معرفی
Catherine Laing is a Senior Lecturer in Developmental Linguistics at the Department of Language and Linguistic Science, University of York, where she has been a faculty member since 2021. She previously served as a Lecturer in Linguistics at Cardiff University (2017–2021) and as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Duke University (2016–2017). She earned her PhD in Linguistics from the University of York in 2015.
Her research focuses on infant language development, especially phonological and phonetic aspects of early word learning, babbling, and the role of iconicity (e.g., onomatopoeia and sound symbolism) in lexical acquisition. She uses acoustic, computational, observational, and experimental methods to explore how sensorimotor feedback and caregiver input shape early vocal development. She is the Principal Investigator of the ERC/UKRI-funded SENFM project, which uses lingual ultrasound to study infants aged 2–18 months.
Her recent publications demonstrate a strong trend in analyzing phonological networks, caregiver speech patterns, and the influence of social and environmental factors (e.g., siblings, lockdown conditions) on early language. She frequently collaborates with leading researchers such as Elika Bergelson, Tamar Keren-Portnoy, and Ghada Khattab.
- General Editor, Language and Cognition
- PI, SENFM Project (senfm.york.ac.uk)
- Active contributor to open science via GitHub and OSF
She is currently on a two-year research leave starting February 2024. Her work bridges developmental linguistics, cognitive science, and experimental psychology, contributing significantly to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying early language acquisition.
