Hi! I'm Katherine (or Katie) Schmirler. I am currently working with Dr. Inge Genee at the University of Lethbridge, where my postdoctoral research will focus on the computational modelling of Blackfoot.

I recently completed my PhD in Linguistics at the University of Alberta working with Dr. Antti Arppe on the 21st Century Tools for Indigenous Language project with the Alberta Language Technology Lab (ALTLab). My dissertation focused on the creation of a morphosyntactically tagged corpus for Plains Cree using an FST-based morphological model and Constraint Grammar parser, and using the resulting corpus to undertake case studies on morphosyntactic variation within the corpus. With the ALTLab, I have also been heavily involved in the development itwêwina, an intelligent online dictionary of Plains Cree with recordings collected during extensive collaboration with Plains Cree speakers and MESC in Maskwacîs, Alberta.

I earned my MA in Linguistics from the University of Toronto in 2015 and my BA in Linguistics from the University of Regina in 2014. My Masters research and Honours paper focused on semantic and lexical changes in Proto-Algonquian and modern Algonquian languages, which gave me a solid foundation in derivational morphology to apply to the ongoing development of computational tools for Algonquian languages.