On August 21, I successfully defended my PhD dissertation and earned my doctorate in Linguistics at Simon Fraser University. (Finally, woohoo!)

My dissertation titled Cross-language voice variation and talker identity in Korean heritage speakers explored how heritage multilingualism shapes both how we produce voices and how we perceive them.

Diagram showing English and Korean prototypes sharing one phonetic space, with style and language as deviations from the norm

A slide from my defense illustrating the theoretical grounding of my dissertation.

My committee included Dr. Henny Yeung (senior supervisor), Dr. Sara Ng (supervisor), Dr. Molly Babel and Dr. Adele Quigley‑McBride (examiners), and Dr. Heather Bliss (chair).

Group photo taken after the defense, with committee members in the room and two more joining on the screen behind

After the defense, with my committee: some in the room and some on the screen.

I am deeply grateful to have reached this milestone. My heartfelt thanks go to my amazing committee, to the participants who shared their time and their voices, and to everyone who supported me along the way.

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