Students

Our lab includes both undergraduate and graduate students working on various child language projects.

Elisabeth Baker Martínez

Elisabeth Baker Martínez is finishing her PhD in Hispanic Linguistics. Her primary research interests is in child language acquisition. Having reclaimed her heritage language (Spanish) as an adult, she is especially interested in language development among child heritage speakers of Spanish. Elisabeth has conducted both experimental and corpus studies to understand children's patterns of regularization in verb morphology. Her 2022 publication on children's use of non-standard preterit forms in Spanish children was published in Journal of Child Language. Her article on children's use of non-standard participles forms in Spanish will be published soon in Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics. 

Sharmaine Chee

Sharmaine Chee is an undergraduate student majoring in Speech and Hearing Science with a minor in Navajo at the University of New Mexico. She is born for the Sleeping Rock People and for the the Towering House People. Her maternal grandfather's clans are Meadow People, and her paternal grandfathers are Red Running into the Water People. She is originally from Pine Hill, New Mexico. She is overjoyed to work at the Indigenous Child Research Lab as a research assistant. She is interested in phonology and morphology in the Navajo language.  

Eliza Forrest

Eliza grew up in New Mexico and is an MA student in Linguistics. Their interests are at the intersection of sociolinguistics, disability studies, and accessible design. They are the lab manager of the Lobo Language Acquisition Lab where they work on educational outreach projects that focus on language diversity and linguistic bias.

Rikki Farrell

Rikki Farrell is a third-year student in the MA Linguistics program. Originally from upstate New York, they came to UNM to pursue a degree in ASL-English interpreting and fell in love with linguistics along the way. Rikki is interested in studying signed languages and is currently assisting Jill Morford and Erin Wilkinson in their study of predictors of ASL and English proficiency in young deaf children. 

Alec Goldberg

Alec is pursuing a MA in linguistics at UNM. He works for the Indigenous Child Language Research Center under the direction of Dr. Melvatha Chee studying Navajo child language acquisition. His research interests are in the morphosyntax and semantics of the Navajo language. He is honored to work for ICLRC as a research assistant during his studies. As an undergraduate, he earned a BA in linguistics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a BFA summa cum laude in art studio from UNM. He is originally from the Monterey Peninsula area of California.

Dawnadine Harvey

Yá'át'ééh. Shí éí Dawnadine Yazzie-Harvey yinishyé Tł’ízí łání nishłį́. Hashk’aa hadzohí báshíshchíín Kin Łichíinii dashichii' Táchii’nii  dashinalí. Ákót’éego diné asdzáán nishłį́.

Hello, my name is Dawnadine Yazzie-Harvey. I am of the Many Goat (Tł’ízí łání) clan, born for the Yucca Fruit Strung Out (Hashk’aa hadzohí) clan. My maternal grandfathers clans are Red House (Kin Łichíinii) clan and my paternal grandfathers clans are Red Running into the Water (Táchii’nii). In this way I am a Navajo woman.

 I am a member of the Teacher Outreach Team in the University of New Mexico’s Department of Linguistics with a focus on Linguistic Bias. I am a mother of seven beautiful souls and in continuing my education I am a lifelong scholar. In my educational endeavors I am a current Senior at UNM as a participant of the Native American Teachers Preparation Program. My major is Elementary Education with a focus in Language Arts. I am studying in preparation of becoming an elementary teacher and intend on becoming a children's book author with a focus on creating more resources for Indigenous students to connect with in the classroom and see themselves reflected in children's books.  Ahéhee’ Thank you, I am grateful.

Evelyna Johnson

My name is Evelyna Johnson. I'm Navajo and part Apache. I grew up in Churchrock, NM, a small reservation just outside of Gallup, NM. I am currently pursuing my Bachelors in Signed Language Interpreting with a Minor in Fine Arts. 

Taye Johnson

Taye Johnson is an undergraduate student majoring in Management Information Systems at the University of New Mexico. She is born for the Sleeping Rock People and the Bitter Water People. Her maternal grandfather’s clan is Towering House People, and her Paternal grandfather's clan is the Mexican clan people. Taye is originally from Pinehill, New Mexico. She is grateful for the opportunity to work at the Indigenous Child Research Lab as a research assistant. Her interests include the Navajo Language. 

Devin Lansing

Devin Lansing, originally from Coyote Canyon NM on the Navajo nation, is Bit’ahnii born for a Bilagaana, His cheii is Kinłichíí’nii and his nalí is Bilagaana. Devin is an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico studying Special Education. He plans to earn a Master’s Degree in Special Education before pursuing a career as a Diné Language and Culture teacher.

Cormac League

Cormac League, originally from the Los Angeles area, received a BA in Linguistics from the University of Southern California and is pursuing an MA in Linguistics at the University of New Mexico. As a researcher in the Indigenous Child Language Center, Cormac is interested in the prosody of child directed speech in Diné Bizaad and other languages with vowel length distinction and lexical tone. 

Sarah Lease

Sarah Lease is a PhD student in the Dept. of Linguistics at UNM. In her research, she draws on usage-based approaches and acoustic methods to study language acquisition and variation among Spanish-speaking children and adults in the United States. 

Bethany Lycan

Bethany Lycan is a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics at UNM. She is originally from Southern California and went to California State University Long Beach for her MA in Linguistics. Her interests are in morphosyntax, typology, and language revitalization. 

Mariana Marchesi

Originally from Argentina, Mariana is currently pursuing a PhD in Linguistics. She has an MA in TESOL, and her research focuses on children's acquisition of minority languages. She is currently investigating child heritage speakers' production of demonstratives in Spanish and English.

Fredy Mendieta

Fredy is currently pursuing a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics. His research focuses on Spanish-speaking adults' and children's co-speech gestures, in particular points accompanying the production of demonstratives in the interactional space.

Jadin Moore

Jadin is pursuing an M.A. in Linguistics. They have interests in language documentation, sociolinguistics, and L2 learning of minority languages by heritage speakers, particularly phonological systems. They are involved in the lab’s research on Spanish-English bilingualism and demonstratives.  

Monica Perez

My name is Monica Perez. I was born and raised in Bloomfield, NM. I am currently attending UNM through the BA/MD program, so I am on the pre-med track. However, I am also majoring in Criminology and Spanish, along with a minor in Health Medicine and Human Values.

Kayleigh Russell

Kayleigh Russell is an undergraduate student in the Signed Language Interpreting program with a minor in Navajo at the University of New Mexico. She is grateful for the opportunity to work as a research assistant for the Indigenous Child Research Center and the Lobo Language Acquisition Lab. Her interests are on Indigenous forms of signing, specifically Hand Talk. Kayleigh grew up in Kayenta, AZ and her clans are: Kinłichiinii nilį́, Bisaan éí yáshichíín, Tabąąhá éí dabicheii, Dideschiin éí dabinálí (she is Navajo and Chiricahua Apache). 

Audriana Sauceda 

Audriana Sauceda was born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado, a small town on the southern border of the state. The rich Hispanic culture of Albuquerque drew her to the University of New Mexico, as a reminder of her own cultural upbringing. Audriana is pursuing an B.A in Speech and Hearing Sciences, with a minor in Family and Child Studies. Inspired by her younger brother and cousins, she is passionate about helping the younger generation. Her goal is to attend graduate school and become a certified Speech Language Pathologist who specializes in pediatric care.

 Ryan Smith

Ryan is an Albuquerque native pursuing his PhD in cognitive linguistics with a focus in gesture studies and cognitive neurophysiology. His research focuses on the cognitive and physiological relationship between gesture and speech. He is also interested in cognitive and language development in children, and conducts research on child gesture development for Indigenous Child Research Center. He works for the Navajo Language Program investigating children's acquisition of verbal and nominal morphology, and he collaborates with other LLA Lab members to develop outreach materials focused on language variation and linguistic bias. 

Devin Tankersley

Devin is a researcher in the Lobo Language Acquisition Lab, working on topics related to phonological features of ASL and effects of language deprivation on neurodevelopment. His research interests also include documentation and analysis of Taiwan Sign Language, focusing on phonological patterns and lexical variation.