Louward Allen Zubiri

Louward Allen Zubiri joins Yale as Lector in Filipino and a member of the Council on Southeast Asia Studies (CSEAS) at the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. He holds a PhD in Linguistics and a Graduate Certificate in Multilingual Multicultural Professional Practice from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. His research focuses on the documentation, description, acquisition, and revitalization of Austronesian languages and writing systems, with particular emphasis on the languages of the Philippines. He has worked extensively with Indigenous Cultural Communities, notably the Mangyans of Mindoro, on community-based language and script revitalization projects.

His recent research investigates child-directed speech and child speech among emergent multilinguals in endangered and heritage language settings. He uses ethnographic and experimental methods to study intergenerational language transmission, language development, and multilingual practices.

He has also presented and published internationally, receiving several honors for his scholarship including the 2024 University of Hawaiʻi Excellence in Research Award; the Teresita Ramos Endowment for Philippine Languages, Literature, and Culture; and a fellowship from the Endangered Language Fund.

Before joining Yale, he taught at institutions in the Philippines, Canada, and the United States, most recently serving as a Lecturer in the Department of Indo‑Pacific Languages and Literatures at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.