Home Sweet Home
Who I Am
Who am I? An important question not out of place in any philosophical treatise. I am no philosopher but an avid language learner with a natural interest in linguistics. Originally from Oviedo in Spain, I have master's degrees in English Linguistics and Translation and Interpreting, and have traveled Europe for both work and pleasure. Currently, I am a PhD candidate at the Department of Theoretical Linguistics. My primary research interests include language modeling, comparing grammatical models, and linguistic metatheory. My hobbies are creative writing, learning foreign languages and taking long well-deserved siestas after a day's work.
What I Do
What do I do? A good question indeed and one which my parents continually ask me every time I speak with them. My PhD project is titled 'Grammar in 3D: On linguistic theorydesign' and attempts to compare and assess three grammatical formalisms belonging within three different architectural and conceptual tendencies, namely traditional Generative Grammar, Simpler Syntax Grammar and Functional Discourse Grammar. For a more detailed description please consult the section 'How I see' below.
What I Speak
What do I speak? A question I am often asked as a linguist and one which my friends might answer simply and honestly with 'bla bla'. I have both a qualitative and quantitative approach to language learning, and speak Spanish, Italian, French, English, German, and Dutch, all to a high degree of fluency. I am currently learning Polish and Portuguese, which I now speak to a [I take the fifth!] degree of fluency. I am always interested in learning new languages and teaching the languages I speak and linguistics to enthusiastic students.
How I See
How I See? A question that makes me wonder whether I may not be too word-centered, some kind of a word chewer. I see through words, and this, regarding my project, in a 3D fashion. In my project "Grammar in 3D: On Linguistic Theory Design", I attempt to propose a meta-theoretical comparison between and assessment of three grammatical formalisms belonging within three different architectural and conceptual tendencies, namely traditional Generative Grammar, Simpler Syntax Grammar and Functional Discourse Grammar. The assessment and comparison takes place in a 3D fashion in that three formalisms are analyzed according to three D-properties or architectural features: Distribution, Design and Direction. Emphasis is put upon the way in which such architectural D-properties or the 3 Ds, i.e. the features defining a formalism’s choice in representing its map of grammar, are a consequence of its conceptual background. The 3 Ds are then related to two main factors for such comparison and assessment: representational abstractness and redundancy. These in turn I try to relate to the formalisms' degree of architectural adequacy.