Fernando Zúñiga

Fernando Zúñiga is a Full Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Bern (2013–2024) and previously held academic positions at the University of Zurich, including Förderungsprofessor (2012–2013) and Oberassistent (2006–2012). He has contributed to research projects focused on South American languages, inverse morphology, and morphosyntactic alignment.

Education:

• Habilitation in General Linguistics, University of Zurich (2011)
• Ph.D. in General Linguistics, University of Zurich (2002)
• M.A. in General Linguistics, English Linguistics and English Literature, University of Zurich (1999)
• Business engineer and B.A. in Economics, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (1992)

Research Interests: Zúñiga specializes in descriptive and typological linguistics, with a focus on under-documented languages such as Mapudungun (Araucanian) and Basque. His work bridges morphosyntactic theory and areal/typological analysis.

Scientific Awards and Grants:

• 2016: Sinergia Project Grant (SNSF) for "Linguistic Morphology in Time and Space"
• 2012–2015: SNSF Research Professorship
• 2009–2013: EuroBABEL collaborative research grant
• 2004: SNSF Individual Support / Fellowship

Academic Service: He served as co-editor for Typological Studies in Language (2011–) and on editorial boards for journals including Linguistic Typology and Studies in Diversity Linguistics.