Biography
Nielson Sophann Hul is a Khmer linguist specializing in phonetics, heritage language acquisition, and Southeast Asian linguistics. He was born in Cambodia and immigrated to the United States as a child, an experience that has deeply shaped both his academic interests and his commitment to community-based language work. His research focuses on the phonetic and phonological systems of Khmer, with particular attention to implosive consonants, voice quality, and sociophonetic variation in diasporic communities.
Before pursuing a career in teaching Khmer, Nielson spent a significant portion of his life in the United States Army as a Combat Medic who served in theater during OIF/OEF. Upon returning to the civilian world, he discovered that teaching was one of the only professions that could provide the same sense of purpose that soldiering had. Nielson has taught Khmer and English at several institutions, including Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Long Beach City College. At the community college level, he worked extensively with heritage language learners by offering instruction for reading and writing in Khmer as an alternative to other languages, facilitating transfer to four-year institutions for Cambodian immigrants who had missed the opportunity for formal education during their childhood due to being raised during the Khmer Rouge period and its aftermath. Nielson has been a vocal advocate for culturally-responsive language teaching and has contributed to the development of Khmer language programs in both university, community college, and direct, community-based contexts.