I was born and raised in Udonthani, Thailand. During my junior and senior years in college, I had the opportunity to work as a Thai and Isaan (a Lao dialect spoken in Northeastern, Thailand) instructor for the US Peace Corps, Thailand. After receiving a B.A. in English from Khon Kaen University, I taught English at a high school in Udonthani before moving with my husband to work for the Mennonite Central Committee in Cambodia. I received my Ph.D in Linguistics from Cornell University in 1997. My doctoral research on acoustic and perceptual investigation of breathy and clear (modal) phonation in Khmer (Cambodian) was supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Research Abroad grant. I am currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Linguistics, University of Florida. My research focuses on cross-language speech perception. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms underlying the formation of non-native phonetic categories among adult second language learners, particularly of lexical tone languages. My current projects are on directional asymmetry in native and non-native lexical tone perception, audio-visual integration in visual speech perception, and effects of reinforcement learning in non-native lexical tone acquisition.
Fun fact: I am a decent cook of Thai and Isaan (Lao) food. I knit, crochet, tat, quilt, sew, etc. I love durian.
Email: ratree@ufl.edu