Rocío Leguisamon Tolentino

Rocío Leguisamon Tolentino serves as a Lecturer in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Binghamton University, State University of New York, specializing in sociolinguistics with emphasis on Spanish language dynamics within U.S. Latino communities. Her expertise bridges academic research and classroom instruction, particularly focusing on heritage language pedagogy and bilingual education frameworks.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD from State University of New York at Albany
• MA from State University of New York at Albany
• BA from New Jersey City University

Leguisamon Tolentino's research investigates language contact phenomena through empirical analysis of Dominican Spanish communities in New Jersey, examining lexical borrowing, generational code-switching patterns, and dialectal preservation mechanisms. Her work reveals critical insights into how sociocultural factors shape syntactic evolution in immigrant Spanish varieties, particularly regarding negative constructions and temporal markers. This scholarship directly informs her pedagogical approach to heritage language instruction, where she develops curriculum addressing identity-based language maintenance challenges.

Her 2024 publications demonstrate methodological rigor in comparative dialectology, analyzing word-order variations in negative constructions and cross-linguistic transfer of progressive-as-future markers. These works collectively advance understanding of how contact-induced change manifests in Northeastern U.S. Spanish varieties through both syntactic and pragmatic lenses.

Her scholarly contributions have been recognized through competitive awards:

• Initiatives For Women (IFW) Karen R. Hitchcock New Frontiers Fund Award
• Maurice J. Westmoreland Award for Graduate Student Excellence
• Carson Carr Graduate Diversity Fellowship

As an educator, Leguisamon Tolentino implements student-centered methodologies in heritage and non-heritage Spanish courses, emphasizing communicative competence development through culturally responsive teaching. Her classroom practices integrate findings from her sociolinguistic research to address real-world language maintenance scenarios faced by bilingual learners. While her current profile emphasizes teaching excellence, her publication trajectory suggests growing research leadership in Hispanic linguistics within contact contexts.