Member inquiry: Seeking work in endangered languages

[McGinnis, Scott]

Dear nice people on the "Heritage Languages" mailing list,

	My name is Tony Lopez and I am interested in doing research that

involves the observation and analysis of languages, even languages that
I
do not yet know.  Since I already speak nine languages, this still
leaves
me with many to choose from either way.

	I am planning on applying to graduate school in Linguistics and
Second Language Acquisition for the fall of 2003.  I would like to spend

as much of the time between then and now analyzing unique or
undocumented
languages or language issues, or to assist people with similar such
analyses.  My goal is to get more experience, discover what kinds of
jobs
are available in linguistics, and do more of what I enjoy - hopefully
with
just enough income to survive.

	Two possibilities that I've encountered involve the preservation

of endangered languages and comparative linguistics.  Internet searches
and inquiries to professors have produced this informative mailing list
as
one place where people that might be able to point me in the right
direction to fulfill my goals, if possible.

	Would any of you happen to know of a person or an organization
that might be interested in using someone like me to help further their
research and personal goals?  Would you know of anyone or anyplace that
might be able to point me towards such a person or organization?

	I have already taken more than a few graduate linguistics
courses
and have a good deal of practical experience.  I immensely enjoy looking

for recurring patterns and trying to fit seeming exceptions into a
larger
scheme if possible.  I've worked under high-pressure situations where
perfection isn't possible but good results are nonetheless necessary.
I've had to put all of these skills and this experience together in
situations as disparate as getting a master's degree in physics and
co-producing a language-teaching TV program in China.  I want to do more

than teach a language or learn a language, I want to contribute to the
understanding of a language and its connections to other languages.  I
want an opportunity to prove how well I can do this and how much I can
make a difference.

	If any of you have the time, I would greatly appreciate it if
you
could please reply to me with any information you may have that might be

of help to me, or forward this request to someone who can.  My e-mail
address is "tonyteach at email.com" and my personal web page is
"http://tonyteach.knows.it"

	Thank you very much for your attention, and I hope I haven't
taken
too much of your time.

Sincerely,
Tony Lopez
Chicago, IL, USA


		Write me -->  tonyteach at email.com
		 Read me -->  http://tonyteach.knows.it