I am a Ph.D. candidate in Linguistics at the University of Arizona (expected 2027), and I also hold an M.S. in Human Language Technology. My research connects theoretical syntax with computational modeling.
On the theoretical side, I study case, agreement and alignment in Iranian languages, especially Kurdish varieties, Balochi and Persian. On the computational side, I study how large language models represent grammatical structure, work on tokenization for LLMs, and build NLP tools for low-resource, morphologically complex languages.
My dissertation, Alignment in Human Language and Large Language Models: Evidence from Iranian Languages, brings these two lines of work together.
I am on the job market for 2026–27, for both academic and industry positions.
News
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Fall 2026
Teaching How to Learn a Foreign Language (LING/GER/RSSS 114) at the University of Arizona.
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2026
Ten modules on language acquisition and human language technology published in Linguistics: A Modular Introduction, edited by Andrew Carnie.
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Jan 2026
Poster at the LSA Annual Meeting in New Orleans: Derived ergativity in Central Sorani Kurdish.
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Oct 2025
Talk at the 18th Arizona Linguistics Circle: Derived ergativity in Central Sorani Kurdish.
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May 2025
Two talks at NACIL 4, University of Toronto, on alignment in Akoi Kurdish and on the Persian copula.
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2025
Completed an M.S. in Human Language Technology at the University of Arizona.
Selected publications All publications and talks
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2026
Ten modules in Linguistics: A Modular Introduction
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2025
Stative passives in Ardalani Kurdish
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In press
Verbalizers in Sorani Kurdish
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2019
The merge position of internal arguments in Kurdish