First ELAP PhD graduate - Dr Henrik Bergqvist

On 1st February 2008 Henrik Bergqvist completed all the requirements for the PhD when he submitted the final version of his dissertation "Temporal reference in Lakandon Maya" to the University of London. Henrik is the first ELAP PhD student to complete his studies at SOAS.

Henrik's thesis is a detailed study of how Lakandon Maya, an endangered language spoken in Chiapas, Mexico, encodes reference to time, showing that certain adverbs, previously thought to be time words, indicate the speakers’ ‘stance’ in relation to the events they are describing. Henrik's thesis received praise from his examiners Dr Friederike Lüpke and Dr Valentina Vapnarsky (a specialist in Yukatek, a neighbouring and related Mayan language).

Congratulations Henrik!