Dr. Nina Hyams

Biography

Nina Hyams is an Emeritus Faculty member and Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Linguistics. Her research primarily focuses on language acquisition in children, with a special emphasis on early acquisition of syntax and morphosyntax. Hyams' work spans several areas of language development, including the functional structure of early grammar, eventivity, binding principles, control, ergativity, and auxiliary selection. Her cross-linguistic comparisons explore the processes underlying language acquisition, with a collaborative approach involving students and colleagues. Hyams has studied various languages including English, Italian, Greek, Dutch, German, Swahili, Japanese, Icelandic, Malagasy, Cape Verdean Creole, and European Portuguese, utilizing both naturalistic and experimental techniques. She has worked to explore the interaction between different components of language development, such as the interface between syntax and semantics/pragmatics. Hyams is especially interested in models of Universal Grammar and parameter setting, examining their roles in actual language development. She has mentored many doctoral students who have pursued topics related to language acquisition.

Research Interests