Congratulations to Dr. Kaili Vesik on Her Successful PhD Defense!
The Department of Linguistics is delighted to announce that Kaili Vesik has successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled Gradual Error-Driven Learning and Typology of Finnic Vowel Interactions on June 26, 2025. Supervised by Anne-Michelle Tessier, with committee members Gunnar Hansson and Kathleen Currie Hall, Dr. Vesik’s dissertation investigates the acquisition of complex vowel patterns in Finnic […]
PhD Student Julia Schillo Co-Authors Study Linking Indigenous Language Revitalization to Improved Health Outcomes
We are delighted to share that Julia Schillo, a PhD student in our Department of Linguistics, is a co-author of a groundbreaking new study highlighting the positive impacts of Indigenous language revitalization on health and well-being. Published in Language and Health, the study synthesizes findings from over 260 academic and community-based sources across Canada, the […]
Anna Stacey Successfully Defends MA Thesis on Cross-Lingual Glossing for Northern Interior Languages
We are pleased to announce that MA student Anna Stacey has successfully defended her thesis titled “Automatic Glossing for Northern Interior Languages Featuring Cross-Lingual Enhancements.” Her research was supervised by Dr. Miikka Silfverberg, with committee members Dr. Henry Davis and Dr. Garrett Nicolai. Anna’s project addresses the urgent need for efficient language documentation by exploring […]
Zara Khalaji Successfully Defends MA Thesis on Learning Morpho-phonological Alternations
We are pleased to announce that Zara Khalaji has successfully defended her MA thesis in the Department of Linguistics. Her thesis, titled “Learning Morpho-phonological Alternations like French Liaison: An Artificial Language Learning Experiment”, investigates how adult learners acquire complex morpho-phonological patterns using an artificial language learning paradigm. Zara’s research explores the challenges posed by interface […]
Gloria Mellesmoen successfully defends her dissertation
We are happy to announce that Gloria Mellesmoen successfully defended her dissertation entitled ‘The Grammar of Salish Reduplication’ this morning (Wednesday March 19th). Supervisory Committee: Henry Davis (supervisor), Gunnar Hansson and Lisa Matthewson University Examiners: Stefan Dollinger (English) and Doug Pulleyblank (Linguistics) External Examiner: Peter Svenonius (University of the Arctic, Tromsø, Norway) Congratulations, Dr. […]
Yadong Liu defends his PhD
We are happy to share that Yadong Liu has successfully defended his PhD yesterday (30 Oct). Following are some details about this Dissertation. Title: “Integrating Posture Control in Speech Models” Supervisor: Bryan Gick Committee: Márton Sóskuthy & Sidney Fels (Electrical & Computer Engineering) Also participating in the defense: Gunnar Hansson, Jean-Sébastien Blouin (Kinesiology), and Romeo […]
MDS Spotlight: Meet Daniel Jimenez, MDS Computational Linguistics, Class of 2024
Prior to entering the UBC Master of Data Science (MDS) Computational Linguistics program, Daniel Jimenez was working as a software developer with Amazon. However, it was Jimenez’s strong desire to pursue a career in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence that led him to the MDS Computational Linguistics program. Read Daniel’s story.
MDS Spotlight: Meet Claudia Beth Ong, MDS Computational Linguistics, Class of 2024
As Claudia Beth Ong was completing her undergraduate degree, she stumbled across the UBC Master of Data Science Computational Linguistics program and discovered that its syllabus that focused on Natural Language Processing aligned with her career aspirations. Read Claudia’s story.
MDS Spotlight: Meet Max Ahluwalia, MDS Computational Linguistics, Class of 2024
Max Ahluwalia pursued a Master’s in Computational Linguistics to preserve languages, which he saw as vital to cultural and political identities and societal heritage. Read Max’s story.
Ife successfully defended her dissertation
UBC Linguistics PhD candidate Ife Adebara successfully defended her dissertation in computational linguistics entitled Towards Afrocentric Natural Language Processing on January 23rd, 2024. Congratulations to Dr. Adebara! Great job! Ife’s primary advisor was Muhammad Abdul-Mageed at the Linguistics Department and the School of Information at UBC. Below is an abstract of Ife’s dissertation. Abstract: This […]