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SanG2I am a linguist whose theoretical research focuses on syntax and phonology. My work relies on cross-linguistic insight, in particular from Mayan languages, Bantu languages, and Spanish. Topics I’ve explored include the identity condition on ellipsis, (optional) agreement, sibilant harmony, linearization, syntactic ergativity,  and information structure. 

I am also committed to language reclamation and documentation. I have worked on projects in these areas in my home country, Guatemala (Xinka, Kaqchikel, Tz’utujil), and in California (Rumsen).

Since 2016, I’ve worked in Patzún, Sumpango, Tecpán (Kaqchikel), Santiago Atitlán (Tz’utujil), and El Novillero (K’iche’) through the Guatemala Field Station for linguistic research. I have also had the opportunity to advise graduate and undergraduate students carrying out research projects at the station.

I am currently a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA, mentored by Harold Torrence (Department of Linguistics) and affiliated with the American Indian Studies Center. I am part of the  inaugural cohort of fellows based at each of the Institute of American Cultures‘  four ethnic studies centers.

I received my PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), under the direction of Maria Polinsky and Omer Preminger in 2021. My dissertation “Identity Conditions on Ellipsis” is available here.

Before studying at UMD, I received an MPhil in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics from the University of Cambridge (where I was the Pomona-Downing Scholar) and a BA in Linguistics and Cognitive Science from Pomona College.

The wonderful members of my UMD cohort were Sigwan Thivierge, Mina Hirzel, Anouk Dieuleveut, Aaron Doliana, and Tyler Knowlton.

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Contact me:
ranero [at] ucla [dot] edu

I respectfully acknowledge that the Tongva peoples are the traditional caretakers of the land on which UCLA is situated. To learn about whose land you’re on, go here.