BIOGRAPHY
I study how children learn language. Much of my work focuses on teasing apart the biological and environmental factors that contribute to the process of how children learn to speak. To do that, I examine children's comparative acquisition of specific linguistic structures and how this relates to the input children hear. Critical to my research is cross-linguistic evidence drawn from languages such as Sesotho (a southern African language), Dutch, English, Spanish, and French. I collect evidence using longitudinal data from children's spontaneous speech interactions and supplement this with experimental studies. My current research integrates insights from linguistic theory, language processing, mathematical modeling, and children with language delay (e.g. phonological delay, specific language impairment) in addressing the nature of children's linguistic representations and how these develop over time.
This research involves a fascinating domain for exploring untutored learning, where processes of statistical inference and neurological development meet.
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