development: http://fieldworks.sil.org
Phonology Assistant development: http://phonologyassistant.sil.org
Comparative African Wordlist Project: http://wordlist.canil.ca
Sm’algyax Living Legacy Talking Dictionary: http://smalgyax.unbc.ca/
Snider, Keith & Larry Hayashi. 2015. Comparalex – an online comparative word list database. Poster presented at the Linguistic Society of America 2015 Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon. http://www.linguisticsociety.org/abstract/comparalex-online-comparative-wordlist-database.
Hayashi, L., Hatton, J., & Moe, R. 2011. A proposed work-flow and software toolset for community dictionary development and distribution. In K. Akasu & S. Uchida (Eds.), Lexicography: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives. pp. 150-159. Presented at the ASIALEX 2011, Kyoto Terrsa, Kyoto, Japan: The Asian Association for Lexicography.
Snider, Keith; and Larry Hayashi 2006. “The Comparative African Wordlist Project” presented at the 37th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL 2006), Univeristy of Oregon, Eugene.
Maxwell, Mike, Gary Simons and Larry Hayashi. 2002. “A morphological glossing assistant.” In Peter Austin, Helen Dry and Peter Wittenburg (eds.), Proceedings of the International LREC Workshop on Resources and Tools in Field Linguistics, Las Palmas, 26-27 May 2002, 25-1 through 25-10: ISLE and DoBeS. (http://papers.ldc.upenn.edu/LREC2002/Morph_Gloss_Asst.pdf)
Hayashi, Larry S.; and John Hatton. 2001. “Combining UML, XML and relational database technologies – the best of all worlds for robust linguistic databases”. In Proceedings of the IRCS Workshop on Linguistic Databases , eds. Steven Bird; Peter Buneman; and Mark Liberman, 115-124. Philadelphia: Institute for Research in Cognitive Science.
http://www.ldc.upenn.edu/annotation/database/papers/Hayashi_Hatton/23.3.hayashi.pdf
Hayashi, Larry S. 2000 “Discovering and testing linguistic generalizations using interactive concordances”. In electronic Proceedings of the Talkbank Linguistic Exploration Workshop: New Methods for Creating, Exploring and Disseminating Linguistic Field Data. Chicago.
Hayashi, Larry S. 1991. Thesis. The relationship between event perception, dishabituation of neural models and progressive aspect in English. University of Oregon.
Hayashi, Larry S. 1989. ms. Conjunctions and referential continuity. University of Oregon. Research results cited in Givón, Talmy. 1984. Syntax : a functional-typological introduction. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: J. Benjamins Pub. Co. pp.849-850.
LING-LIN 587 Lexicography
LING-LIN 580 Field Methods: Data Management & Analysis
LING 480 Field Methods: Data Management & Analysis
