To me, linguistics is all about people. I am fascinated by the ways people use language -- either consciously or subconsciously -- to show who they are, how they feel, and what they believe. I am interested in the phonetics and phonology of language in use, especially when it comes to social meaning in phonetic/phonological variation, as well as the ideologies that drive language practices. Much of my work focuses on languages of South Asia both in the Subcontinent and in the diaspora, particularly the Dravidian languages and Indian English. Some current projects of mine include:

• An investigation of the effects of audience and topic on bidialectal code-switching between American and Indian Englishes among second-generation South Asian-Americans
• Mapping the language ideological landscape around the Dravidian languages of Southern India

As an avid birdwatcher & appreciator of nature, I also enjoy thinking about how non-linguistic sounds interact with language. A side project of mine investigates the strategies people use to bring bird calls into spoken language in interaction, and what those practices reveal about how language users think about sound.