Dr. Valentina Iepuri is an Associate Professor of Russian in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Mississippi. She is the Director of the Russian language program.
Research Interests
Dr. Iepuri's research interests include Russian Language in the Post-Soviet Period, Languages in Contact, Language Pedagogy, and Sociolinguistics.
Biography
Dr. Valentina Iepuri earned her B.A., M.A. in TEFL/Translation from the State University of Moldova in 1980 and her Ph.D. in Linguistics from Minsk State Linguistic University in 1989.
Dr. Iepuri's professional activities and experiences include
- Director of the Russian Language Program
- CARTA (Central Association of Russian Teachers of America) Executive Board Member
- MFLA (Mississippi Foreign Language Association) Executive Board Member
- MFLA Vice-President (2008-2010)
- ACTR (American Council of Teachers of Russian) Selection Committee Member (2012, 2007)
- STARTALK Russian Language Program, Instruction Leader, East Central University, Oklahoma (2013)
- Dobro Slovo National Slavic Honor Society Faculty Advisor
- Curriculum and Policy Committee, College of Liberal Arts (2017-Present)
- Longest Lecture Committee (2017-Present)
- Faculty Senate (2013-2015)
- Study Abroad Advisor for the Russian Language
Articles
“The Ukrainian Language in Moldova: Its Sociolinguistic Status, Function and Contact with Other Languages.” Southern Journal of Linguistics, Volume 42, Number 2 (2018).
“Îmblu or Umblu:Remarks on Pronunciation Variation in Moldovan Dialect of Romanian.” Balkanistica, Volume 31 (2018): 93-112.
“Russian Signage as a Reflection of Contemporary Culture.” Southern Journal of Linguistics, Volume 42, Number 1 (2018): 40-70.
“What Makes Russian Advertisements Russian? Contemporary Russian Advertising as a Sociocultural Phenomenon.” Russian Language Journal, Issue 67 (2017): 55-76
“Культурологический компонент в преподавании русского языка американским студентам”, Русский язык за рубежом, специальный выпуск, Русистика США, Москва, Государственный институт русского языка им. Пушкина, с. 35-43. [“The Cultural Component in Teaching Russian to American Students” (with Mara Sukholutskaya). Russian Language Abroad/Teaching Russian in the USA/2017, Moscow, The Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, (2017): 35-43.]
“О прагматическом аспекте словарных и энциклопедических дефиниций”, Вестник, №4 (83), Минский государственный лингвистический университет, Беларусь, 2016, с. 67-76. [“On the Pragmatic Aspect of Dictionary and Encyclopedic Definitions.” Vestnik №4 (83), Minsk, State Linguistic University, Belarus (2016): 67-76.]
“Continuing Language Conflicts in the Republic of Moldova: Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?” Balkanistica, Volume 29 (2016): 85-98.
“Socio-Political Vocabulary in Russian Dictionaries: Lexical-Semantic Dynamics.” CARTA Research Journal, № 2 (2015): 1-31.
“Элементы языковой игры в названиях городских объектов (на материале эргонимов Москвы, Санкт–Петербурга и Саратова).” Язык – когниция– социум. “Word Play in Commercial Signage in the Cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Saratov” (with Tatiana Kadirbaeva, Saratov) Language-Cognition-Society, Minsk, Belarus (2012): 125-129.
“How Words Change Meaning: Observations on the Evolution of Modern Russian Lexical Semantics in Post-Soviet Moldova” (with Donald L. Dyer and Tatiana Kadyrbaeva). Съепостовительно езикознание/Сопоставительное языкознание/ Contrastive Linguistics ХХХV, № 3, Sofia, Bulgaria (2010): 101-108.
“A Case Study on Lexical Change and Semantic Shift in the Russian of Moldova” (with Donald L. Dyer and Tatiana Kadyrbaeva). Probleme Actuale de Lingvistică, Glododidactica şi Ştiinţă Literară, ediţia a IV-a, vol. 4, part 1, Chişinău, Moldova (2009): 384-392.
“Дефиниции словарей и энциклопедий как текстовые образования в англоязычной лексикографии.” Контекстуальные свойства единиц языка, Минский государственный педагогический институт иностранных языков (МГПИИЯ), Минск, (1986): 75-82.
“Англоязычная лексикография и имена собственные.” Лексическая и грамматическая семантика. Минский государственный педагогический институт иностранных языков (МГПИИЯ), Минск (1985): 64-72.
Courses Taught
- Russ 111 Elementary Russian
- Russ 202, 211 Intermediate Russian
- Russ 301, 302 Conversation and Composition I, II
- Russ 401, 402 Advanced Russian
- Russ 411 Political Russian
- Russ 501 Contemporary Russian
Education
M.A. Language, Moldova State University (1980)
Ph.D. Linguistics, Minsk State Pedagogical Institute of For (1989)
Recognitions
- Award of Distinction , Mississippi Foreign Language Association, 2016
- Outstanding Service Award, Russian Cultural Center, Washington D.C., 2015
- Outstanding Service Award, Mississippi Foreign Language Association , 2014
- Excellence in Teaching Russian Award, Central Association of Russian Teachers of America, 2008
- Swedish Institute Grant, Department of Linguistics and Phonetics, Lund University, Sweden, 2000-2001
- Fulbright Grant, Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, USA , 1998-1999
- Outstanding Leadership Award for Outstanding Vision, Dedication, and Contribution to the 2010-2012 MFLA Board, Mississippi Foreign Language Association, 2012
- Summer Research Grants, College of Liberal Arts, University of Mississippi, 2013, 2014, 2016