Mónica López–González   (aka Mónika Lykos-González)

 

4th year Graduate Student

Primary Advisor: Dr. Géraldine Legendre

 

Department of Cognitive Science

Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Johns Hopkins University

3400 North Charles Street                                        

Baltimore, MD 21218-2685

U.S.

 

e-mail: lopezgonzalez[AT]cogsci.jhu.edu

Office: Krieger Hall Room 239

Office telephone: 410.516.7625

Office hours: tba

 

“Neither can embellishments of language be found

without arrangement and expression of thoughts,

nor can thought be made to shine without the light

of language.”

Cicero, De Oratore, III, 6

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

E d u c a t i o n

 

2007 – present, Ph.D. in Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

    

M.A. 2007, Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

First Qualifying Paper: Optimizing the selection of Spanish’s ser and estar

     Advisor: Dr. Géraldine Legendre

     Second reader: Dr. Luigi Burzio

 

B.A. 2005, Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Thesis Title: Different perceptual stimuli of the same event increase false memories

    

B.A. 2005, French Language & Literature, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Thesis Title: Souvenirs du présent perpétuel: les thèmes de la mémoire et du temps dans les films d’Alain Resnais

              (Remembrances from the perpetual present: memory and time in the films of Alain Resnais)

 

 

A w a r d s  &  H o n o r s

 

- May 2005, graduated with general university and departmental honors, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

 

- May 2005, Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts

  (Piano performance: CD recording of E. Lecuona’s Suite Espagnole and I. Albéniz’s El Albaicín from Suite Iberia)

 

- Summer, 2003 Howard Hughes Research Fellowship

 

- Summer, 2002 Provost Undergraduate Research Award

 

 

R e s e a r c h  I n t e r e s t s

 

- Optimality theoretical syntax

- Philosophy of language

- Semantics and pragmatics

- Language acquisition

 

 

C u r r e n t  P r o j e c t s

 

- Spanish copulae ser and estar in adult grammar: I am currently working on explaining the distinction between ser and estar via an optimality theoretical approach. More specifically, I am interested in the interactive effects of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics responsible for selecting one copula over the other.

 

- Acquisition of Spanish copulae ser and estar: I am currently working with spontaneous production data of monolingual native Spanish-speaking children.

 

- Acquisition of agreement and tense in French: I am part of the Language Acquisition Lab were I am currently working on Dr. Géraldine Legendre’s NSF-funded project aimed at testing children’s comprehension of subject-verb agreement in French using the Intermodal Preferential Looking Paradigm (IPLP).

 

 

T e a c h i n g  A s s i s t a n t s h i p s

 

050.326/626 Foundations in Cognitive Science A, Spring 2008 (Smolensky)

050.620 Syntax I, Fall 2007 (Legendre)

050.240 World of Language, Spring 2007 (Legendre)

050.102 Language and Mind, Fall 2006 (Badecker)

050.240 World of Language, Spring 2006 (Legendre)

 

 

C o u r s e w o r k

 

050.325 Phonology I (Smolensky)

050.620 Syntax I (Legendre)

050.621 Syntax II: Optimality Theory (Legendre)

050.621 Syntax II: TAG, LFG, HPSG, and Categorical Grammar (Frank)

050.626 Foundations in Cognitive Science A (Smolensky)

050.633 Psycholinguistics (Badecker)

050.639 Cognitive Development (Landau)

050.670 Formal Methods in Cognitive Science: Language (Frank)

050.672 Formal Methods in Cognitive Science: Neural Networks (Smolensky)

050.818 Research Seminar in Language Development (Legendre)

050.822 Research Seminar in Syntax: Minimalism (Frank, Legendre)

050.827 Research Seminar: Language Acquisition (Legendre)

050.839 Independent Study: Semantics (Frank)

150.658 Topics in the Philosophy of Language: Linguistics (Gross)

150.658 Topics in the Philosophy of Language: Semantics & Pragmatics (Gross)

200.314 Advanced Statistical Methods (Yantis)

200.315 Advanced Research in Design and Analysis (Shelton)

 

 

C o n f e r e n c e s  A t t e n d e d

 

ë   XI International Congress of the International Association for the Study of Child Language (Edinburgh, Scotland, 2008)

 

ë   14th Annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring (Arlington, VA, 2007)

 

ë   HOWL-4: Hopkins Workshop on Language (Baltimore, MD, 2007)

 

ë   CUNY’s Research Forum 2007: Research Institute for the Study of Language in Urban Society (New York, 2007)

 

ë   Georgetown University Roundtable on Language & Linguistics: GURT (Washington, D.C., 2007)

 

ë   31st Boston University Conference on Language Development (Massachusetts, 2006)

 

ë   Hispanic Linguistics Symposium (London, Ontario, Canada, 2006)

 

ë   1st Annual Rutgers Linguistics Conference (New Jersey, 2006)

 

 

P r e s e n t a t i o n s

 

ë   López-González, M., Legendre, G., & Halberda, J. Acquisition of Spanish’s ser and estar: Experimental evidence for insensitivity to copular semantics. Poster presented at the XI International Congress of the International Association for the Study of Child Language, Edinburgh, Scotland. (August, 2008)

 

ë   Legendre, G., Nazzi, T., Barrière, I., Culbertson, J., López-González, M., Goyet, L., & Zaroukian, E. Acquiring subject-verb agreement in French: evidence for early syntactic representations from comprehension. Paper presented at the 31st Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (November, 2006) [ABSTRACT]

 

ë   López-González, M. Ser or estar, or both?: on the productive uses of the Spanish copulae by young children. Paper presented at the Hispanic Linguistics Symposium, London, Ontario, Canada. (October, 2006)

 

ë   Legendre, G., I. Barrière, T. Nazzi, T. Nicol, S. Long, J. Segawa, W. Street, M. López-González, & M. Tellock. On the acquisition of subject clitics by French-speaking children between 18 and 26 months: insights from production and comprehension. The Romance Turn: Workshop on the Acquisition of Syntax of Romance Languages, Madrid, Spain. (September, 2004)

 

ë   López-González, M., Y. Okado, & C. Stark. False memories: the influence of misinformation on memory recall. Poster presented at the School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. (August, 2003)

 

 

P u b l i c a t i o n s

 

ë   López-González, M. & Legendre, G. (2006). Acquiring the Spanish copulae ser and estar: evidence for sensitivity to semantic cues from spontaneous production. (submitted MS)

 

ë   Legendre, G., Nazzi, T., Barrière, I., Culbertson, J., López-González, M., Goyet, L., & Zaroukian, E. (2006). Acquiring subject-verb agreement in French: evidence for abstract knowledge from comprehension. Proceedings of BUCLD, 31, Boston. [PDF]

 

 

L a n g u a g e s

 

ë   English & Español (native)

ë   Français (fluent)

ë   Italiano, Português Brasileiro, & Català (working knowledge)

ë   Latin (reading, writing)

 

 

E x t r a    C u r r i c u l a r

 

-        2007 – present: Certificate of Art in Photography, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

 

P h o t o   E x h i b i t s

 

       - November, 2008 – January, 2009: TBA, invited solo exhibit of color film & digital photographic prints, First Floor Gallery, An die Musik, Baltimore, Maryland

 

- September 10, 2008 – September 16, 2008: invited to present Bio sketches, 6 color film photographic prints in the Continuing Studies Student Exhibit Fall 2008, Thesis Gallery, Fox Building, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

 

       - June 7, 2008 – July 13, 2008: invited to present black & white photograph, Harmonic Remembrances: Andante, at Mills Pond House Gallery’s The Art of Music Exhibition, Saint James, New York

 

       - January 27, 2008 – April 24, 2008: Irresistible Solitude, invited solo exhibit of 24 black and white photographic prints, First Floor Gallery, An die Musik, Baltimore, Maryland

 

- September 12, 2007 – 19, 2007: invited to present Vida de naranja (Life of an orange), 5 black and white photographic prints in the Continuing Studies Student Exhibition Fall 2007, Thesis Gallery, Fox Building, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

 

 

“Grammar, in its extended and consistent forms, is

the work of thought, which makes its categories

distinctly visible therein.”

Hegel, Philosophy of History, Introduction, 3

Last updated: August 2008