I am a linguist-anthropologist
interested in Quichua language and culture, Sociolinguistics, Language contact, Minority
languages, Spanish and
French, with an additional interest in medical and pharmaceutical anthropology. I am a founding member of Runajambi
(Institute for the Study of Quichua Culture and Health).
I was born in Montreal, and since my most tender age, I remember my
father telling me stories about his late grandmother, a member of the
Huron nation. As I grew up, despite I unfortunately never got to
know her, she occupied an important place in my life. She made me
feel I belong to this continent.
M
y professional training includes a B.Sc. in Anthropology and Linguistics
from the
Université
de Montréal, Canada, and a Master's degree and Ph.D. in
Linguistics (from the Université du Québec à Montréal.
I conducted
research in Ecuador and California. In Ecuador, I studied the Quichua cultural beliefs
on Quichua language acquisition, as
well as the social and linguistic aspects of Quichua-Spanish contact. In
California, I co-directed an
investigation on Tongva (Amerindians of California) knowledge of medicinal plants.
I also published more than sixty articles on medical and pharmaceutical anthropology in L'Omnipraticien, and L'Actualité
pharmaceutique, two continuing medical education magazines targeting French speaking GPs
and pharmacists in Québec.
I am currently working in developing
studies in medical linguistics. I am also preparing a
multilingual medical lexicon (Quichua-Spanish-French-English).
