Rodrigo Ranero

I 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. 

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.

Latest news!

• I am one of the co-organizers for Form and Analysis in Mayan Linguistics (FAMLi) VII, which will take place at UNAM in Mexico City (Feb. 22-23, 2024). Call for papers and more details soon!
• I am organizing a discussion panel on the topic of heritage speakers of indigenous languages of the Americas at the Fourteenth Heritage Language Research Institute at UCLA (Jun 5-8). Invited speakers are:
  • • • Jaime Pérez González (UC Santa Barbara)
      • Cynthia Vázquez (UCLA)
      • Ivonne Heinze-Balcazar (Cal State Dominguez Hills)
• I am an invited speaker at the workshop “Current Issues in Comparative Syntax 2: Boundaries of Ellipsis Mismatch“, organized by Tsuda University (Japan).
• Two invited talks at UCLA coming up:
  • “Connecting the Dots: Linguistic Theory, Documentation, and Reclamation” for the Language, Literacy, and Learning Collaborative  in the School of Education and Information Studies (March 16).
  • TBA in the Culture, Power, and Social Change seminar series in the Department of Anthropology
• Yolanda Estrada and I will present “What is linguistic documentation for? A perspective from Kaqchikel ceremonial language” at the  SECOLAS conference. A recent LSA poster on this project is [here].
• Justin Royer and I are analyzing Null Complement Anaphora (NCA) in Chuj (Mayan). We argue that the language provides evidence that the phenomenon does not involve a transitivity alternation. I will be presenting on this work at UC Berkeley’s Syntax and Semantics Circle later in the year.
• Paulina Lyskawa and I sent out the paper “True progressive harmony exists”, which you can find [here].

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.