PhD, Anthropology, Tulane University, 2020

Specialties

Creole and French in Louisiana, language and identity, nexus analysis, language contact, language shift, language revitalization, Tunica language and culture

Nathan Wendte holds a PhD in Anthropology with a concentration in Linguistic Anthropology from Tulane University. His research focuses on the relationship between language and identity—especially in contexts of language contact, language shift, and language revitalization. In particular, he engages with Creole-speaking and French-speaking populations (and their descendants) in Louisiana and the Gulf South. His dissertation offers a nexus analysis of ethnolinguistic labelling practices among Creoles in the region and demonstrates how these practices can inform a reconceptualization of Creole identity rooted and centered in the experiences and voices of individual group members. Additionally, he is an ongoing contributor to the linguistic and cultural revitalization and reclamation of Tunica, a language isolate historically spoken by the Tunica-Biloxi tribe of Marksville, LA.

Selected Publications:

Wendte, Nathan A. Forthcoming. “The Chronotopic Organization of Louisiana Creole Ethnolinguistic Identity.” Études Francophones 35.

———. Forthcoming. “Singing the King’s Creole: The (Ethno)Linguistic Repertoire of Clifton Chenier.” In Contact Languages and Music. Kingston: University of the West Indies Press.

———. 2018. “Language and Identity among Louisiana Creoles in Southeast Texas: Initial Observations.” Southern Journal of Linguistics 42 (1): 1–16.