Hi! My name is Emanuela Mileva and I have a PhD in linguistics from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in British Columbia, Canada. My research interests are interdisciplinary — language and medicine, interactive sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, Balkan linguistics, bilingualism, and intercultural communication. Find out more about my publications on the above, as well as on other research areas such as information visualization in medical care and brainstorming in online support groups.
Currently, I am affiliated with Trinity College in Dublin where I am a Sessional Lecturer at the Centre for Language and Communication Studies (CLCS) within School of Linguistics, Speech and Communication Sciences.
I was born and raised on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. In my early childhood I was exposed to my grandma’s switching between three languages (Bulgarian, Greek and French) every time there was something she and her sister didn’t want me to understand. It was then that it struck me how language can be a powerful tool for not only keeping your secrets, but also for expressing yourself in a different way.
Later, as a teenager in a specialized liberal arts high school, I built a solid foundation in advanced literary analysis. So it was only natural to me that this love for language and literature would eventually result in a MA in Modern Greek and Bulgarian philology from Sofia University, Bulgaria. During those five years I took my passion to a new level and gained not only philological expertise, but also immersion in the literary traditions of Western Europe, Mediterranean and the Balkans.
Fast-forward a few years to Vancouver, Canada, where my perspectives were dramatically expanded by the North American academic culture with MA and PhD programmes in Linguistics at SFU. In addition to mastering English and acquiring an expertise in linguistics, these past 12 years gave me a unique experience, both professional and personal. Now in Ireland, I am well-poised to explore yet more horizons on my path as a researcher, instructor, and lover of languages and human culture.
Education
PhD in Linguistics, 2020
Simon Fraser University, Canada
MA in Linguistics, 2010
Simon Fraser University, Canada
MA in Bulgarian Philology (Minor in Modern Greek), 2000
Sofia University, Bulgaria
Research Interests
Medical communication
Sociolinguistics
Discourse analysis
Balkan Sprachbund
Intercultural communication
Languages
English (near native fluency)
Greek (near native fluency)
Bulgarian (native)
French (working proficiency)
Russian (working proficiency)
German, Spanish, Italian (limited proficiency)