Silvina Montrul named Marjorie Roberts Professor in Liberal Arts & Sciences

When it comes to understanding language acquisition, there are few scholars as renowned as Silvina Montrul.

“In her field of second language acquisition, it’s not a stretch to say that (Montrul is) the single most impactful scholar of her generation worldwide,” said Colin Phillips, distinguished scholar-teacher and director of the Language Science Center at the University of Maryland.

The quote from Phillips was read aloud at a recent ceremony naming Montrul as the Marjorie Roberts Professor in Liberal Arts & Sciences at the U of I. The former head of the Department of Spanish & Portuguese is director of the Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism Lab and the author of six books and hundreds of journal articles on second language acquisition, bilingualism, and heritage languages. She also has an appointment in the Department of Linguistics.

Originally from Mar del Plata, Argentina, Montrul attended the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata for her undergraduate degree. After coming to the U.S., she earned her master’s in English from the University of Cincinnati and then went to McGill University in Montreal, Canada, to earn her PhD in linguistics. In 1999, she came to the University of Illinois.

The Marjorie Roberts Professorship in Liberal Arts & Sciences recognizes academic excellence along with community and inclusivity. It was established after the passing of Illinois alumna Marjorie Roberts of Edison Park, Illinois. She received her bachelor’s degree from U of I in 1924.

Montrul’s research focuses primarily on language acquisition, language loss, and language change in bilingual individuals. Her latest book, “Native Speakers, Interrupted,” is a crosslinguistic and cross-generational study of three heritage languages in the United States: Spanish, Hindi, and Romanian. In 2023 this book received the L. Bloomfield Award from the Linguistics Society of America.

Montrul was also named a Helen Corley Petit Scholar in 2005, a University Scholar in 2013, and an LAS Alumni Professorial Scholar in 2017.

At the investiture ceremony at the Illini Union, Rosa Milagros (Amy) Santos, associate provost for faculty development, called Montrul a proven leader.

“An investiture is an opportunity to show appreciation and bestow well-earned acknowledgement of scholarship and scientific endeavors by outstanding faculty represented so notably, by their authority,” Santos said.

In her speech, Montrul thanked the university for its support during her 25-year career on campus. “They have supported my research and allowed me to experiment with new ideas like the University Academy for Children.” 

Melissa Bowles, head of the Department of Spanish & Portuguese, said that Montrul served as a mentor when she first came to U of I. Montrul helped her develop an interest in heritage languages.

“Silvina is a faculty mentor I know I can count on,” said Bowles. “Despite her very busy schedule with writing, teaching, mentoring, presenting her work around the world, Silvina is generous with her time, never one to shy away from sharing a search committee, taking time out of her day to help her colleague or student in need.”

James Hye Suk Yoon, head of the Department of Linguistics, said that he was drawn to collaborate with Montrul’s research efforts soon after she arrived at the University of Illinois.

“Silvina is singularly responsible for turning a dyed-in-the-wool theoretical syntactician like me into someone who learned to appreciate experimental and quantitative research, even to the point of engaging in collaborative research with online measures such as eye-tracking, when Silvina was able to negotiate the procurement of the first eye-tracker in the newly opened Second Language Acquisition Lab,” he said.

Yoon added: “We have become one of the major centers of scholarship in second language studies and a go-to institution in the world in heritage linguistics, as we boast a robust concentration of scholars working on heritage languages from a variety of perspectives, thanks to Silvina’s pioneering research. We have been able to attract outstanding faculty members and retain them because of the enterprise that has been built around Silvina and her work.”

With the named professorship, Montrul will receive funding to continue her research.