About

I work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Language, Brain and Learning (C-LaBL) at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. I am connected to two projects funded by the Research Council of Norway: Multilectal Literacy in Education (MultiLit; PI Øystein A. Vangsnes) and Experimental approaches to Syntactic Optionality (ExSynOp; PI Björn Lundquist). The project “MultiLit” studies multilectally individuals, i.e. language users that have the capacity to write (and read) in different closely related linguistic codes, adressing questions on cognitive/academic development and language seperation. In “ExSynOp” we explore what drives the evolution of complex, rigid rule systems in natural languages by investigating the sources of regularisation in closely related Mainland Scandinavian languages and varieties.

My primary interests lie in (experimental approaches to) syntactic variation. In 2022, I completed my PhD in Linguistics at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in the Formal Investigations into Structure and Hierarchy research group. In my dissertation I considered different ways the Verb Second rule breaks down in Norwegian (e.g., V3-triggering preverbal adverbs, non-V2 wh-questions, and embedded Verb Second). I also took a comparative look at verb placement across the North Germanic languages. My dissertation can be found here.

I am Dutch, and before studying at UiT I completed my BA in Linguistics (specialisation: Language & Cognition) at Leiden University, and my MARes in Linguistics at the University of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. When I’m not doing linguistics, you can find me speed skating at the local ice rink, playing disc golf or planning my next hike.