Welcoming the 2026 cohort of Linguistics grad students

Graduate studies

September 08, 2026

Onyinye Favour Chibueze, MA Student

BA in Linguistics and Igbo Language, University of Lagos, 2023

Hi, I’m Favour Chibueze. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Igbo Language from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. My research interests lie at the intersection of African bilingualism, language identity, sociolinguistics, and digital linguistics, with a particular focus on Igbo-English bilingual communities. Through my work as an Igbo language educator, translator, and digital content creator, I have developed a strong interest in language preservation, documentation, and revitalization. At SFU, I look forward to exploring how corpus-based and digital methods can be used to study African languages and multilingual communities. Ultimately, I hope to contribute to the preservation, promotion, and global visibility of Indigenous African languages, especially Igbo. 

Benjamin (Ben) Chung, PhD Student

MA in Linguistics, Simon Fraser University, 2026

My name is Benjamin (Ben) Chung (he/him). In 2020, I received my BA from the University of British Columbia: a double specialisation in First Nations and Endangered Languages & Linguistics. More recently, I just finished my MA in Linguistics at SFU. Broadly, I am interested in topics related to morphology, syntax, and semantics (and their interactions) in Indigenous and under-described languages. I primarily have worked with Haíɫzaqvḷa Heiltsuk (Upper Northern Wakashan) in the community of Wágḷísḷa Bella Bella where I am traditionally adopted by the Reid family. In my PhD studies, I am also excited to collaborate more with Maritime Tsimshianic languages: Sm'algya̱x Coast Tsimshian and Sgüüx̱s Southern Tsimshian. Aside from fieldwork, I enjoy cooking, cooking shows, and I spend most of time with my chiweenie, Sundae, who occasionally accompanies me to the office. 

Ellie Dueck, MA Student

BA in Linguistics, Simon Fraser University, 2023

Hi, my name is Ellie (she/her). I completed my undergraduate degree and fell in love with linguistics here at SFU and so am very excited to be continuing my studies here as well! My main areas of interest are phonology, the maintenance and revitalisation of minority and marginalised languages, as well as language change. I'm also just excited to learn all sorts of new things in each class. Outside of school you can find me playing with my nephews, attempting a song on guitar, or cooking up something new. 

Victor (Vic) Lancaster, MA Student

BA in Linguistics, University of Edinburgh, 2026

Hello, I'm Vic, I'm from East London and I did my degree in Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh. I loved hiking in Scotland and I'm really looking forward to exploring BC! I spent part of my degree doing fieldwork on West Nilotic languages, where I looked at verb morphosyntax, particularly applicatives. I'm also interested in passives, modals, and in general looking at syntax from a cognitive perspective. I have an interest in anthropology, and I'm writing a novel about a group of people whose society I'm trying to design. 

Marcell Maitinsky, PhD Student

MA in Linguistics, University of Toronto, 2025

My name is Marcell Maitinsky and I am a phonetics and phonology researcher starting my PhD this year under the supervision of Dr. Yue Wang. After working on multiple projects focused on my mother tongue of Hungarian, I have recently shifted direction, with my more recent interests dealing with cross-modal phenomena in speech as well as with multilingualism in a broad sense. I am also passionate about teaching within the realm of language and linguistics. Outside of my academic interests, I enjoy photographing moths, producing electronic music, and doing word puzzles such as crosswords. 

Alice Munro, MA Student

BA in Linguistics, University of Edinburgh, 2026

Hi, I'm Alice! I'm an MA student interested in language acquisition and developmental speech perception, and how this interacts with other areas of cognition. I am especially interested in how children and adults perceive speech under adverse listening conditions, particularly in noisy environments. Outside of linguistics, I enjoy art (of all kinds!), baking, hiking, and foraging (i.e., bringing home inadvisable quantities of fungi and berries from my hikes). 

Gento Okawa, PhD Student

MA in Linguistics, Simon Fraser University, 2026

I was born and raised in Japan and moved to Canada after graduating from Waseda University with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. I recently defended my MA thesis titled Second Language Comprehensibility and Accentedness in Interaction: Exploring Relationships between Self-Ratings and Partner-Ratings and Associations with Linguistic and Socio-Affective Correlates. My initial focus was on L2 English, but my experience teaching Japanese at SFU expanded my interest to L2 Japanese. Outside of my research, I like skiing and playing soccer. Since I moved here, cooking has been a small joy of mine.