Global and International Studies Building, 3079
Matthew Ajibade holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Indiana University, Bloomington, where he also earned his M.A. in Linguistics. He completed his B.A. in Linguistics at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In 2017-2018, Matthew was awarded the prestigious Yoruba Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) award, during which he contributed to teaching the Yoruba language. Following this, he served as a Yoruba Instructor in the African Studies Program at Indiana University while pursuing his graduate studies. Matthew has been involved in numerous projects focused on Yoruba language and culture, including the translation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart into Yoruba and other works into both Yoruba and English. He has collaborated with the Indiana University Student Outreach Clinic to create medical materials for Yoruba-speaking immigrants in Indianapolis and has facilitated seminars on medical interactions with Yoruba immigrants. Additionally, he has contributed to numerous Africa-focused outreach initiatives, including Yoruba storytelling programs for schools of education, pre- and post-service teachers, for the general public, and for IU students.
Matthew’s research interests center on African languages and linguistics, with a particular focus on African language pedagogy for heritage and second-language learners. He is especially interested in exploring the distinctions between heritage and L2 learners, focusing on phonetics, phonology, and pragmatics. Matthew has presented at numerous local and international conferences, published papers on various aspects of Yoruba language and linguistics, and has played an active role in Yoruba language standard-setting projects. He was the recipient of the 2023 National Federation of Modern Language Teachers/National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NFMLTA/NCOLCTL) dissertation research grant, as well as research and travel awards from the Indiana University Graduate School and the IU Professional Student Government. He has also received the IU African Studies Program Pedagogy and Service Awards for several years, the Carleton T. Hodge Prize for excellence in African studies, the African Language Teachers Association (ALTA) Award of Excellence, among several other local and international honors.