My research uses bilingualism — and especially bimodal bilingualism (signed and spoken languages) — as a model to test how language shapes conceptual organisation.
- Conceptual relativity. I examine whether the structure and modality of a language influence how we perceive and categorise the world, while also probing for amodal, universal aspects of meaning.
- L1–L2 interaction. Behavioural studies (e.g. false cognates) explore whether first and second languages share an integrated semantic system or rely on distinct representations.
- Bimodal bilinguals. Hearing CODAs, fluent in both sign and spoken language, provide a unique opportunity to test how modality (visual–manual vs. auditory–vocal) shapes conceptual knowledge.
- Neuroimaging. fMRI (decoding & RSA) links behavioural patterns with neural representations, clarifying when concepts are modality-specific and when they are shared across languages.
- Language learning over time. Longitudinal studies track how acquiring a new language reshapes semantic space in both behavioural and neural domains.
Together, these approaches aim to clarify the balance between language-specific and amodal aspects of conceptual representation.