|
I am an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Southern California and the director of the USC PoMMLab (Psycholinguistics of Mono- and Multilingualism Lab).
My research focuses on noun categorization systems, including grammatical gender, animacy, and noun classes. I use formal and psycholinguistic methods to understand how noun category information is represented in the grammar, how it is stored in the mental lexicon, and how it is accessed during real-time processing of agreement. My research targets both monolingual and bilingual speakers (especially heritage speakers) of languages with noun categorization systems. My current work on noun classes in Lubukusu (Bantu, Guthrie classification JE.31c) is funded by NSF Award #2438489 with Co-Investigators Travis Major (USC) and Justine Mukhwana Sikuku (Moi University). I also serve as an Associate Editor for Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism. My CV [updated May 2026] is available here. Please note that I will be on sabbatical during the Fall 2026 semester. Contact: [email protected] Google Scholar | ResearchGate | LinkedIn |
|
Upcoming talks
May 2026
Facilitative Use of Gender Marking in Polish-Speaking Children: Effects Across High- and Low-Frequency Adjectives [oral presentation] Psycholinguistics of Slavic Languages (PsychoSlav2026) @ Univ. of Zadar, Croatia Authors: Aneta Miękisz, Zuzanna Fuchs, Grzegorz Krajewski September 2026 Keynote speaker 1st International Workshop on Grammatical Gender Acquisition and Processing (GGAP) @ Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland |
Recent publicationsZuzanna Fuchs, John Muegge, Christine Shea. 2026. Do Heritage Speakers work harder in their heritage language? A dual task study of cognitive effort in bilingual language processing. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728926101308
Fuchs, Zuzanna. 2025. Independent processing of lexical agreement features: Evidence from Polish. Language, Cognition & Neuroscience, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2025.2489611 |
In the mediaInterview with Coopernicus
Appearance as guest expert on LAist's radio show AirTalk, for a segment on re-learning heritage languages Feature on Coopernicus.pl Profile in USC Dornsife news Feature in Harvard Arts & Humanities Instagram Interview with Dobra Szkoła Nowy Jork: "The bridge between science and teaching done on heritage speakers" [available in Polish and English] |