Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department
2002-present, Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience, minor in Linguistics (expected 2008)
Advisor: Ken Wexler
Dissertation: Acquiring A-Syntax
Thesis committee: Ken Wexler (MIT), Irene Heim (MIT), Shigeru Miyagawa (MIT)

University of California at Berkeley
Linguistics Department
1998-2002, B.A. in Linguistics
[Emphasis: Syntax]
Advisor: Andreas Kathol

University of California at Berkeley
Cognitive Science Department
1998-2002, B.A. in Cognitive Science
[Emphasis: Cognitive neuroscience]
Advisor: Mark D’Esposito

The relationship of biology and experience in language acquisition and language loss, understood through the lens of current (Minimalist) linguistic theory.
Language acquisition: A-movement, A-bar movement, clefts, relative clauses.
Biolinguistics: Aphasia, genetics of grammar, language processing & localization.
Theoretical syntax: A-movement, get-passives, rationale clauses, inverse copulas.

Singleton Fellows Graduate Fellowship (2007-present)
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship (2003-2006)
Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition Travel Award (2006)
Latsis Colloquium on Early Language Development & Disorders Travel Award (2006)
Angus MacDonald Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2005)
Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition Poster Competition Winner (2004)
Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition Travel Award (2004)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Graduate Fellowship (declined in favor of NSF)

Hirsch, C., Orfitelli, R., and K. Wexler. In press. The acquisition of raising reconsidered. In A. Gavarro and M J. Freitas (eds.) Proceedings of the Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Press.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2007. The late acquisition of raising: What children seem to think about seem. In S. Dubinsky and B. Davies (eds.) New horizons in the analysis of control and raising. New York, NY: Springer.

Hirsch, C., Orfitelli, R., and K. Wexler. 2007. When seem means think ­ The role of the experiencer-phrase in children’s comprehension of raising. In A. Belikova, L. Meroni, and M. Umeda (eds.) Galana 2 - Proceedings of the Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition ­ North America 2. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2006. Children’s passives and their resulting interpretation. In K.U. Deen, J. Nomura, B. Schulz, and B.D. Schwartz (eds.) The Proceedings of the Inaugural Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition­North America, University of Connecticut Occasional Papers in Linguistics, 4, 125-136.

Hirsch, C. and J. Hartman. 2006. Some (wh-) questions concerning passive interactions. In A. Belletti, E. Bennati, C. Chesi, E. Di Domenico, and I. Ferrari (eds.) Proceedings of the Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Press.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2006. By the way, children don’t know by. In D. Bamman, T. Magnitskaia, and C. Zaller (eds.) BUCLD 30: Proceedings of the 30th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, 249-261. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.

Hirsch, C. 2000. Potentially Distinct Implementations Responsible for Affective and Nonaffective Prosody: A Review of the Interaction of Prosody, Syntax, and Emotion. The Thinker: The Journal of Cognitive Science at UC Berkeley, vol. 2, 96-104.

Hirsch, C. 2000. Satisfying Convention (T) by Means of a Semantic Theory of Truth: A Review of Tarski’s Theory of Truth as Found in “The Semantic Conception of Truth and the Foundations of Semantics”. The Thinker: The Journal of Cognitive Science at UC Berkeley, vol. 2, 122-124.

Hirsch, C., Hartman, J., and K. Wexler. Semantic constraints on passive comprehension: Adjectival passives and syntactic representation.
Hirsch, C., Modyanova, N., Perovic, A., and K. Wexler. Environmental factors, intelligence, and age: Different predictors for the acquisition of actional and non-actional passives.
Hirsch, C., Orfitelli, R., and K. Wexler. Children’s acquisition of raising structures: The role of the experiencer-phrase and correlations with passive acquisition.
Hirsch, C., Orfitelli, R., and K. Wexler. Genetic and environmental factors involved in grammaticality judgment: A family and twin study.
Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. Passive acquisition and biological maturation.
Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. Children’s asymmetrical acquisition of clefts and relative clauses: Why processing and grammatical representation both matter.
Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. Children’s knowledge of by-phrases in passives and nominals.
Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. The acquisition of inverse copular sentences and their relationship to cleft sentences.
Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. Passives and raising in Broca’s aphasia: Representation and processing.
Kovelman, I., Hirsch, C., Bachrach, A., Wexler, K., and J. Gabrielli. An fMRI investigation into child and adult processing of verbal and adjectival passives.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2007. The development of inverse copulas (and clefts). Western Conference of Linguistics, San Diego, CA: December 2007.

Hirsch, C., Orfitelli, R., and K. Wexler. 2007. They really seem to be related: Late comprehension of raising without an experiencer and psychological passives. Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition, Barcelona, Spain: September 2007.

Hirsch, C., Orfitelli, R., and K. Wexler. 2006. When seem means think ­ The role of the experiencer-phrase in children’s comprehension of raising. Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition - North America, Montreal, Canada: August 2006.

Hirsch, C., Modyanova, N., and K. Wexler. 2006. Predicting passive acquisition: Environmental factors and biological maturation. Scandinavian Conference of Linguistics, Workshop in Language Acquisition, Aalborg, Denmark: June 2006.

Hirsch, C., Orfitelli, R., and K. Wexler. 2006. Children think seem means think: Raising with and without an experiencer. Scandinavian Conference of Linguistics, Workshop in Language Acquisition, Aalborg, Denmark: June 2006.

Hirsch, C. and J. Hartman. 2006. Semantic constraints on passive comprehension: Evidence for a theory of sequenced acquisition. Latsis Colloquium on Early Language Development and Disorders, Geneva, Switzerland: January 2006.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2006. Acquiring verbal passives: Evidence for a maturational account. Annual Meeting of the Linguistics Society of America, Albuquerque, NM: January 2006.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2005. By the way, children don’t know by. Boston University Conference on Language Acquisition, Boston, MA: November 2005.

Hirsch, C. and J. Hartman. 2005. Some (wh-) questions concerning passive interactions. Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition, Siena, Italy: September 2005.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2005. What children seem to think about seem. Linguistic Institute Workshop: New Horizons in the Grammar of Raising and Control, Cambridge, MA: July 2005.

Hirsch, C., Hartman, J., and K. Wexler. 2005. Some (wh-) questions concerning passive interactions. Lisbon Workshop on Production versus Comprehension in the Acquisition of Syntax, Lisbon, Portugal: June 2005.

Hirsch, C. 2005. Evidence for a maturational theory of passive acquisition: Consensus and controversy. Cognitive Science Lunch Series, MIT, Cambridge, MA: May 2005.

Hirsch, C., and K. Wexler. 2004. Children’s passives and their resulting interpretation. Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America, Honolulu, HI: December 2004.

Hirsch, C. 2004. On the acquisition of A-movement. Cognitive Science Lunch Series, MIT, Cambridge, MA: December 2004.

Hirsch, C. 2004. The PROs of a new theory of rationale clauses. Annual Meeting of the Michigan Linguistic Society, Flint, MI: October 2004.

Warren, T., Gibson, E., Jamieson, M., and C. Hirsch. 2003. Effects of NP type on sentence complexity. North Eastern Linguistics Society, Special Session on Sentence and Speech Processing, Stony Brook, NY: November 2003.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2006. Passives and Clefts: Acquisition and Adult Processing. Latsis Colloquium on Early Language Development and Disorders, Geneva, Switzerland: January 2006.

Hirsch, C. and K. Wexler. 2005. Psychological Passives in Children and Broca's Aphasics. Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition, Siena, Italy: September 2005.

Hirsch, C., and K. Wexler. 2004. Who seems to rescue raising. Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America, Honolulu, HI: December 2004.

Curtis, C., Hirsch, C., and M. D’Esposito. 2002. Maintenance of Spatial Information in the Frontal Cortex During Oculomotor Delayed-Response Tasks. Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco, CA: March 2002.

Direct Teaching: Invited Guest Lectures:

SERVICE: