About
I am a second-year PhD student in linguistics at McGill University, supervised by Luis Alonso-Ovalle and Junko Shimoyama.
Public introduction
I am a linguist who studies meaning in language. Broadly, I am interested in questions like:- When comparing two languages that have different word orders, what structural patterns remain constant across both? Which ones are language-specific?
- In translating between two languages, what kinds of meanings are difficult to directly translate, and why?
- What are the most accurate and useful ways to represent a language, in academic grammars as well as in computer databases?
I address these questions with an emphasis on languages that have been historically overlooked or underrepresented in linguistics research. Many theories of sentence structure and meaning were developed with languages like English and French in mind. By studying a wider group of languages, we can develop more comprehensive and generalizable theories about how language works.
I am interested in the role of linguistics in supporting community-led language documentation, pedagogy, and revitalization. Since 2018, my work has focused on languages of Indonesia, particularly languages of Java and Indonesian Borneo; and more recently on Kanien'kéha, a Northern Iroquoian language spoken in Québec, Ontario, and upstate New York.
My work has been supported through grants from the Fulbright program, the Fonds de Recherches du Québec, and the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation.
Linguistics introduction
I study semantics and syntax. I am interested in the internal composition of nominals and the relationship between nominal semantics and clause formation. (In other words, how nominals get built and where they can/must slot into the syntax.) Topics of recent and ongoing projects relate to:- (In)definiteness, object shift, and similar constructions
- Numeral-containing DPs and individuation-measurement distinctions
- Complex anaphoric expressions
I research these and other topics in Austronesian languages, namely Javanese and Simpakng (Land Dayak); and more recently in Kanien'kéha (Northern Iroquoian). In studying languages that are not yet extensively documented, I am interested in how linguistics research can support the development of usable and useful corpora for speakers and learners.
Before moving to Montreal, I spent 2022-2023 in Indonesia on a Fulbright U.S. Student Research Award, advised by Dr. Yanti. I earned dual bachelor's degrees in linguistics and mathematics (specialization in computer applications), summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota in 2020.
If I'm not doing linguistics, I'm probably cooking, distance running, or being a very mediocre swimmer.
