Chris Donlay traveled the globe in his high-profile role as Vice President of International Corporate Communications for eBay. He was a voice for the online auction company, being quoted all over the world on such matters as Internet scams, PayPal outages, Asia expansion plans, patent suits, and controversial auctions for flu vaccine vials and facial tattoo ads. But no winning bid could give Chris what was missing in his life: a deep passion for his career.
As a child growing up in Kansas, Chris was fascinated with languages, learning several in school, an interest that served him well later in his international corporate career. Before coming to eBay in 2005, Chris worked at global PR company Hill & Knowlton in New York City; managed a start-up agency with a friend; and did corporate public relations for HBO.
Chris’ main responsibility at eBay was to help the international sites. “When I started, there were 5, when I left 25,” he said. “The eBay concept is based on very American values, and so we had to find a way to communicate them in a way that would appeal to people in other cultures,” Chris said. The job necessitated frequent travel to Europe and Asia. “At one time I was flying to Shanghai once a month,” he said.
He also handled other corporate issues such as acquisitions, financial announcements, and crisis communications, meaning “I was on call 24/7,” said Chris.
The pace was hectic, “and frankly after 5 years I was burned out,” he said. “So I began to think about a new career, and quickly settled on Linguistics.” Chris – who holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science & East Asian Language and Culture from the University of Kansas and an MBA in Marketing/International Business from New York University – left eBay in 2006 to return to school. Believing he needed to learn the basics of Linguistics in order to credibly apply to a Ph.D. program, he enrolled at San Jose State University and earned a master’s degree in Linguistics in 2008. He entered UCSB’s Linguistics Ph.D. program later that year. Chris advanced to candidacy in June 2011 and expects to receive his Ph.D. in Spring 2014.
Some colleagues were surprised at his big career turn. “But the people closest to me knew that I wanted a change,” he said, and Linguistics was a “natural evolution.” The move would also satisfy another one of his goals: to lead “a much less stressful lifestyle.”
Earlier this month, Chris, 50, learned that he was one of six recipients of a doctoral dissertation research award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the agencies’ ongoing Documenting Endangered Languages program.
The $15,078 award will assist Chris as he documents Katso, a language in China with just 5,000 speakers. His research project, "A Grammar of the Katso Language in Yunnan, China," under the direction of Dr. Carol Genetti, currently the acting dean of UCSB’s Graduate Division, will contribute to the understanding of language contact and change.
Chris – who lives in Palo Alto, Calif., with his partner Colin Kent – took some time out before heading back to China to share with the GradPost his thoughts on his love of Linguistics, his research on the endangered Katso language, his advice for fellow grad students, and more. Read on. …
What prompted you to pursue Linguistics?
I was always interested in languages, studying French and Italian in high school and then majoring in Mandarin as an undergraduate. My corporate career took me around the world, where my interest in languages and cultures came in handy. Linguistics was a natural evolution for me, spurred on by the realization that we are in the midst of a global crisis in language endangerment. More than half of the world’s 7,000 languages are expected to die out this century – currently, one language disappears every 2 weeks. I felt that linguistics and language documentation was a worthy second career.
Please tell us about your dissertation topic and your specific interest in the Katso language. Why this particular language?
My dissertation will be a descriptive grammar of Katso, an endangered language spoken in a single farming village in Yunnan, China. In order to write the grammar, the language must first be thoroughly documented. This involves working with native speakers in the village over the course of a year to record a wide variety of natural language, from conversation, personal anecdotes and jokes to traditional stories and songs. The grammar, along with all supporting audio and video recordings, will be archived in the village so that the community has a permanent and comprehensive record of their language.
Because I already speak Mandarin, I was particularly interested in working in China, where there are many endangered languages but few documentary linguists. Yunnan Province, which is home to dozens of minority ethnic groups, is a linguistic hotspot and a natural destination for this kind of work. Katso is especially interesting because the speakers are ethnically Mongolian. They are descendants of the troops Kublai Khan brought to Yunnan when he conquered China in the 13th century. Due to centuries of contact with other minority languages, Katso has changed enormously since then. Today, speakers must speak Mandarin to get an education, find a good job or even watch TV, so there is increasing pressure to completely switch to the majority language. And because Katso is not a written language, it will completely disappear unless it is documented while we have the chance.
How has Dr. Genetti assisted you with your education/dissertation?
The Linguistics Department at UCSB is known for its training in language documentation, which is why I came here. Not only is Carol Genetti a leader in this field, she is also an expert on the Tibeto-Burman language family to which Katso belongs. She’s a great mentor.
Tell us about the NEH/NSF dissertation award. How will you use the funding?
The NSF, through its Documenting Endangered Languages (DEL) program, is one of the few granting institutions in the world that provides funds specifically for language documentation. I applied for a dissertation improvement grant in order to extend my fieldwork to a full year, allowing me the time to create a comprehensive record of the language. Naturally, I’m happy the NSF is supporting my project.
Who are your mentors or role models?
There are a lot of great field linguists documenting endangered languages right now – too many to name. I’ve been able to meet quite a few and I try to learn something from each of them, because documentation is exacting work that needs to be done right the first time. I always keep in mind that the ultimate audience for my work is not my dissertation committee but the community of speakers themselves.
What advice do you have for other UCSB grad students?
Pursue your passions. I spent 20 years in a career that, while successful, I didn’t love. I’m lucky to have a second chance.
When not studying or researching, what do you like to do for fun and relaxation?
I love to travel and learn about new cultures, so fieldwork is both work and pleasure for me.
What are your long-term career goals after receiving your Ph.D.?
I have dual goals – to teach linguistics, especially language documentation, and to continue documenting endangered languages.
Visit the National Endowment for the Humanities' Documenting Endangered Languages page for more information about the program and how to apply. For information on how to give to UCSB’s graduate education initiatives such as dissertation year fellowships to help further important research, visit the Graduate Division's Giving page.