Research
Paloma García-Bellido's main research interest has been in the field of theoretical Linguistics. The sequences produced by spoken Spanish and other languages have been taken as data to assess the validity of generative models: autosegmental and metrical models (1997). Her main focus of research has been to find methods of analysis which can answer a basic question: what mechanisms are needed to integrate multiple sensory perceptions and how are these timed to produce a finite motor execution. She has been interested in three phenomena: i) The inhibition and activation of sensory-motor (perceptual and articulatory) similarity (2000), ii) The articulatory variation of a sensory-motor percept depending on whether its function is initial, medial or final in a sequence (rhotic: 2001, palatal 2OO3,Sibilant:2004,svarabhakti 2005, Nasal:2005 a) and iii) the timing of repeats in the production of a sequence (2006). More recently she has pursued research in the genetic causes of developmental language disorders (2009) with special interest in how genes may support functional neural circuits for the reception and execution of time intervals in auditory-oral language (2011, 2012, 2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2019,2022).
Teaching
Spanish phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, language development, disorders. Bilingualism: Spanish and English. The genetic basis of language with Dr Dianne Newbury ( WTCHG and Oxford Brooks University), Dr. Alejo Nevado-Hidalgo (Department of Psychiatry, Oxford Univ.) and Luiz Guidi (DPAG, WTCHG and St John's College)
Selected Recent Publications
Benítez-Burraco, A., Torres-Ruiz, R., Gelabert Xirinachs, P., Lalueza-Fox, C., Rodríguez-Perales, S., and García-Bellido, P. Human-Specific changes in two functional enhancers of FOXP2. Cellular and Molecular Biology 2022,68 (11) 16-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.14715/cmb/2022.68.11.3
Torres-Ruiz, R., Benítez-Burraco,A., Martínez-Lage, M., Rodríguez-Perales, S., García-Bellido, P. (2019) Functional charactertization of two enhancers located downstream FOXP2. BMC Medical Genetics (2019) 20:65. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12881-019-0810-2
Benítez-Burraco, A., Torres-Ruiz, R., Gelabert Xirinachs, P., Lalueza-Fox, C., Rodríguez-Perales, S., and García-Bellido, P. (2017) Human-specific changes in two functional enhancers of FOXP2. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/157016v1
Benítez-Burraco, A., Torres Ruiz, R., García-Bellido, P., et al., (2017). The evolution of the regulatory landscape of FOXP2:Comparative characterization of two functional enhancers in extant vertebrates and extinct hominids. HGM 2017: Human Genome Meeting - From Genomics to Therapy. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0b97a1ae-eba7-47e4-9a9f-8343892ce75b
Torres-Ruiz, R., Benítez-Burraco, A., Martínez-Lage, M., Rodríguez-Perales, S., and García-Bellido P. (2016) Functional genetic characterization by CRISPR-Cas9 of two enhancers of FOXP2 in a child with speech and language impairment. https://doi.org/10.1101/064196
Moralli D, Nudel R, Chan MTM, Green CM,Volpi EV,Benítez-Burraco A,Newbury DF, García-Bellido P. (2015) Language impairment in a case of complex chromosomal rearrangement with a breakpoint downstream of FOXP2. Mol Cytogenet. 2015; 8: 36. Published online 2015 Jun 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13039-015-0148-1
García- Bellido P. and Benítez-Burraco A. (2014) “Time interval integration with a chromosomal translocation affecting 7q31.” Avances en lingüística clínica. I. Moreno Torres-Sánchez, E. Moruno López and S. Madrid Cánovas (Eds). Universidad de Málaga. pp 41-51. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:da334def-a94d-4ba1-9d7c-9bda242f85c6
García-Bellido P, Baghai-Ravary L, Benítez- Burraco A. (2013) “Reproducing speech intervals in the sub-hundred millisecond (ms) range with a translocation in 7q31”. Poster presented at the 4th Annual Oxford Neuroscience symposium. March 20,2013, Oxford, UK. Oxford Research Archive,
https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4df33d21-26e3-4317-b092-ea7d516efca0
García-Bellido P, Baghai-Ravary L, Grau S, Benítez-Burraco A. (2012) Timing language disorders with a chromosomal translocation in 7q31. Poster session presented at The 3rd Annual Oxford Neuroscience Symposium, Oxford, UK. Oxford Research Archive,
https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c45fd03e-c5c7-4f06-b504-5ba58755d5a6
García-Bellido P, Benítez-Burraco A, Park K, Molineaux B. (2011). Timing the integration of utterance duration and task shift in a case of genetic anomaly implicating 7q31 with language disorders. Poster session presented at the Oxford Sound Day, Oxford, UK. Oxford Research Archive,
https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1cd8d130-564a-4ee6-bdbd-a3abd8fdd97c
García-Bellido, P., Benítez-Burraco, A., Roselló, M., Monfort, S., Martínez, F., Oltra, S. & Orellana, C. (2009) A case of Spanish language disorders with a rare genetic cause. In V. Marrero & I. Pineda (Eds.), Linguistics: The Challenge of Clinical Application (pp. 365-370). Madrid: UNED-Euphonia Ediciones. Article Weblink
'El enfoque naturalista de D. Rafael', in Actas del simposio internacional "El legado de Rafael Lapesa", ed. J Satorre Grau and M J Martínez Alcalde (Valencia, 2008), 159-163.
'On the regulatory processes which control the expression of linguistic chunks in Natural Languages.', Journal Of Philology. (Moscow), 1 (22) (2006), 48-69 Article Weblink
'On the Combinatorial Resolutions of Nasality in Modern Spanish', in Antes y después del Quijote en el Cincuentenario de la Asociación de Hispanistas de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda, ed. Robert Archer, Valdi Astvaldsson, Stephen Boyd, Michael Thompson (Valencia: Biblioteca Valenciana, 2005a), 807-823, Article Weblink
'The morphosyntax and syntax of Phonology: The svarabhakti construction in Spanish', Estudios de Lingüística del Español, Vol. 22 (2005), , Article Weblink
'La combinación selectiva de la /S/ en español moderno.', Actas XIII Congreso Internacional Asociación de Lingüística y Filología de América Latina (ALFAL), Edited by Victor Ml. Sánchez Corrales (2004 ISBN 9977-15-120-2 - on CD rom), 361-378, Article Weblink
'On the Neither-Onset-Nor-Coda status of some elements in natural languages', Proceedings of XVII International Congress of Linguists, Prague, (2003, Matfyzpress.Vydavatelství Matemati), ISBN 80-86732-21-5, Article Weblink
'En contra del templete silábico: las antiondas del español', Actas del XIV Congreso de la Associación Internacional de Hispanistas, I (2001), 231-240, Article Weblink
'The syntax of voiced palatals in Spanish', Syntaxis, Vol 3 (2000), 75-109
'The interface between inherent and structural prominence in Spanish', in: Issues in the Phonology and Morphology of the major Iberian languages, edited by D.C. Martínez-Gil & Morales-Front Georgetown University Press, (1997), 469-514
Academic Activities
Developmental language disorders
The aim of this research is to improve our understanding of genetic anomalies that may disrupt brain functions, crucial for speech and language. With such knowledge future intervention can be found to help those who are affected.
FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Awarded a research grant by the John Fell OUP Research Fund (No121/435 Date: January 2013). Ethics approvals: SSD/2/3/IDREC, MSD-IDREC-C1-2012-95, MSD-IDREC-C1-2012-94.
PI:DR P. García-Bellido
Title: Developmental Language disorders: Cytogenetic, fMRI and Linguistic analyses of a Spanish-Valencian bilingual with genetic disorder.
This a European interdisciplinary research project. It counts with the collaboration of experts researching in different relevant areas.
Cytogenetic analysis: Emanuela Volpi and Daniela Moralli (The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford,UK), Identification of genes for specific language disorders: Dianne Newbury (The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford,UK),CRISPR/Cas9 analysis Sandra Rodríguez Perales and Raul Torres Ruiz (Molecular Cytogenetics Group, Centro Nacional Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO) Madrid, Spain)
Gene function: Sheena Lee (Department of Physiology,Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, UK)
Structural and Functional Brain analyses : César Avila (Department of Psychology, University of Castellón, Spain), Saad Jbabdi,(FMRIB Centre, University of Oxford) Alejo Nevado-Holgado (Psychiatry Department, University of Oxford).
Speech recognition and Analysis of Acoustic Dynamics: Ladan Baghai-Ravary (Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics Faculty, Oxford)
Language and genes: Antonio Bénitez-Burraco, Modern Languages Faculty, University of Oxford, UK and Department of Spanish Philology and its Didactics, University of Huelva, Spain) and
Theoretical Linguistics and Spanish linguistic analysis: Paloma García-Bellido ( Modern Languages Faculty and Linguistics, philology and phonetics Faculty, University of Oxford, UK).
- Awarded two research grants by the John Fell OUP Research Fund: Phase I (No 082/994 Date:12 03 2009) Phase II, (No 083/040 Date: 16 07 2009).Ethics approval: SSD/2/3/IDREC. Ended March 2011.
Title: Developmental language disorders: Pilot study of a Spanish-Valencian bilingual with genetic disorder.
PI: DR P Garcia-Bellido
This pilot research, in which the Genetics Unit of the University Hospital La Fe (Valencia, Spain) has participated, will hopefully contribute to the understanding of how genetic anomalies may disrupt brain functions which support speech and language, so that efficient intervention can be found to help those who are affected. This pilot research is part of an ongoing research programme which focus on an interdisciplinary approach by bringing together the expertise of different fields of research to understand how language comprehension and execution is affected by genetic anomalies.
Genes and Language: Antonio Benítez-Burraco (University of Huelva, Spain and University of Oxford, UK),Speech recognition: Ladan Baghai-Ravery and Sergio Grau (Phonetics Laboratory at Oxford, UK), Acoustic analysis: Benjamin Molineaux (Graduate student at Oxford), Statistical analysis: Karen Park (Graduate student at Oxford) and Valencian analysis: S. Xicola and Josep Soler-Carbonell (the Ramon Lull Institute in Oxford) Theoretical linguistics and Linguistic analysis :Paloma García-Bellido.
RESULTS OF THESE PROJECTS
The results of this research have been presented at different international meetings:
- García-Bellido, P., & Benítez-Burraco, A. (2013) "Time interval integration with a chromosomal translocation affecting 7q31." Avances en lingüística clínica. I. Moreno Torres-Sánchez, E. Moruno López and S. Madrid Cánovas (Eds). Universidad de Málaga. pp 41-51( published September 2014). PDF
- García-Bellido, P. “Being bilingual with a genetic anomaly” Talk delivered at The Annual Conference of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland. March 26, 2013, Oxford, UK.
- García-Bellido, P. Baghai-Ravary, L., Benítez- Burraco, A. “Reproducing speech intervals in the sub-hundred millisecond (ms) range with a translocation in 7q31”. Poster presented at the 4th Annual Oxford Neuroscience symposium. March 20,2013, Oxford, UK. Oxford Research Archive,
https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4df33d21-26e3-4317-b092-ea7d516efca0 - García-Bellido, P. “Fundamental problems in Spanish linguistic research”. Talk delivered at The Annual Conference of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland. March 2012, Stirling, UK.
- García-Bellido, P., Baghai-Ravary, L., Grau, S. & Benítez-Burraco, A. (2012) Timing language disorders with a chromosomal translocation in 7q31. Poster session presented at The 3rd Annual Oxford Neuroscience Symposium, Oxford, UK. Oxford Research Archive,
https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c45fd03e-c5c7-4f06-b504-5ba58755d5a6 - García-Bellido, P., Benítez-Burraco, A., Park, K. & Molineaux, B. (2011). Timing the integration of utterance duration and task shift in a case of genetic anomaly implicating 7q31 with language disorders. Poster session presented at the Oxford Sound Day, Oxford, UK. Oxford Research Archive,
https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1cd8d130-564a-4ee6-bdbd-a3abd8fdd97c - García-Bellido, P., Benítez-Burraco, A., Roselló, M., Monfort, S., Martínez, F., Oltra, S. & Orellana, C. (2009) A case of Spanish language disorders with a rare genetic cause. In V. Marrero & I. Pineda (Eds.), Linguistics: The Challenge of Clinical Application (pp. 365-370). Madrid: UNED-Euphonia Ediciones. Article Weblink
Other activities
- Was invited by the Cultural and Scientific Office of the Spanish Embassy in London, the Fundación Española para la Ciencia y Tecnología (FECYT) and the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK (SRUK) to give a talk about "The genetic basis of language" to secondary school students in the Instituto Español Vicente Cañada Blanch in London.
- Was invited to give a public talk at the International Symposium: El Legado de Rafael Lapesa ( Valencia, May 14-16 2008) to celebrate the legacy of one of the most influential scholars in Spanish Philology in the XX century.
- Was invited to give a 10 lecture course at the Universidad de Valencia in the Masters de Estudios Hispánicos: Aplicaciones e Investigación (April 1-11 2008). The course was entitled 'La dinámica combinatoria en la formación de secuencias fonológicas del español moderno'.
- Organised the III ALFAL-NE Asociación de Lingüística y Filología de América Latina del Norte de Europa, on the subject of "Linguistic theories and the biological foundations of human language: a dialogue". Held in Oxford, 21-22 June 2007. Weblink