Postdoc: Bastien Boutonnet
Supervisors: Niels Schiller and Lisa Cheng
Here in Leiden, I am part of the AThEME project studying various facets of being multilingual –a great endeavour! Currently, we are planning to study multilingual interaction with a focus on foreign accent processing. We ask questions such as: Is information delivered in a non-native accent processed differently than when it is delivered in a native accent? Do people behave differently on a series of non-linguistic tasks depending on which of their several languages they use to perform the tasks? Many more will come I’m sure! I would also like to bring my interests in language-perception interactions in multilingual speakers.
Primarily, I am hoping to develop a side of my research (language processing) which has been more of a secondary goal in my previous research. I think being able to see both sides of the coin (how do we “do” language and what language does to us) is essential in order to have a more fine grained understanding of what being multilingual really entails. I am also hoping to develop some of my technical skills by implementing brain imaging techniques such as MRI and structural connectivity. I therefore strongly value collaborations between members of the various institutes and will be more than happy to share what I know and learn from others.