Researchers

Beatriz Fernández

Main researcher

ORCID: 0000-0002-7632-7777

I am a Full Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Basque Studies at the University of the Basque Country (EHU), having received my PhD in Basque Philology from the same institution in 1997. I have four six-year research periods (sexenios) recognized by ANECA, alongside B1, B2, B3, and A1 supplements awarded by Unibasq, and six five-year teaching periods (quinquenios). From the beginning of my research career, my work has been linked to the morphosyntactic variation of world languages in general, and of Basque in particular. Currently, I work on argument structure, voice, and complex predicates. Since 2010, I have been a member of the research group the Bilingual Mind / Gogo Elebiduna (A-label of Excellence in the Basque University System; Principal Investigators: Itziar Laka and Mikel Santesteban). I combine my research work with science outreach, and in the field of the scientific research management, I have served as a  member of the Research, Development and Innovation Committee (RDIC) for the 5th area of Arts and Humanities at the EHU. Currently, I am the Director of Research Support in the Office of the Vice-Rector for Research at the same university. I am also a Corresponding Member of the Academy of the Basque Language (Euskaltzaindia).

Ane Berro

Main researcher

ORCID: 0000-0002-6818-506X

I am an Associate Professor at the University of Deusto, in the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences. In September 2015, I defended my PhD dissertation at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (PhD Extraordinary Award, 2017) and the University Bordeaux Montaigne (UBM).

In recent years, my research has focused on argument structure, voice alternations and their relationship to case and agreement. Together with Beatriz Fernández, I am currently the Principal Investigator of a research project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIU), which explores argument structure and morphology in Basque. Furthermore, together with some members of the Language Acqusition and Processing laboratory (LAPlab) and the Bilingual Mind, I am also working on the processing of thematic roles.

Cecilia Fernández-Altonaga

Pre-doctoral researcher

ORCID: 0000-0001-9273-9598

I am a predoctoral researcher at The Bilingual Mind research team (UPV/EHU) and the IKER UMR5478 research center in Bayonne, through a cotutelle between the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour (UPPA). I graduated in Basque Studies (UPV/EHU, 2017-2021) and I completed my studies with a masters in Theoretical and Experimental Linguistics (UPV/EHU, 2022). From 2022, I have been working on my dissertation under the supervision of professors Beatriz Fernández (UPV/EHU) and Urtzi Etxeberria (CNRS-IKER). Funding for this research comes from a pre-doctoral grant from the Spanish Ministry of Universities, FPU [FPU21/05860].

The goal of my dissertation is to offer a morphosyntactic and semantic analysis for various modifiers in Basque, particularly those that have traditionally been described as adverbs (e.g. those formed by the suffixes –ki, –ka, –rik and –ta) and thus, to explore the limits between predication and modification.

Kristina Bilbao

Pre-doctoral researcher

ORCID: 0000-0002-3832-6722

I am a pre-doctoral researcher at Basque and Beyond and The Bilingual Mind research groups at the University of the Basque Country (EHU). I graduated in Basque Studies (2018–2022) at EHU and completed a Master’s in Theoretical and Experimental Linguistics at the same university (2022–2023). Since 2023, I have been working on my PhD thesis under the supervision of Beatriz Fernández (EHU), Ane Berro (University of Deusto), and Irene de la Cruz-Pavía (University of Deusto). Funding for this research comes from a pre-doctoral grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities [FPU22/01851].

One of my biggest academic interests is linguistic variation, specially from a morphosyntactic and typological perspective. In my PhD thesis, I investigate reflexive and reciprocal constructions in Basque. The aim of the thesis is to analyse the morphosyntax of those constructions, while also exploring their relation to other structures showing voice alternation, such as inchoative or impersonal constructions.

Jon Etxebarria

Pre-doctoral researcher

ORCID: 0009-0006-4124-4011

I graduated in Basque Studies (2020-2024) at the University of the Basque Country (EHU). In the 2023-2024 academic year I had the Ikasiker Research Fellowship [IkasC_2023_1_0067], which allowed me to collaborate with the Bilingual Mind research group under the supervision of Professor Beatriz Fernández (EHU). Then, in the 2024-2025 academic year, I continued my studies in the Basque Linguistics and Philology Master’s programme at the very same university. Since September 2025, I have been working on my PhD thesis under the supervision of Beatriz Fernández (EHU), Ane Odria (EHU) and Irene de la Cruz-Pavia (University of Deusto).

Linguistic variation is one of my main research interests and in my PhD thesis I study the causative structures used in the western dialect of Basque. Specifically, I investigate the relationship between the case and agreement marking of arguments and their animacy in causative constructions with embedded unaccusative verbs.

Garazi Domínguez Mezquita

Pre-doctoral researcher

ORCID: 0009-0001-6660-0418

I graduated in Basque Language and Culture and Modern Languages (University of Deusto, 2020-2025). In my Final Degree Project in Basque, I began to investigate the acquisition of Basque Language and Culture with Ane Berro (UD) and Irene de la Cruz-Pavía (UD); I received the Mintzola Prize (2024) and published the work in the research magazine Euskara (2026). In the 2025-2026 academic year, I completed the Master’s Degree in Theoretical and Experimental Linguistics, where I continued my research on the acquisition of the Basque language. In addition to my training in linguistics, I have been doing a Master of Teaching (UNIR) since June 2026.

I want to do my PhD at Language Acquisition and Processing lab (directed by Dr. de la Cruz-Pavía, University of Deusto), where I want to analyse the morphosyntactic acquisition and processing of Basque monolingual and bilingual children.