Phd Candidate in Neurocognitive Linguistics

Neurocognitive mechanisms of hierarchical structures in the narrative grammar of image sequences (PICTREE Project)

GPA: 7.9/10

Thesis: How Mass-Count Syntax Modulates Telicity Interpretation: Evidence From Persian (Grade: 8/10)

GPA : 18.27/20

Thesis: Animal-Based Simile Structures in Persian (Grade: 20/20)

GPA: 16.7/20

GPA: 18.21/20

Lab meeting co-ordinator

Coordinating Visual Language Lab weekly meetings

Teaching assistantship

Course: multimodality and visual language

Research Project Development: language and emotion (PhD Proposal for NWO PhD in Humanities Grant)

Supervised by Dr. Monique Flecken, Dr. Michal Kořenář, and Dr. Pegah Faghiri

Developed a PhD research proposal on grammatical aspect, event construal, and emotional engagement in Persian, designing a multi-method experimental study combining EEG, behavioral, and physiological measures.

Research Assistantship (Publication Project)

Collaboration with VARCAs members on the publication of research conducted within the VARCAS group, focusing on grammatical aspect, event construal, memory and emotion.

Supervisors: Dr. Monique Flecken, Dr. Pegah Faghiri

Conducted an experimental study examining how bare vs. non-bare nominals in object forms in Persian modulates our temporal interpretation of events in Persian native speakers.

Supervisor: Dr. Monique Flecken

Investigated the role of proximative versus progressive grammatical aspects in Persian on memory and mental representations of events.

Research Intern

Research on verb bias in Persian light verb constructions, focusing on the verbs 'Hit' and 'Do'.

Supervisor: Dr. Pegah Faghiri

Research Assistant

Persian Abstract Meaning Representation (PAMR)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Mohammad Bahrani

Developed the PAMR annotation manual and contributed to the creation and annotation of a Persian corpus using PAMR for computational semantic analysis.

Research Assistant

Supervisor: Prof. Yahya Modarresi

Contributed to a Sociolinguistic project on language ideologies and the use of regional accents in Iranian cinema. Conducted semi-structured interviews with directors and audience members; assisted in survey design and data collection on audience perceptions of accent use (humor, stereotyping, authenticity).

Research Assistant

Macro- and Micro-Structure Components in Narratives by Persian-Speaking Children

Supervisor: Dr. Shahla Raghibdoust

Contributed to data preprocessing and analysis and developing Persian versions of the LITMUS-MAIN and CLTs, tools for assessing language development.

Research Intern

Cultural Narratives in Persian Animal-Based Similes

Supervisors: Prof. Koorosh Safavi, Prof. Yahya Modarresi

Conducted discourse and cultural analysis of metaphor and simile in Persian narrative practices, examining cultural meaning and symbolic representation.

Event Boundedness and Object Encoding: Telicity Effects of Mass vs. Count Syntax in Persian

Maryam Torabi, Monique Flecken, Pegah Faghiri

(Under review) Grammatical Aspect Modulates Mental Representation of the Onset and Midpoints of Events

Maryam Torabi, Monique Flecken

(Submitted) Reconstruction of Arguments Involving Interrogative Speech Act: A Pragma-Dialectical Approach

Maryam Torabi

Using Persian Accents and Dialects in Iranian Movies

Maryam Torabi, Golnaz Dezfuli

Colloquial Style in Ebrahim Golestan's Novels

Maryam Torabi

Crosslinguistic Perspectives on Processing and Learning (X-PPL 2025)

oral Presentation

Title: Mass-Count Syntax and Telicity Perception: Evidence from Persian

Tenth European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS 10)

Ninth European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS 9)

Title: Beyond Metaphors: Animal-Based Simile Structures in Persian

Joint conference of the 4th Iconicity Seminar and the 15th International Symposium on Iconicity in Language and Literature(IcoLL2026)

Title: Embodied Viewpoints and Iconicity in Grammatical Aspect: Evidence from Persian Proximative and Progressive Aspect

€50,000 scholarship awarded to pursue MA studies. Granted to 5 students at the Graduate School of Humanities.

National Persian Literature Olympiad Finalist

Ranked 6th in the 20th Iranian nationwide Persian literature Olympiad.

Capital's Persian Literature Olympiad Winner

First place among major universities in Tehran.

Full Tuition Scholarship

Awarded for academic excellence in MA studies.

Graduate Entrance Exam Top Performer

Ranked 21st among over 3,000 candidates nationwide.

Full Tuition Scholarship

Granted for academic excellence during second BA program.

Study Fellowship

€6,000 fellowship awarded for undergraduate studies.

Full Tuition Scholarship

Awarded for academic excellence during first BA program.

National Entrance Exam Top Ranker

Ranked 19th among over 400,000 candidates in the national undergraduate entrance examination.

Migration Support and Guidance

Working with a group of other volunteers, we assist individuals planning to migrate for educational and/or working purposes in making informed decisions, reviewing their documents, and dedicating time to have informal discussions about possible roadmaps.

Text-book Translation

Started translating valuable material on neurolinguistics for Persian-speaking audiences to deliver scientific knowledge to the public.

• Brennan, J. R., & ProQuest (Firm). (2022). Language and the brain : a slim guide to neurolinguistics. 

Oxford University Press.