At my favorite field site, Maras (salt pools)

Hello, and welcome to my professional web site. (I hope it looks professional enough!)

My name is Carlos Molina-Vital, and I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Linguistics at Rice Univeristy, Houston, Texas. I have an M.A. in Linguistics from the Ponticifia Universidad Catolica del Peru, in Lima, Peru, where I am from.  I also studied there as an undergrad student, where I obtained my B.A. in Hispanic Linguistics and Literature (major in Hispanic Linguistics, and minor in Hispanic Literature).

In broad terms, my research interests include (a) language typology and universals, (b) Cognitive/functional linguistics; and (c) Language teaching (Spanish).

Specific topics I have devoted my efforts to are: (a) morphological verbal aspect and its interaction with aktionsart (lexical aspect), (b) a conceptual (“notional”) definition of grammatical categories and how they relate to syntax (particularly nouns and their definiteness), (c) grammatical voice (passive, middle, causation) and its relationship to verb semantics and aspect, (d) nominalization and its relation to complex clause linking, (e) vowel production under a functional perspective,  and (f) the use of a functional and cognitively motivated view of grammar in a communicative and task-based approach to language instruction.

In terms of research languages, I am devoted to the study of the Quechua language family, the largest indigenous linguistic group spoken in the Americas. I have done field work related to the following varieties of Quechua: Huaylas  (Ancash, Peru), Chanka (Ayacucho, Peru), and Cuzco (Cuzco, Peru). I am also interested in the study of the grammar of my native language, Spanish, from a usage-based perspective that gives semantic (conceptual) motivation to syntactic structures. This is particularly relevant to study the contact situation between Quechua languages and Spanish in South America, as well as for the development of a pedagogical grammar of Spanish or Quechua languages.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if I can be of any help!