Real name: J. Albert Bickford

  • Linguist: sign languages, Mexican indigenous languages, syntax, morphology

Though I am not Deaf myself, I am learning ASL (always learning!), have several Deaf friends, some brief experiences with other sign languages (Kenya, India, China, Myanmar, Guatemala, Mexico), and am especially interested in sign-language-related articles.

I'm a member of SIL International and part of my responsibilities include working with the Ethnologue editorial staff, especially on articles about sign languages. I do edit WP articles that pertain to Ethnologue or language identification in general, assuming that knowledge I've gained from being in SIL is beneficial to Wikipedia when properly applied. I aim to do this within WP:NPOV and WP:NOR guidelines, but invite other editors to watch over my shoulder and alert me if I do something they think is out of line. Further, contributions I make to Wikipedia are my own; I do not represent SIL in any official capacity, but only myself as a scholar.

I have a few hobbies that also draw me to other specific types of articles:

  • Computer skills (semi-professional): Word, Access, Visual Basic, awk, vim, 2D images, audio, video
  • Musician (mostly classical): violin, viola, voice (choral: tenor/baritone)

And then, I when I read other articles, I make little changes when I notice them.

This user is a linguist.
This user is a participant in WikiProject Deaf.
HTML-2This user is an intermediate HTML user.


awkThis user can program in awk.
vb-2This user is an intermediate Visual Basic programmer.


VG-2This user is able to contribute at a good level using vector graphics.
This user enjoys classical music.
vln-3This user is an advanced violinist.
vla-2This user is an intermediate viola player.


voc-2This user is an intermediate vocalist.
pno-2This user is an intermediate pianist.