My name's Bethan Tovey-Walsh.
I'm a linguist and markup-languages geek.
I'm a member of the Invisible XML (iXML) community group, and I'm currently working on an iXML processor in Python. I'm also the editor of Geirfan, an online dictionary for adult learners of Welsh.
I recently completed a PhD in Applied Linguistics and Welsh at Swansea University. The wonderful Tess Fitzpatrick and the fabulous Rhys Jones were my supervisors, and my research focused on code-switching and lexical borrowing in Welsh-English bilinguals.
I occasionally write cryptic crosswords, and I introduced the crossword corpus I'm (very slowly!) building at the inaugural Markup UK conference in 2018. In a past life, I completed a DPhil in Anglo-Saxon literature, supervised by Malcolm Godden at Oxford, and then went to work for the Oxford English Dictionary.
When my brain needs a break I love various kinds of textile crafts, including weaving, crochet, and embroidery. I watch sci-fi on TV while I'm crafting, so most of what I make has memories of Bajorans, Battlestars, and baby porgs embedded in it.
I live in Swansea, in southern Wales, with my husband—a recovering Texan who's learning Welsh.