“If the right spells are spoken, the lost words might return.”
— Robert Macfarlane

Research Interests: 

As part of my dissertation, I’m developing an interactive online language learning tool for ʔayʔajuθəm (also known as Comox-Sliammon), a Coast Salish language traditionally spoken by four communities along the Northern Strait of Georgia in British Columbia.

In addition, I’ve been working on:

• Degree constructions
• Determiners and demonstratives
• Deixis and gesture
• Modality and evidentiality
• Wh-constructions

Lab Affiliations & More:

Currently, I’m a member of the the Salish Working Group, the ʔayʔajuθəm Lab, the Degree Lab, the TAP Lab, and the Semantics Reading Group.

In addition, I’m the Editor-in-Chief for UBC WPL, which publishes — among other things — the precedings for ICSNL as well as the proceedings for WSCLA.

Publications

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2022. “Demonstratives in ʔayʔaǰuθəm: Managing joint attention through gesture and salience.” Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 26.

Reisinger, D. K. E., L. Matthewson, & H. Rullmann. 2022. “Using corpus methods to investigate modal-temporal interactions.” In J. Vander Klok, N. Ferreira Rech, S. Guesser, & E. Soares (eds.), Modality in Underdescribed Languages: Methods and Insights. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter Mouton, 141–189.

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2022. “ʔayʔaǰuθəm Determiners for Women, Animals, and Small Things.” SULA 11: Proceedings of the Eleventh Biennial Meeting of the Semantics of Under-Represented Languages in the Americas. Seung Suk Lee & Yixiao Song. (eds.). 111–126.

Reisinger, D. K. E. & Laura S. Griffin. 2022. “Unearthing Long-Forgotten Treasures: The Early Comox-Sliammon Materials“. Papers of the ICSNL 57. D. K. E. Reisinger, L. Griffin, G. Mellesmoen, S. Nederveen, B. Oliver, & B. Trotter. (eds.). Vancouver, BC: UBCWPL, 87–142.

Joanne Francis, Marianne Huijsmans, Henry Davis, Laura S. Griffin, Gloria Mellesmoen, D. K. E. Reisinger, & Bailey Trotter. 2022. “The Sleigh Accident: An ʔayʔaǰuθəm Childhood Memory from Joanne Francis“. Papers of the ICSNL 57. D. K. E. Reisinger, L. Griffin, G. Mellesmoen, S. Nederveen, B. Oliver, & B. Trotter. (eds.). Vancouver, BC: UBCWPL, 62–66.

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2021. “Modal versus deictic evidentials in ʔayʔaǰuθəm (Comox-Sliammon)“. Proceedings of SALT 31. N. Dreier, C. Kwon, T. Darnell, & J. Starr (eds.), Linguistic Society of America, 629–646.

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2021. “Deixis Meets Evidentiality: Clausal Demonstratives in ʔayʔaǰuθəm“. Proceedings of the West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics 37. D. K. E. Reisinger & M. Huijsmans (eds.), Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press, 152–159.

Reisinger, D. K. E., Huijsmans, M., & Matthewson, L. 2021. “Evidentials in the Nominal Domain: A Speasian Analysis of ʔayʔaǰuθəm Determiners.” Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 25. P. Grosz, L. Martí, H. Pearson, Y. Sudo, & S. Zobel (eds.), London, UK: University College London & Queen Mary University London, 751–768.

Reisinger, D. K. E. & Huijsmans, M. 2021. “Demonstratives in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Papers of the ICSNL 56. D. K. E. Reisinger, H. Green, L. Griffin, M. Huijsmans, G. Mellesmoen, & B. Trotter (eds.). Vancouver, BC: UBCWPL, 305–375. Vancouver, BC, Aug. 2021.

Reisinger, D. K. E. & Huijsmans, M. 2020. “jaqaʔ: A Generalized Exclamation Operator in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 24, Vol. 2. M. Franke et al. (eds.), Osnabrück, Germany: Osnabrück University, 183–200.

Huijsmans, M., Reisinger, D. K. E., & Matthewson, L. 2020. “Evidential Determiners in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Papers of the ICSNL 55. D. K. E. Reisinger, H. Green, M. Huijsmans, G. Mellesmoen, & B. Trotter (eds.). Vancouver, BC: UBCWPL, 165–182.

Lo, R. Y.-H. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2019. “Exploring the Status of Degrees in ʔayʔaǰuθəm”. SULA 10: Proceedings of the Tenth Conference on the Semantics of Under-Represented Languages in the Americas. K. Johnson & A. Göbel (eds.). Amherst, MA: GLSA. 117–132.

Reisinger, D. K. E. 2018. “Modality in Comox-Sliammon“. Papers of the ICSNL 53. M. Huijsmans, R. Y.-H. Lo, O. Tkachman, & D. K. E. Reisinger (eds.). Vancouver: UBCWPL. 197–227.

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2018. “Clausal Demonstratives in ʔayʔaǰuθəm (Comox Sliammon)“. Papers of the ICSNL 53. M. Huijsmans, R. Y.-H. Lo, O. Tkachman, & D. K. E. Reisinger (eds.). Vancouver: UBCWPL. 9–24.

Huijsmans, M., Reisinger, D. K. E., Lo, R. Y.-H., & Xu, K. 2018. “A Preliminary Sketch of Determiners in ʔayʔaǰuθəm”. Wa7 xweysás i nqwal’utteníha i ucwalmícwa: He Loves the People’s Languages. Essays in Honour of Henry Davis. L. Matthewson, E. Guntly, & M. Rochemont (eds.). Vancouver, BC: UBCOPL 6. 327–338.

Reisinger, D. K. E. & Lo, R. Y.-H. 2017. “ʔayʔaǰuθəm: A Degreeless Language“. Papers of the ICSNL 52. A. Anghelescu, M. Fry, M. Huijsmans, & D. K. E. Reisinger (eds.).Vancouver: UBCWPL. 225–243.

Invited Talks

Huijsmans, Marianne & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2021. “Demonstratives in ʔayʔaǰuθəm: Managing joint attention through gesture and salience.” Presentation given for the Semantics Colloquium series at the Institut für Linguistik, Goethe Universität Frankfurt (online), November 2021.

Conference Presentations

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2021. “Gesture vs. salience: Two types of demonstratives in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Paper presented at SuB 26, Cologne, Germany, September 2021.

Reisinger, D. K. E. 2021. “What about what if, why, and how… and whither!? How to ask questions with čɩm in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Paper presented at ICSNL 56, Vancouver, BC, Aug. 2021.

Reisinger, D. K. E. & Huijsmans, M. 2021. “Demonstratives in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Paper presented at ICSNL 56, Vancouver, BC, Aug. 2021.

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2021. “Modal versus deictic evidentials in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Poster presented at SALT 31, Providence, RI, May 2021.

Reisinger, D. K. E., Huijsmans, M., Matthewson L. 2020. “Evidentials in the Nominal Domain: A Speasian Analysis of ʔayʔaǰuθəm Determiners.” Paper presented at SuB 25, London, UK, Sept. 2020.

Huijsmans, M., Reisinger, D. K. E. & Matthewson, L. 2020. “Evidential Determiners in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Paper presented at ICSNL 55, Vancouver, BC, Aug. 2020.

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2020. “ʔayʔaǰuθəm Determiners for Women, Animals, and Small Things.” Poster at SULA 11, Mexico City, Mexico, Aug. 2020.

Huijsmans, M. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2020. “Deixis meets Evidentiality: Clausal Demonstratives in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Poster presented at WCCFL 2020, Vancouver, BC, Mar. 2020.

Reisinger, D. K. E. & Huijsmans, M. 2019. “jaqa: A Generalized Exclamation Operator in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Poster presented at SuB 24, Osnabrück, Germany, Sept. 2019.

Reisinger, D. K. E. & Huijsmans, M. 2019. “jaqa: A Generalized Exclamation Operator in ʔayʔaǰuθəm.” Paper presented at ICSNL 54, Victoria, BC, Jul. 2019.

Reisinger, D. K. E. 2018. “Modality in Comox-Sliammon.” Paper presented at ICSNL 53, Bellingham, WA, Aug. 2018.

Reisinger, D. K. E., Lo, R. Y.-H., & Epp, C. 2017. “The Preposition-Like Verb hu in ʔayʔaǰuθəm Comparative Constructions.” Poster presented at WSCLA 22, Vancouver, BC, Apr. 2017.

Reisinger, D. K. E. 2014. “Impersonal Constructions in IDEATION, Then and Now.” Paper presented at CSDL 2014, Santa Barbara, CA, Nov. 2014.

Reisinger, D. K. E. & Stitz, C. 2014. “A Matter of Taste: FOOD Metaphors in German and English.” Paper presented at ACOL 2014, Edmonton, AB, Nov. 2014.

Stitz, C. & Reisinger, D. K. E. 2014. “A Piece of Cake: FOOD Metaphors in English and German.” Poster presented at DGKL 6, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, Oct. 2014.

Reisinger, D. K. E. 2014. “Peeking through the Haze: the CLOUD as a Source for Conceptual Metaphors.” Paper presented at DGKL 6, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, Sept. 2014.

Reisinger, D. K. E. 2013. “»You’re awesome!!! ♥« – Developing a Compliment Formula for CMC.” ACOL 2013. Calgary, AB, Nov. 2013.