Rate My Professor Ignacio Montoya

Montoya addresses theoretical issues in linguistics from functionalist perspectives, drawing on findings from applied fields to inform theory. His academic interests encompass language revitalization and reclamation, Indigenous languages in North America, language prescriptivism, morphology, and cognitive and usage-based approaches to grammar. Notable publications include "Rethinking Expertise: Creating a Decolonial Space in a University Setting by Broadening (and Sometimes Narrowing!) Who We Think Knows What" (2024, co-authored with Julien De Jesus and Macario Mendoza-Carrillo, Language Documentation and Conservation), "Manifestations of Colonialism in Linguistics and Opportunities for Decolonization Through Refusal" (2024, chapter in Decolonizing Linguistics, Oxford University Press), and "A collaborative development of workshops for teachers of Great Basin languages using principles of decolonization and language reclamation" (2020, co-authored with Debra Harry and Jennie Burns, Language Documentation & Conservation). As principal investigator, he received a $247,926 grant to host the Institute on Collaborative Language Research (CoLang) 2026 at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he serves as co-director. Montoya was awarded the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Leadership Award by the University of Nevada, Reno in 2023. He is a faculty associate in the Gender, Race, and Identity program and contributes to initiatives such as Paiute language classes.