I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's Language Variation & Cognition Lab (PI: Meredith Tamminga).

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My research focuses on the perception and production of sociolinguistic variation and what it can tell us about how linguistic and social knowledge is acquired, mentally represented, and utilized in communication. Much of my work focuses on the role of prior (socio)linguistic experience in within- and cross-dialectal communication, including how this experience shapes the way language is processed (in its social context) and imitated. 

 

I received my Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 and my Master's in Sociolinguistics from North Carolina State University in 2015. 

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I am also affiliated with the Cultural Evolution of Language Lab and the Embick Lab at Penn. 

Recent News

September 13, 2021

Paper accepted at Language

My paper, "Experimental Evidence for Expectation-Driven Linguistic Convergence," based on my dissertation work, has just been accepted at Language.

October 21, 2021

Talks at NWAV

I'll be giving two talks at NWAV49: "A hierarchical clustering approach to continuing and reversing sound changes," with Meredith Tamminga and "The role of dialect background in expectation-driven shifts in perception and production," based on a replication of my dissertation work.

March 1, 2021

Paper accepted in Linguistics Vanguard

My paper with Wei Lai and Meredith Tamminga, "Individual differences in simultaneous perceptual compensation for coarticulatory and lexical cues," has been accepted at Linguistics Vanguard.

August 10, 2020

Paper Published in Language and Speech

My paper "The Reliability of Individual Differences in VOT Imitation" with Wei Lai and Meredith Tamminga is now out.