Dalle á lingua
Who are we?
We are a team of students and researchers from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela who want to spread linguistic knowledge beyond the classroom. There are many myths, misconceptions, and prejudices about languages, their speakers, and especially multilingualism and how the brain deals with it. Our goal is to share accurate, science-based information to raise awareness among the general public. Knowledge is power!
The team:
Sabela Morais Martinez holds a Bachelor’s degree in Language Sciences and Literary Studies from Universidade de Vigo and a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics jointly awarded by the Universidade de Vigo, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and Universidade da Coruña. She is currently a PhD student in Linguistics at Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and a member of the BableBrain project, which focuses on multilingualism in Galicia and Gibraltar, led by Principal Investigator M. Carmen Parafita Couto. She has presented her work at several international conferences, including the Congreso Internacional de Lingüística General (2023, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; 2025, Universidad de Alicante).
Hugo Parra completed a Bachelor’s in Linguistics at Université de Lille and a Master’s degree in Linguistics at Université Lyon Lumière 2. He is currently a PhD student in Linguistics at Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC) and is a member of the BabelBrain project, which focuses on analyzing multilingualism in Galicia and Gibraltar, led by Principal Investigator M.Carmen Parafita Couto. He has also participated in the PHC Franco-Thaï research project, in collaboration with CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) and the University of Chiang Mai, focusing on multilingual practices in the city of Chiang Mai.
Sabela Treinta Lomba holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Language and Literature at Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and is currently completing a second degree in Galician Language and Literature. During the current academic year, she has been awarded a fellowship from the Ministry of Science to work with the Grupo Gramática do Español (USC).
Marco Bravo Rodríguez completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Language and Literature at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, graduating with the Extraordinary Award. He was subsequently awarded a Ministry of Science fellowship and conducted research at the Grupo Gramática do Español at USC. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics (USC-UVigo-UDC), while collaborating as a researcher with the same research group. His academic interests focus on perceptual dialectology, language ideologies in contexts of language contact, and the glottopolitics of Galician and Spanish.
Samuel Fentanes is a first year undergraduate student in the degree of Modern Languages and Literatures at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Born in Brazil and raised in a Brazilian family, even after moving to Galicia (Spain), he has maintained proficiency in his native language while acquiring Spanish and Galician through formal education. He is also proficient in English and is currently working to improve his French.
Lucía Vieitez Portas is a postdoctoral researcher in the BabelBrain project (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela). She obtained her PhD in Experimental Psychology, with a dissertation entitled "Neural and behavioural correlates of gender agreement processing in emotional words". Her research examines how variables such as word emotionality, gender type (arbitrary or natural/biological), and gender value or class (e.g., feminine and masculine), as well as inter-individual differences, affect gender agreement processing. Her work is intrinsically interdisciplinary, integrating approaches from Psychology, Linguistics, and Cognitive Neuroscience.