Valentina Brunetto

Dr. Valentina Brunetto is a Lecturer in Linguistics at the Department of Linguistics and Phonetics, School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of Leeds. She is an active researcher in theoretical and experimental syntax, with a strong focus on child language acquisition, anaphora, and the syntax-semantics interface. She is affiliated with the Leeds Child Development Unit and leads the MA Linguistics and MA Linguistics & ELT programs.

Education:

• PhD in Linguistics, University of Leeds
• MA in Linguistics, University of Siena
• BA in Journalism, University of Palermo

Her research explores the interaction between syntactic structures and interpretation, particularly in early language development. She investigates how children acquire complex syntactic constructions such as attitude reports, causatives, and anaphoric dependencies, with a focus on Italian. Her work integrates generative syntax with experimental methods including eye-tracking and comprehension tasks.

The most recent publications reflect a consistent focus on the syntax-semantics interface in child grammar, particularly anaphora resolution, intensionality, and attitude reports. Her work spans theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and developmental linguistics, often using comparative and experimental approaches.

Scientific Memberships:

• Member of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain (LAGB)

Dr. Brunetto teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in generative syntax, experimental syntax, language acquisition, and processing. She supervises BA and MA dissertations and welcomes PhD inquiries. She has previously taught at the University of Manchester and held a postdoctoral position at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, funded by the Fondazione Marica De Vincenzi. Her research is supported by institutional affiliations and collaborative networks in formal linguistics and child development.

She is a core member of the Leeds Child Development Unit and contributes to research groups in Formal Linguistics, Language Acquisition, Language Processing, and Linguistics and Phonetics.