SFU Language & Brain Lab

Congratulations to our SFU Language & Brain Lab members and collaborators for their latest published work in the International Journal of Speech Technology!

"Plain-to-clear speech video conversion for enhanced intelligibility"

Follow the link below to read more about their work!

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10772-023-10018-z

Congratulations Dr. Yue Wang, Director of the SFU Language and Brain (LAB) Lab, for being elected as an Acoustical Society of America Fellow. Dr. Wang and collaborators in the LAB Lab have recently been investigating the features of clear speech. Learn more here: http://www.sfu.ca/linguistics/events/2022/08/linguistics-research-spotlight-yue-wang.html

Congratulations to two of our LABlab members—Kayla and Samantha—for graduating and moving on to the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program at UBC this fall!

We appreciate all that they have done for the lab, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours! ❤️

Help us welcome one our newest LABlab members, Rebekah! Check out some questions we asked her!

1. What are you studying at SFU?
I'm currently studying Computing Science and Linguistics at SFU, so that I can hopefully work in computational linguistics in the future!

2. What prompted your interest in Linguistics?
I've always loved foreign language classes back in high school, so I thought that linguistics would've been a fun elective to take in university to study natural languages from a scientific perspective. After taking LING 220 (Introduction to Linguistics), I thought that linguistics was super interesting and I absolutely loved it. As a result, I decided to add a Linguistics joint major to my undergraduate studies.

3. What are you looking forward to most in the LABlab?
I'm looking forward to honing my research skills and deepening my understanding of linguistics through the LABlab! I'm very excited to work with people with a similar passion for linguistics.

4. If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would that be?
I think I could (probably) live off salmon sashimi for the rest of my life!

Welcome, Rebekah!

If you're looking for something to read, check out this new publication about "the contrast between clear and plain speaking style for Mandarin tones." The paper can be found on our website, alongside some of our other recent publications!

Publications - Language and Brain Lab - Simon Fraser University Tupper, P., Leung, K. W., Wang, Y., Jongman, A., & Sereno, J. A. (2021). The contrast between clear and plain speaking style for Mandarin tones. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 150(6), pp. 4464-4473. pdf

Help us welcome our new LABlab member, Samantha! We asked her a few questions to get to know her...

Q: What are you studying at SFU?
A: I am currently doing a major in Linguistics and a minor in Psychology. I am also working towards completing the Speech Sciences Certificate, TESL Certificate and French Language Proficiency Certificate.

Q: What aspect of Linguistics interests you the most?
A: The continuous discovery of language and the brain. Neurolinguistics allows us to search for the methods through which we acquire, comprehend, produce language, and more! This interest builds with the need for speech rehabilitation and the knowledge of the human vocal apparatus and the sound system! A truly remarkable gift/process.

Q: What are you looking forward to the most in the LABlab?
A: I am really looking forward to getting to know the LABlab team, and working with them on the various incredible experiments! I am excited to learn everything there is to know about planning, implementing, and completing research projects. As well, I am looking forward to taking all the theoretical knowledge I have learned these past years and applying it more practically.

Q: If you could hang out with any cartoon character, who would it be?
A: This one is tough. At the moment I would choose Remy the rat from Ratatouille. He chases his dreams and has great taste. He could teach me all sorts of recipes and could help me cook, something that is not my favourite thing to do when I’m busy. He also knows how to communicate with humans through nonverbal communication, so I may just be able to discover the language of rats and then continue with more animals.

Welcome, Samantha!

It's time to welcome another new lab member! This week we welcome, Janitta. We asked her some questions to get to know her a little better, let's see her answers...

What are you studying at SFU?
I am currently in the Linguistics post-baccalaureate program and working towards completing a certificate in Speech Science. Previously, I had completed a BA in Communication, also at SFU.

What is your position in the LABlab?
My position is a research volunteer - I am so thankful to have the opportunity be a part of the LABlab!

What are you looking forward to the most in the LABlab?
I am most looking forward to applying my theoretical knowledge and gaining research experience in Linguistics, as well as supporting the amazing research studies that are currently in progress. I can’t wait to meet everyone in person this Fall.

If you had to eat one food forever, what would it be?
I can never tire of Vietnamese food! It’s the perfect comfort food for every season - pho during colder months, vermicelli bowls in the summer - and everything else whenever!

Welcome, Janitta!

Happy Friday! Help us welcome one of our newest lab members. This week we welcome, Samantha! Let's ask her some questions...

What are you studying at SFU?
I am working on a Speech Science Certificate & a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma – lots of Linguistics! Phonetics, Phonology, Syntax, Psycholinguistics, and a few classes on First Language Acquisition.

What prompted your interest in Linguistics?
I have worked with neurodiverse children for the last few years and have really enjoyed the communication aspect of this kind of work – my interest was piqued by AAC (Augmentative & Alternative Communication) and verbal based therapies. Helping to create a connection via speech & language is so cool!

What are you looking forward to most in the LABlab?
I’m really looking forward to meeting my fellow LABlab members in person & getting to assist with some of the incredible experiments they’ve been working on! Having done most of my certificate online due to COVID, getting to see some of the more practical aspects of the theories I’ve been learning will be amazing.

If you could hangout with any cartoon character, who would it be?
Hmm, I think Gary, the hybrid snail/cat from Spongebob Squarepants, a meowing snail! Gary even used an AAC device once, a “Chatterbox Translation Collar” – a perfect cartoon character.

Welcome, Samantha!

It’s time to welcome another one of our new LAB lab members! This week we would like to welcome Alysha. Let’s ask her some questions…

What are you studying at SFU?
I am currently doing a major in Linguistics and a minor in Psychology. I’m also working towards completing a Certificate in Speech Sciences.

What prompted your interest in Linguistics?
One of my SFU friends told me I should look into Speech Language Pathology and try out some Linguistics courses. I took two Linguistics classes my first semester at SFU and fell in love with the program! I also love all the different avenues I could take being an SLP, like working in the school district, in the hospitals, or even starting up my own speech clinic.

What is your dream job?
In the future I hope to work as a Speech Therapist and make a difference in children’s communication. If money wasn’t an issue, however, I would absolutely LOVE to work at Disney World!

If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
Probably Greek food! The rice, the chicken, the salad, the pita bread...ah...so yummy!

Welcome Alysha!

It’s time to welcome one of our newest LAB lab members! This week we would like to welcome Marina. Let’s ask her some questions…

Q: What is your position in the lab?
I am currently measuring learners’ F0 (fundamental frequency) data in a tone perception and production study about Mandarin tones.

Q: What prompted your interest in Linguistics?
After I graduated with my BA in Psychology, I got my CELTA to teach English to adults. At the time I figured it would be fun to travel and teach English while I decided what to do with my life. I had some shaky plans to go to Japan through the JET program, but also lots of question marks and hesitation. I ended up getting cold feet and just teaching here in Vancouver at a private English language school for almost 2 years. That experience made me really appreciate the magic of learning a language. How two students with different native languages could come here to learn a separate common language (English), then become friends only through that new shared language – that was magic to me. That was when I developed the idea to merge what I had learned in Psychology with Linguistics to eventually become a speech therapist, and thus facilitate human connection and friendship (aka: magic).

Q: What are you looking forward to most in the LAB lab?
At the most basic level, I am truly excited to contribute to the field of Linguistics research through my work, and to learn in a more hands-on way than most classrooms can offer. I am also looking forward to helping run in-person research studies (fingers crossed!) when this pandemic is over.

Q: If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?
Teleportation! Especially now that air travel is not really an option with COVID… I would love to teleport over to sunny beaches or the jungle in South America for the weekend now that it’s cold and rainy here!

Welcome Marina!

We have some wonderful news to share this week! Two of our lab members, Erika and Simrin, and two of our former lab members, Ashtyn and Quince, have been invited to join the Speech-Language Pathology program at UBC this fall! Congratulations to our future SLPS!