A warm welcome to Shuyan Wang, who joins Rutgers as a post-doctoral researcher starting this semester. Her primary appointment is with Prof. Kristen Syrett at the Laboratory for Developmental Language Studies (LDLS), where they will be working on the lab’s ongoing projects that investigate how humans understand language throughout the stages of development.
Shuyan provided us with a self-introduction for us to get to know her a bit better:
Hi! My name is Shuyan Wang and I am a new postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Linguistics at Rutgers. I am working with Dr. Kristen Syrett at the Laboratory for Developmental Language Studies. I recently received my PhD from the University of Connecticut. Before that, I got my BA in English from Liaocheng University in China, and my MA in Linguistics from University College London in UK.
I am mainly interested in language acquisition, including the acquisition of semantics, pragmatics, and syntax. I focus on how the factors like grammar, processing, and maternal input can influence children’s language development. My dissertation examines the scalar implicatures in child language, with the focus on the role of working memory. I am also interested in syntax and sign language studies. In particular, I have worked on the grammaticalization of numerals and the adjectives in American Sign Language. I am also very excited to learn about all of the other kinds of research that you all work on, and eager to learn new methodologies and skills.
Now I live in Highland Park with my husband and my 3-month-old son! In my free time (well, barely any with such a young kid), I like watching movies and travelling.