A lifelong love of language inspired me to major in linguistics. In my time as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago however, I realized that what I was really fascinated with was the remarkable and innumerable ways human beings effortlessly communicate with one another — with or without language. For my PhD, I worked with Dr. Susan Goldin-Meadow and Dr. Marisa Casillas in UChicago’s department of Comparative Human Development, allowing me to craft an interdisciplinary approach to my research. I borrow from psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, and sociology to study the development of pragmatics as a social, interactive and contextualized phenomenon that continues to change in form and function from infancy to adulthood.
About Natalie
I also do other stuff outside of work, like making cool cakes.
I grew up training to be a professional ballet dancer. I chose to go to college instead, but I still take and teach classes for fun.
I knit. I have a cat named Audrey. As of January 2023, I have an 918 day NYT crossword streak.
Top 3…
Video games: Stardew Valley, Skyrim, The Witness
TV shows: Community, Buffy, The Magicians
Movies: Clue, Milo and Otis, Saved!
Books: The Phantom Tollbooth, Kafka on the Shore, The God of Small Things
Obscure(ish) media more people should know about: Jump, Little Children, A Young Doctor’s Notebook, The New Yorker’s Cryptic Crosswords
My favorite animal is the pangolin! (And yours should be too.)