Zoltán Kristóf Gaál

Dr. Zoltán Kristóf Gaál is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Romance Studies, affiliated with the Department of Spanish Language and Literature at Eötvös Loránd University. His academic work focuses on phonetics and phonology in second language acquisition, particularly among Hungarian learners of Spanish.

Research interests include:

• Interphonology and speech production
• Orthographic influences on pronunciation
• Diminutive suffix usage in dialectal Spanish
• Lenition of intervocalic consonants
• Intelligibility vs. linguistic correctness
• Applied linguistics in foreign language teaching

His recent publications analyze empirical trends in Spanish phonology, dialectal variations in Costa Rican and Cuban Spanish, and the application of theatrical methods to improve oral communication skills. All works reflect Hungarian learners' phonetic challenges and interlanguage development.