Dissertation: Representational Richness in Phonological Development

• Christiansen, M.H., Conway, C.M. & Curtin, S. (in press). Multiple-cue integration in language acquisition: A connectionist model of speech segmentation and rule-like behavior. In J.W. Minett & W.S.-Y. Wang (Eds.), Language acquisition, change and emergence: Essay in evolutionary linguistics. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press.
• Curtin, S., Mintz, T.H., & Christiansen, M.H. (2005). Stress Changes the Representational Landscape: Evidence from Word Segmentation.Cognition, 96, 233-262.
  
• Christiansen, M.H. & Curtin, S. (2005). Integrating multiple cues in language acquisition: A computational study of early infant speech segmentation, in G. Houghton (ed.), Connectionist Models in Cognitive Psychology. (347-372). Hove, U.K.: Psychology Press.
• Werker, J.F. & Curtin, S. (2005). PRIMIR: A Developmental Framework of Infant Speech Processing. Language Learning and Development, 1(2), 197-234.
• Curtin, S., F.R. Manis and M.S. Seidenberg (2001). Parallels between the reading and spelling deficits of two subgroups of developmental dyslexia. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 14: 515-547.
• Christiansen, M.H. & Curtin, S.L. (1999). Transfer of learning: Rule acquisition or statistical learning? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 289-290.
• Manis. F.R., Seidenberg, M.S., Stallings, L., Joanisse, M.F., Bailey, C., Freedman, L. Curtin, S., & Keating, P. (1999). Development of dyslexic subgroups: A one-year follow up. Annals of Dyslexia, 49, 105-134.
• Curtin, S., Goad, H. & Pater, J.  (1998) Levels of Representation and Transfer: The acquisition of Thai voice and aspiration by English and French learners.  Second Language Research. 14: 389-405.

Proceedings:

• Curtin, S. & Werker, J.F. (2004). Patterns of New Word Object Associations.In L. Micciulla, and C.E. Smith (eds), BUCLD 28 Proceedings, Sommerville, MA: Cascadilla Press, 120-128.
• Curtin, S., & Zuraw, K. (2002). Explaining constraint demotion in a developing system. In the 26th Proceedings of Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston, MA.pdf
• Curtin, S. (2001). Children's Early Representations: Evidence from Production and Perception. In the Proceedings of the Holland Institute of Linguistics (HILP 5), Potsdam, Germany.
• Curtin, S., Mintz, T.H. & Byrd, D. (2001). Coarticulatory cues enhance infants' recognition of syllable sequences in speech. In A.H.J. Do, L. Dominguez & A. Johansen (eds.), BUCLD 25 Proceedings . Sommerville, MA: Cascadilla Press, 190-201.pdf
• Christiansen, M.H., Conway, C. & Curtin, S.L. (2000). The power of statistical learning: Testing predictions from a connectionist model. Proceedings of the Twentysecond Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Christiansen, M.H. and Curtin, S.L. (1999). The power of statistical learning: No need for algebraic rules. Proceedings of the Twenty first Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Curtin, S. (1999). Size Restrictors and Prosodic Development in the Acquisition of Dutch Stress. Proceedings of the Poster Session, WCCFL 18, University of Arizona.
• Curtin, S. (1999). Positional prominence in the acquisition of prosodic structure. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Linguistics Society, 89-100.
• Curtin, S. (1999). Positional Prominence and Size Restrictors in Prosodic Development. To appear in Proceedings of SWOT 5, University of California, San Diego.
• Joanisse, M.F. & Curtin, S. (1999). Dutch Stress Acquisition: OT and Connectionist Accounts. To appear in Proceedings of SWOT 5, University of California, San Diego.
• Curtin, S., Goad, H. & Pater, J. (1998) The role of contrast in second language phonology: The lexical acquisition of Thai voice and aspiration by speakers of English. In S. Montrul and R.Slabakova (eds.). Proceedings of the 1997 Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference. Special Issue of the McGill Working Papers in Linguistics, vol. 13, pp. 18-29.
• Curtin, S., Goad, H. & Pater, J. (1997) On the acquisition of Thai voice and aspiration contrasts by native speakers of English. In A. Sorace, C. Heycock and R. Shillcock (eds.). Proceedings of the GALA '97 Conference on Language Acquisition. Human Communication Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, pp. 211-216.

Invited Talks:

• Curtin, S. (2005). From segmentation to word recognition: Accessing information in the developing lexicon. Talk presented at the University of Calgary, Departments of Linguistics and Psychology, Feb.
  
• Curtin, S. (2005). Bootstapping into language: A new perspective. Talk presented in the ‘Language, Mind, and Brain” Seminar, Department of Linguistics, SUNY Stony Brook, Jan.
• Curtin, S. (2004). Finding, representing, and associating ‘words’ with the help of lexical stress. Talk presented at the Reading Language Group, Learning Research Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, Sept.
  
• Curtin, S. (2003). Segmenting and Storing Words: How lexical stress influences infants’ knowledge of words. Talk presented at Carnegie Mellon University, in the Modern Languages Department Graduate Seminar.
• Curtin, S. (2003). Bridging the Gap Between Infant Speech Perception and Phonological Acquisition: The
  PAUSE:mir Model of Infant Speech Processing. Talk presented at the University of Pennsylvania Linguistics Speaker Series, Philadelphia, PA, April.
• Curtin, S. (2003). The PAUSE:mir Model of Infant Speech Processing. Talk presented at the University of
  Southern California Psycholinguistics Seminar, April.
• Curtin, S. (2002). The rhythm of language: how lexical stress shapes infantsâ knowledge of potential words.  Talk presented at the Symposium on Speech perception in context: beyond acoustic pattern matching, Houston, TX, March.
• Curtin, S. (2001). Stress in Word Segmentation and Representations. Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Nov.
• Curtin, S. (2001). Enriched representations: Evidence from perception and production. Colloquium Series, Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia, Nov.
• Curtin, S. (2001). Defining Children's Early Representations: Evidence from Production and Perception Department of Linguistics, University of Calgary, Feb.

 Scholarly Presentations:

• Curtin, S., & Kiesling, S.F. (2004). Cues to gender in children’s speech. Poster presented at the Biannual Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, New York, New York.
• Fennell, C., & Curtin, S. (2004). Infants' Ability to Distinguish Vowel Contrasts in a Word Learning Task. Poster presented at the 2004 International Conference on Infant Studies Chicago, IL, May 5th-8th
• Curtin, S. & Kiesling, S. F. (2003). Adults’ Perception of Gender in Children’s Speech. Poster presented at the
  Perception and Realization in Language and Gender Research: An International Conference, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
• Curtin, S. & Werker, J. F. (2003). Linking speech perception to phonological acquisition: A new model with new data. Talk presented at the Child Phonology Conference at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
• Curtin, S., Ladhar, N., & Werker, J.F. (2002). Accessing coarticulatory information. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Cancun, Mexico.
• Curtin, S. (2001). Liquid Co-occurrence restrictions in Javanese. Talk presented at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the Linguistics Society of America, Washington, D.C.
• Curtin, S., Mintz, T.H. & Byrd, D. (2001). Stress, segmentation and early representations. Poster presented at the Workshop on Early Phonological Acquisition, Marseilles.
• Curtin, S., Mintz, T.H. & Byrd, D. (2000). Coarticulatory Information in Natural Speech Stimuli Is Crucial for Infant Recognition of Syllable Sequences. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Newport Beach, CA.
• Curtin, S. (2000). Co-occurrence and sequential constraints on Javanese liquids. Talk presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Linguistics Society, Edmonton, AB.
• Curtin, S. (2000). Explaining overlapping stages in prosodic development. Talk presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Linguistics Society of America, Chicago, IL.
• Curtin, S., F.R. Manis and M.S. Seidenberg (1999). Developmental Dyslexia and Spelling Skills: Error types in subgroups of children with reading disabilities. Poster Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR), Montreal, PQ.
• Curtin, S., Goad, H. & Pater, J. (1997) Surface vs. underlying distinctiveness in second language acquisition. Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto Phonology Workshop. University of Toronto.
• Duffield, N., Curtin, S. & Sabourin, L. (1997) UG constraints on derivational morphology in SLA. Paper presented at Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition (GASLA). McGill University, Montreal, May.
• Duffield, N., Sabourin, L. & Curtin, S. (1997) Development takes place in the best departments: Theoretical implications of derivational morphology in SLA. Paper presented at the Second Language Research Forum (SLRF). Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, October.
• Goad, H., Curtin, S. & Pater, J. (1997) Surface versus underlying contrastiveness: Methodological issues in second language speech perception. Paper presented at the First International Meeting of the Mental Lexicon. Universite de Montreal, Montreal, June.
• Goad, H., Curtin, S. & Pater, J. (1996) Post-lexical features in second language speech perception: A comparison of French and English learners. Paper presented at 11th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA). Jyvaskyla, Finland, August.

Academic awards and distinctions:

• 2001-2003 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Post-doctoral Fellowship
• 2000-2001 Morkovin Graduate School Fellowship.
• 1998-1999 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, USC
• 1998-2001 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship
• 1997-1998 Outstanding Academic Achievement Award, Office of International Students, USC

1996 First Class Honours in Linguistics, McGill University


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Last updated  November,2004