Research Areas

• Early Language Development;
• Later Language Development;
• Discourse Analysis;
• Text/Corpus Linguistics

Education

Ph.D. - 2005-2008, Tel Aviv University
Dissertation: Clause Packages as Constructions in Developing Narrative Discourse (supervised by Prof. Ruth A. Berman)

M.A. - 2000-2005, Tel Aviv University
Department: Cognitive Studies/Linguistics
Master Thesis: Syntactic Structure and Informative Content in Developing Narrative Text Construction (supervised by Prof. Ruth A. Berman)

B.A. - 1996-2000, Tel Aviv University
Departments of:
1) Linguistics
2) Interdisciplinary Studies (Cognitive Studies, Translation, French)

Publications

Peer Reviewed Papers

Berman Ruth A. & Bracha Nir-Sagiv. “Linguistic indicators of inter-genre differentiation in later language development”.  Journal of Child Language , 31, pp. 339-380, 2004.

Berman Ruth A. & Bracha Nir-Sagiv.  “Comparing Narrative and Expository Text Construction across Adolescence: Developmental Paradoxes”. Discourse Processes, 43 (2), pp. 79-120, 2007.

Shalom, Tsila & Bracha Nir-Sagiv. “Integrating Technology Into Mother-Tongue Education: Examples from Hebrew”. L1 – Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 7 (2), pp. 121-140, 2007.

Nir-Sagiv, Bracha, Marit Shternau, Ruth A. Berman & Dorit Ravid. “Development of linguistic register in the school-age as a distinguishing factor across modality (writing / speech) and genre (expository / narrative)”. [In Hebrew] Literacy and Language, 1, pp. 71-103, 2008.

Berman Ruth A., Lyle Lustigman, & Bracha Nir-Sagiv. “Discourse analysis as a window on later language development”. Israel Studies in Language and Society, 1, 10-47, 2008. [in Hebrew]

Segall, Osnat, Bracha Nir-Sagiv, Liat Kishon-Rabin & Dorit Ravid. “Prosodic patterns in Hebrew child directed speech”. Journal of Child Language, 36, (3), pp. 629-656, 2009.

Nir, Bracha & Ruth A. Berman. “Complex syntax as a window on contrastive rhetoric”. Journal of Pragmatics, 42, pp. 744–765, 2010.

Ruth A. Berman & Bracha Nir. “The lexicon in speech-writing differentiation: Developmental perspectives”.  Written Language & Literacy, 13 (2), pp. 183-205, 2010. Special issue on Speech, Writing, and Context.

Nir, Bracha & Ruth A. Berman. “Parts of speech as constructions: the case of hebrew ‘adverbs’ ”. Grammar and interaction. New directions in constructional research. Constructions and Frames, 2(2), 2010. Special issue in honor of Charles J. Fillmore, edited by Kiki Nikiforidou and Kyoko Ohara.