Lara MANTOVAN

Curriculum Vitae
 

Education:

- 2015: PhD in Linguistics at Università Ca' Foscari. PhD dissertation: "Nominal modification in Italian Sign Language (LIS)".

- 2011: MA Degree in Language Sciences at Università Ca' Foscari. MA dissertation: "La distribuzione degli aggettivi nella lingua dei segni italiana: un'analisi quantitativa".

- 2008: Course in Theories and Techniques of Italian/Italian Sign Language (LIS) interpreting at Università Ca' Foscari.

In 2013, she studied and conducted research at Institut Jean Nicod, a CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique) research unit, in Paris. Furthermore, she attended several summer schools on general linguistics and sign languages (Università di Graz, 2009; Università di Pavia, 2012; University College di Londra, 2013; Università Ca' Foscari, 2014; Università Pompeu Fabra di Barcellona, 2015).

Academic positions:

From 2015 to 2018, she carried out research activities as a postdoctoral fellow at Università di Milano-Bicocca and Università Ca' Foscari. In this period of time, she was involved in research projects aiming at investigating several aspects of LIS grammar.

She is currently a fixed-term research assistant Law 240/10 at the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies, Università Ca’ Foscari. In the a.y. 2021/2022, she is teaching the following courses:

- Italian Sign Language 1 (BA program in Languages, Civilisation and the Science of Language) 

- Italian Sign Language 2 (BA program in Languages, Civilisation and the Science of Language) 

- Italian Sign Language (MA program in Science of Language) 

Qualifications

03/02/2022 - 03/02/2031: Italian National Scientific Qualification (2nd level) in Linguistics (10/G1) with unanimous judgment

Research activities:

Research interests: LIS linguistics (syntax, syntax-semantics interface, sociolinguistics, corpus linguistics, pragmatics).

She has been conducting research on several aspects of LIS grammar, including the distribution of nominal modifiers, cardinal numerals, null arguments, motion predicates, appositive constructions, impersonal constructions, and the expression of irony. 

She participated in the research activities of the Italian unit involved in the European Horizon 2020 project SIGN-HUB (2016-2020, https://www.unive.it/sign-hub), "Preserving, researching and fostering the linguistic, historical and cultural heritage of European Deaf signing communities with an integral resource". In particular, she contributed to the creation of the first digital reference grammar of LIS and the dissemination activities aiming at spreading information about the project's results. In the initial stage of the project, she was also involved in the development of tools for the assessment of LIS. 

She participated in the research activities of the European project COST ACTION IS 1006 (2011-2015) "Unravelling the grammars of European sign languages: pathways to full citizenship of deaf signers and to the protection of their linguistic heritage". She contributed to the creation of a blueprint containing the guidelines for the description of sign language grammars.

Additional details:

She is a member of the research committee of the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies.

She is a member of the PhD committee "Modern Languages, Cultures and Societies and Linguistics".

She is a member of the Steering Committee of the international conference on sign languages FEAST (Formal and Experimental Advances in Sign Language Theory).

She is the Disability Access and Inclusion referent for the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies.

She is a member of the review committees of international conferences such as FEAST (Formal and Experimental Advances in Sign language Theory), TISLR (Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research), and GLOW (Generative Linguistics in the Old World).

Teaching experience: courses on LIS and Deaf education at Università di Bologna, courses on LIS and Deaf education at Università di Padova, module "History and Theory of Translation and Interpreting" at Ente Nazionale Sordi in Brescia.

She has gained work experience as LIS/LISt interpreter since 2009 (interpreting settings: negotiation in private settings, conferences, school, university, and international projects).