[3] Hill began her post-secondary education at Reed College, which she attended for two years before transferring to University of California, Berkeley.
from UC Berkeley in 1960, then matriculated at UCLA to pursue her Ph.D.[4][3] There she studied under influential figures in anthropology and linguistics including Harry Hoijer and William Bright.
[5][6] Around this time, Hill also successfully championed a program at the University of Arizona that would allow for a joint Ph.D. in anthropology and linguistics, a testimony to her influence in and passion for both disciplines.
[3] In 2009 she retired as Regents' Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of Arizona,[5][3] but continued to work on a variety of research projects until her death.
[5] She contributed to the fields of linguistic anthropology and socio-linguistics, researching the use of Mock Spanish and the intersections of language, culture, identity, and power.
[7] The grammar uses data elicited from Roscinda Nolasquez, the last living speaker of Cupeño, as well as field notes from other linguists that had previously studied the language.
Hill noted the disconnect between this linguistic behavior and the social climate of monolingual language policy and education and anti-immigrant sentiment.
[5] Research on Mock Spanish was continued by Hill, Jennifer Roth-Gordon, Rusty Barrett, and Lauren Mason Carriss.
[5] Hill's sociolinguistic work is not limited to English speakers, and works such as Speaking Mexicano: Dynamics of Syncretic Language in Central Mexico (co-authored with husband Kenneth C. Hill) and "The voices of Don Gabriel: Responsibility and self in a modern Mexicano narrative" address similar topics in the context of Nahuatl/Mexicano.