Please welcome our 2011-12 Visitors! 

My name is Lorena Cayré Baito and I am from Argentina. I live in a city called Resistencia in the Chaco state (Northeast of Argentina). I am doing my PhD at Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina) and I am interested in phonetics and phonology. My research focuses on the phonology of the Wichí language (a native language spoken in the northeast of my country). During my visit at UCLA (from September 2011 to March 2012) I would like to attend some courses about phonology and phonetics and also I would like to focus on a specific subject of my doctoral thesis, the phonological processes triggered by the laryngeal /h/. I am very happy in having this study opportunity and I am looking forward to learn, to exchange experiences and improve my background.

Martina Urbani

My name is Martina Urbani and I am a PhD student at the University of Padova. I come from a tiny village in the Northeast of Italy (not far from Venice). My work focuses on the study of L2 intonation, especially the difference among intonation patterns produced by American English native speakers and Italian learners of English. My primary research interests are: intonation, L2 acquisition, speech production and perception, pitch analysis, ToBI annotation system.

During my studies, I have developed a wide-ranging passion for experimental phonetics and I am completely fascinated by the idea of conducting experiments in this field. In recent years, not only linguists and teachers, but also psycholinguists and speech engineers, have developed an increasing awareness of the importance of experimental phonetics. The majority of studies conducted on experimental phonetics have been carried out at UCLA by a thriving group of researchers. Prof. Peter Ladefoged conducted pioneering research and his theories are fundamental to current research on experimental phonetics.

As an Italian native speaker, I believe that my own experience of acquiring English as a second language will allow me to investigate the differences among the intonation patterns produced by American English native speakers and Italian learners of English more effectively.

I believe that UCLA is the ideal place to enhance my PhD studies because I can profit from excellent laboratory facilities and the technical expertise of researchers and advisors. During my stay in the United States, I hope to take full advantage of the opportunity to work in such a collaborative and stimulating environment.