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My research interests include language structure (phonology, morphology, phonetics, prosody), language acquisition (first language phonological development, second language accents, bimodal bilingualism), relationships between language and cognition, and language documentation.

Courses

COGS 101: Introduction to Cognitive Science 

COGS 260: Language and Culture in the Deaf Communities 

COGS 333: Languages in the World: Universality and Diversity 

COGS 338: Language Acquisition 

Student Research Opportunities

I welcome students to do research with me on the cognitive science of language (both spoken and particularly signed languages). I currently advise students on theoretical linguistics, lab-based experimental linguistics, and language acquisition. Students can either join my research projects or initiate a research topic of their own. Send an email and explain your background and interests. 

Select Publications

Gu, S. (2025). Weak drop in Shanghai Sign Language: Comparing signers and non-signers. Proceedings of the 41st West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics (WCCFL41), 171-178, Cascadilla Press. 

Lillo-Martin, D., Gu, S., Kozak, V., & D. Chen Pichler. (2024). The phonology of bimodal bilinguals. In Amengual, Mark (ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingual Phonetics and Phonology, 607–630. doi: org/10.1017/9781009105767.028

Zhang, J., Wu, Y.,  Gu, S., Yang, F., Zhu, Y., and J. van de Weijer. (2024). The Phonology of Shanghai Sign Language. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. doi.org/10.1515/9783111045559

Gu, S. (2023). Phonological processes in Shanghai Sign Language: Contexts, constraints, and structure. In van der Weijer, Jeroen (ed.), Representing Phonological Detail: Syllables, Stress, and Sign, 345–362. De Gruyter Mouton. doi: 10.1515/9783110730081-017

Gu, S., Chen Pichler, D., Kozak, V., & D. Lillo-Martin. (2022). Phonological development in ASL-signing children: Insights from pseudosign repetition tasks. Frontiers in Psychology. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.921047