Ander Beristain
Bio
Ander Beristain (Ph.D. 2022, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Saint Louis University (USA), where he is also involved with the College of Arts and Sciences’ Prison Education Program. He is a first-generation scholar whose research addresses phonological and phonetic questions from a second and heritage language acquisition perspective, utilizing both articulatory and acoustic approaches alongside advanced statistical methods. His work focuses primarily on Basque and Spanish, with an emphasis on documenting and giving visibility to minoritized speakers, languages, or varieties.
In the early stages of his career, Dr. Beristain has co-authored an edited volume, released a phonological dictionary of his native Basque variety, and published multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His scholarship has appeared in journals such as Language and Speech, Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, The Journal of the International Phonetic Association, and in volumes by Oxford University Press, De Gruyter, or UPV/EHU Press. In recognition of his scholarly achievements as an early-career researcher, he has been awarded the 2025 Linguistic Society of America’s Morris Halle Memorial Award for Faculty Excellence in Phonology.
Diversifying articulatory phonetics through a bilingual and migrant lens: A look towards the future
The overarching goal of this talk is to examine whether articulatory accommodation is possible at the physiological level in bilingual and migrant environments to further comprehend the evolution of dialectal features over time in relation to language contact. While phonetics and phonology studies have predominantly implemented acoustic approaches, articulatory research constitutes a minority, often using small sample sizes and targeting first language production in laboratory settings. This narrow perspective overlooks the influence of bilingualism and ‘non-traditional’ speakers on articulatory theories. This presentation will bridge this gap by presenting cutting-edge aerodynamic studies on nasalization, particularly in bilingual and migration contexts in North America and Europe. Furthermore, methodological recommendations for engaging with underserved populations will be proposed, thus contextualizing academic work within culturally responsive practices and putting forward a framework for future research.
The first study investigates coarticulatory vowel nasalization in heritage, early, and late Spanish/English bilingual speakers in the United States, including data from 42 participants. The second study presents novel data on the nasalization of the glottal fricative [h] consonant in Spanish, based on 30 participants consisting of long-term migrants from Extremadura (Spain) in the Basque Country, as well as two subsequent generations and control groups. Results suggest that early language exposure facilitates the differentiation and production of language-specific articulatory patterns. Prolonged linguistic contact leads to articulatory accommodation, with long-term migrants exhibiting production patterns that are intermediate between the non-migrant control groups. Nasalization decreases considerably in later, more bilingual generations established in the Basque Country. In conclusion, physiological adjustment is achievable in early and prolonged bilingual settings, paving the way for new research avenues in second and heritage language sound articulation.
