About Me
I am a linguist interested in adult second language acquisition as well as the application of syntactic and morphological theory in the field of language acquisition.
More specifically, I am interested in the acquisition of the syntactic and morphological structures of verbs in languages with aggluntinative morphology (e.g., Korean, Japanese, etc.). I am also interested in the intermediate stages of acquisition and the process by which learners transition from being an intermediate language user to a proficient and advanced language user.
My current research is focused on the acquisition of specialized uses of certain nominal morphology in Korean by adult intermediate learners.
I have done research on dative subjects and causativization in Georgian (MA), and the syntactic structure of the -ese construction in Korean.
In addition to being a linguist, I am also an avid language learner. I know Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, and I am currently studying Korean and Cantonese.
Research
Conference Talks
MacDonald, R. A. (2024, Jun. 19). The Syntax of the Korean -ese construction [Conference session]. Canadian Linguistics Association (CLA 2024), Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
MacDonald, R. A. (2024, Mar. 02). The Syntax of the Korean -ese construction [Conference session]. Western Interdisciplinary Student Symposium on Language Research (WISSLR 2024), Western University, London, ON, Canada.
MacDonald, R. A. (2023, Jun. 23). The Syntax of the Korean converb -ese [Conference session]. University of Toronto Graduate Language Research Day 2023 (LRD 2023), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
MacDonald, R. A. (2022, Nov. 19). Dative subjects in Georgian [Conference session]. Morphology in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto (MoMOT 2022), Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
MacDonald, R. A. (2022, Oct. 28). Dative subjects in Georgian [Conference session]. 14th Linguistics Graduate Course Union (LGCU) Welcome Workshop, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Conference Posters
Kush, D., Blumenthal, M., Williams, W., and MacDonald, R. (2022, Sept. 8). Cataphor antecedent search is insensitive to cues to discourse status [Poster session] Architectures and Mechanisms for Language Processing (AMLaP 2022), University of York, York, United Kingdom.
MacDonald, R. (2020, Mar. 7). Onset and coda repair in phonetic loanwords from English into Mandarin Chinese [Poster session]. Toronto Undergraduate Linguistics Conference 2020 (TULCON 13), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
CV
In Progress
2022
2021
Academic Background
PhD, Linguistics
University of Toronto
MA, Linguistics
University of Toronto
Thesis: “Dative Subjects in Georgian”
Advisor: Susana Béjar
Honours BA, Linguistics Specialist
University of Toronto
3.98 GPA
St. Michael’s College Gold Medal (Arts) Recipient
Language Citation in Chinese
2023-24
Research Experience
Primary Investigator
Project: “Adult L2 acquisition of Korean morphology”
Faculty Supervisor: Emily Atkinson
2022-23
2021-22
Research Assistant
Supervisor: Dave Kush
Supervisor: Susana Béjar
Teaching Experience
LIN102
LIN232
LINA01
LIN200
LIN203
Introduction to Linguistics: Sentence Structure & Meaning
Topic: Introductory Syntax, Morphology, Semantics, & Psycholinguistics
University of Toronto - St. George
TA: 2022 (Winter), 2023 (Winter), 2024 (Winter), 2024 (Summer)
Syntactic Patterns in Language
Topic: Syntax, Morphology
University of Toronto - St. George
TA: 2023 (Fall)
Introduction to Linguistics
Topic: Introductory Linguistics (Phonology, Syntax, etc.)
University of Toronto - Scarborough
TA: 2023 (Summer)
Introduction to Language
Topic: Introductory Linguistics for Non-Majors
University of Toronto - St. George
TA: 2023 (Winter) , 2022 (Summer)
English Words
Topic: Introductory Linguistics for Non-Majors
University of Toronto - St. George
TA: 2021 (Fall)
2022 - 24
2024
2024
2023
2023
2022
2021 - 2022
Academic Service
Co-President
LGCU - Linguistics Graduate Course Union
University of Toronto
Terms: 2022-2023, 2023-2024
LGCU Newsletter Committee Member - Design
LGCU - Linguistics Graduate Course Union
University of Toronto
U of T Language Research Day Conference Organizing Committee Member
Department of Speech Language Pathology & Department of Linguistics
University of Toronto
MoMOT Conference Organizing Committee Member
Department of Linguistics
University of Toronto
LGCU Committee Review Committee Lead
LGCU - Linguistics Graduate Course Union
University of Toronto
Reviewer
TWPL - Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics
University of Toronto
Secretary
LGCU - Linguistics Graduate Course Union
University of Toronto
Skills
PCIbex (Penn Controller for Internet Based Experiments)
R (Programming Language - Statistics & Data Visualization)
Languages
English (Native)
Japanese (Upper-Intermediate - Reading: Advanced, Speaking: Intermediate)
Mandarin (Upper-Intermediate - Reading: Advanced, Speaking: Intermediate)
Korean (Lower-Intermediate - Reading: Intermediate, Speaking: Elementary)
Cantonese (Lower-Intermediate - Reading: Intermediate, Speaking: Elementary)