معرفی
Maria Polinsky is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Maryland, College Park, affiliated with the Department of Linguistics and the Language Science Center (UMD LSC). She leads initiatives such as the Guatemala Field Station and Polinsky Language Labs, focusing on endangered and heritage languages. Her research spans syntactic theory, language universals, and heritage language structures, with a focus on ergativity, verb-initial languages, and Austronesian/Mayan/Caucasian languages.
Polinsky has organized and participated in numerous international conferences and workshops, including the Heritage Language Institute and the YALP summer school. She is the author of Heritage Languages and Their Speakers (2018) and co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Comparative Syntax (forthcoming 2025). Her work integrates experimental syntax, field linguistics, and theoretical syntax to explore bilingual grammars and language variation.
Key contributions include studies on applicative constructions, antipassive voice systems, and the structural parallels between heritage and endangered languages. She directs field stations promoting linguistic research in Guatemala and the South Pacific, emphasizing sustainable language documentation practices.
