MLD-affiliated researchers involved in two newly funded NWO PhD projects

We are delighted to share that researchers affiliated with the Multimodal Language Department are involved in two newly funded PhD projects awarded through the NWO PhDs in the Humanities programme.

The first project, “From movement to meaning: How children acquire the phonology of Dutch Sign Language,” was awarded to applicant Roland Pfau, with Wout Damen as PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). Beyza Sümer, associate researcher at the Multimodal Language Department, is involved in the project as co-applicant.

The project investigates how deaf children acquire the building blocks of Dutch Sign Language. Lexical signs are made up of smaller phonological components, such as handshape and location, but it is still largely unknown how children acquire these during development. Using video recordings, image recognition software, and perception experiments, the project will examine how deaf children learn to produce and perceive these components, providing a more complete picture of sign language acquisition.

The second project, “A multimodal approach to emotional language processing in real-world multilingual speech,” was awarded to applicant Susanne Brouwer, with Merel Vermeer as PhD candidate at Radboud University's Centre for Language Studies (CLS). Linda Drijvers, associate professor and affiliated researcher at the Multimodal Language Department, and Judith Holler, senior investigator at the Multimodal Language Department, are collaborating on the project.

This project investigates how listeners understand emotional meaning in spoken language, especially in multilingual and real-world noisy situations. It explores whether listeners rely more on spoken words or on their conversation partner’s facial expressions when language becomes less reliable, for example due to lower language proficiency or background noise.

Together, these projects highlight the importance of studying language as a multimodal phenomenon, across sign, speech, facial expression, perception, and interaction.

Congratulations to all involved in this wonderful achievement.