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Hello there!
I am a Linguistics and Cognitive Science joint PhD Candidate at the University of California, San Diego as part of the Mayberry Laboratory for Multimodal Language Development. I focus on the effects of language deprivation and subsequent late first language acquisition on phonological processing in American Sign Language. If you would like to learn more, please check out my research.
On this site you can also find out more about my teaching, look at my CV, and learn how to reach me.
Announcements
May 2023
After much preparation, Shai successfully advanced to candidacy after submitting and presenting her dissertation proposal as part of the UCSD Linguistics Department qualifying exam.
April 2023
Collaborative work between Shai, UCSD faculty Marc Garellek & Emily Clem, and UCSD Librarian Tamara Rhodes on the creation of a History of Phonetics course from a social justice lens will be presented as a poster at the 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS) conference in August 2023.
September 2022
Co-authors Shai and fellow UCSD Linguistics PhD student Rachel Miles gave a stage presentation for their work on cross-linguistic distribution of handshape and presented a poster for their work on cross-linguistic markedness of handshape at the Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research 14 conference in person in Osaka, Japan at the National Museum of Ethnography.
June 2022
After all recorded presentations were submitted to the International Conference on Sign Language Acquisition 4, Shai received the Best Theory Presentation by a Student Researcher award from an independent review panel.
June 2022
After completing the last course requirement, Shai received her Masters of Arts in Linguistics at the end of the Spring 2022 quarter at UCSD, still on her way to get her Ph.D.
March 2022
Shai was accepted for a presentation on her work looking at age of acquisition effects on the phonological system of ASL signers at the International Conference on Sign Language Acquisition 4, to be held virtually in June 2022.
November 2021
At the 2021 Boston University Conference on Language Development (BUCLD46), Shai presented her latest research titled "Late First Language Acquisition Alters the Organization of the Phonological System of American Sign Language" in poster session 1.
May 2021
After a (covid) year of data analysis and writing, Shai completed and passed her comprehensive exam in the UCSD Linguistics Department with her paper titled "Late First Language Acquisition Changes the Phonological System of American Sign Language".
June 2020
Shai received the TA Excellence Award from the UCSD Linguistics Department for the 2019-2020 school year.
May 2019
For the summer of 2019, Shai was selected as a fellow of the Competitive Edge program at UCSD.
March 2019
Shai is excited to announce her admittance to UCSD's Linguistics Department as a PhD student starting Fall 2019. She will be working with Dr. Rachel Mayberry and the incredible researchers in the Mayberry Laboratory for Multimodal Language Development.