Comparative Experimental Linguistics
Complex computations are involved in the apparently effortless and subconscious processes of speaking and understanding speech. The goal of the researchers in the Comparative Experimental Linguistics Group is to understand how these processes are performed. The aim is to resolve the central question: what is involved in understanding language and speaking it?
The members of this integrated research group are developing empirical lines of inquiry that reach across language, domain, and speaker populations — an approach unique in Canada. The unit has been a centre of innovation in the development of laboratory methods, in modeling language processing and representation, and in expanding comparative experimental linguistics to new languages and populations. Areas of research include experimental phonetics, morphology, language revitalization and Amerindian languages, bilingual language acquisition, and the interface between phonology and phonetics.
Collaborative research networks include active working groups in six universities in Canada, four elsewhere in North America, and ten in Europe, as well as collaborators in China, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand.