Analysis of Bilingual Language Processing via Pupilometry (in progress)

The purpose of this study will be to examine the correlation (or lack thereof) between pupil dilation and natural language processing in a bilingual context, and to examine the validity of pupilometry as an index for cognitive effort during language processing.

Phonetic Overview of the Teochew Language (2023)

This is a follow‑up paper to my MA MRP/Thesis research project (see Lexical Tone Classification in Teochew : A Phonetic Study). In this study, we built on our work on lexical tones and dove into the phonetic inventory of Teochew. Using data and recordings from the previous study, we found that Teochew has 11 vowels (8 oral and 3 nasal with the possibility of a 12th and 13th vowel), and 18 consonants (with a possible 19th consonant). As of right now, the status of affricates is currently a major point of contention and will need to be further investigated. Lastly, results demonstrated that a three-way distinction between plosives exists in this language (see unvoiced unaspirated, unvoiced aspirated and voiced unaspirated plosives), a feature which has disappeared across most dialects of Chinese today.

Lexical Tone Classification in Teochew: A Phonetic Study (2020)

The purpose of this study will be to empirically analyze the lexical tone system of the Teochew dialect. Specifically, the focus will be on analyzing lexical tones in isolation in order to come up with a comprehensive classification system for the Teochew dialect. Based on recordings from 2 speakers, three main tests were run to test the 5-tone category hypothesis ; namely, a test on Pitch over Time, a test of Mean, Maximum and Minimum Pitch, and a test of Duration. Overall, the data from this study favoured the 5-tone system which was hypothesized to be the case.

#JeSuisCirconflexe : How a spelling reform nearly threatened French identity(2019)

L'Académie Française is notorious for being very strict about language and grammar rules, opting to adopt a very prescriptive view of the language. This view of the French language is shared across the francophone world as many groups and communities are now doing their best to protect and promote the "true" French. So in 2016, when the Academy dug up and put forward an orthography reform which was first proposed in the 90s, there was outrage across a vast majority of the French speaking wold. This article examines why there was so much outrage over a change to the language through the lens of identity. In other words, how much of this outrage was motivated by the cultural importance of the French language?

Analysis of French Oral vowels : A Comparison of Continental French and Québecois (2019)

Comparing the speech of 7 First Language French-Canadian Speakers from Montréal, CAN., and 7 French speakers from Bordeaux, FR., the purpose of this study was to examine whether the presence of diphthongs in modern day French spoken in Montreal and the surrounding areas are, in fact, true diphthongs (as observed in other variations of Québécois French) or if what is perceived as diphthongs are the product of lenghtened vowels. I compared Central Montreal French against the Continental (see France) variation which is taken to be a "neutral" dialect of French. Results demonstrated that diphthongs in Modern Montreal French are slowly but consistently shifting away from trus diphthongs with a preference for the more neutral variant; however, it remains that diphthongs are deeply rooted in Québécois French phonology, and thus, this translates back as lenghthened vowels.

Bilingualism & behaviour: the correlation between bilingual language acquisition and behavioural development (2018)

A pilot project, this paper proposed a new way of looking at bilingualism by observing the behavioural aspect against the cognitive aspect of language. It goes without saying that bilingual speakers have a more complicated task at hand with regards to language processing; however, how much of the processing is influenced by aspects such as language use, Age of Acquisition (AOA), and education? Further, what could we say about the discrepancy between simultaneous and sequential bilingual speakers?