I am the Heritage Language Lab coordinator and a Linguistics Ph.D. student at UofA. My main research interests are language processing, language acquisition, pronoun resolution, and implicit causality. Currently I am investigating the role of information structure on pronoun resolution in semantically biased contexts. In the Heritage Lab I am part of the project that studies cross-linguistic influence with Spanish-English bilinguals.

I am a Ph.D. student at UofA. In my master's,  I conducted research on the relationship between macro- and micro-structure components in narratives produced by Persian-speaking children. I have collaborated in the construction of the Persian and Gilaki versions of LITMUS-MAIN and -CLTs. I am interested in studying characteristics of language development and the effects of individual differences in bilingual children who speak Persian as one of their languages, especially as a heritage language 

Hello! My name is Phoebe 林悅加 (lam4 jyut6 gaa1) and I am an undergraduate student studying Linguistics and East Asian Studies with a minor in Psychology. As a self-proclaimed chef of Cantonese food and speaker of Cantonese, I have a soft spot for regional languages of Chinese and multilingualism in Chinese speakers. My research interests involve the heritage language acquisition and maintenance of Chinese languages as well as crosslinguistic influence of language structures in bilinguals.  

Hi, I’m Yifan, a first-year undergraduate student with a strong passion for Linguistics. I am interested in the development and maintenance of heritage languages among second-generation immigrant children, particularly involving Mandarin. Through engaging in the research, I hope to deepen understanding in this field and support my family and others in similar circumstances. 

I am currently working on my undergrad in linguistics with a minor in psychology and have had the opportunity to engage with projects at the HeritLab that align with my interest in heritage language transmission and preservation! Specifically, I am interested in the role of attitudinal factors (cultural pride, social identity etc.) that shape language transmission within families and communities as well as the impacts of willingness seen from the caregiver of passing down a heritage language. 

I hold a Bachelor of Kinesiology and am currently completing an Education After Degree with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Spanish language at the University of Alberta. Fluent in English, French, Greek, and Spanish, I’m fascinated with heritage language acquisition and understanding how individuals learn and maintain multiple languages. 

Hello! My name is Jamie (she/her). I’m a fourth year linguistics honors student minoring in Spanish. My interest in heritage languages and bilingualism in general comes from my experience learning Spanish and Korean as second languages. In particular, I’m interested in the morphosyntactic and sociolinguistic aspects of L2 and heritage language acquisition.