User:Stalslinguistics

Who am I?
What a loaded question! Hello all! My name is Zachery, but I go by stalslinguistics on the internet :)

Languages, cognition, and the human condition are core to who I am as a person. On Wiktionary, I aim to ethically support efforts in documenting endangered languages, prioritizing the preferences of the communities or individuals I work with.

For my academic background, I received an undergraduate BSc degree in psychology and linguistics in May 2024 and currently (as of June 2024) going on to complete my MSc in social work, which I am super excited for. Later in my life, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in linguistics or experimental psychology, in particular psycholinguistics, in order to pursue lecturing and research full-time.

Topics I am personally interested in
My interests--only slightly related to my research interests--are in the following topics:
 * 1) historical linguistics, specifically in etymology, comparative linguistics;
 * 2) cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics, specifically in the field of bilingual research and language processing in bilingual individuals;
 * 3) Bits and pieces of poetics and cognitive poetics;
 * 4) And, like most introverted, nerdy linguists, constructed languages.

Psychology & Neuroscience research
I have worked in a neuroscience lab for nearly three years, assisting in psychological and neuroscience research primarily utilising fMRI. The research in this lab broadly focused on cognition, memory, and emotion.

My main interests in psychology and neuroscience revolve around neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders, particularly how late-life dementia affects second language (L2) processing in bilingual or multilingual individuals.

My language background
I am a native Korean-English simultaneous bilingual. I grew up in the North Gyeongsang province in South Korea for 10 years of my life. During this time, I spoke predominantly in the Gyeongsangbuk-do dialect of Korean, though I was exposed to much more as I travelled throughout the country with my parents. Most of my schooling was done in English and I spoke with my father, a native speaker of the English language, in English at home and with his side of the family.

Later, I moved to a predominantly English-speaking country, where I was fully immersed in the language. During this time, I continued speaking Korean with my mother and English with everyone else.

Language focus
Independently, I study and practice the French, Russian, and Ukrainian languages, for the sake of potential use in my line of work and personal interest. Additionally, I find interest in the following languages:
 * Belarusian;
 * Scottish Gaelic;
 * Arabic, specifically the Levantine dialect;
 * and Hungarian

Sidenotes
If you are at all interested in having a conversation about any of the above topics, please post something in discussion! :) I will respond as soon as I possibly can.