Ana Teresa Pérez-Leroux recognized by Canadian Linguistic Association

Ana Teresa Pérez-Leroux, a professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has been recognized with a 2025 National Achievement Award by the Canadian Linguistic Association (CLA).

The annual award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of linguistics, and who has earned distinction in the Canadian linguistics community.

Pérez-Leroux’s research seeks to understand how both monolingual and bilingual children learn the syntax and semantics of the smallest components of sentence grammar. She teaches courses on language acquisition, Spanish grammar and bilingualism, and has served on the editorial boards of multiple journals.

“I'm pleased to congratulate Professor Ana T. Pérez-Leroux on this well-deserved recognition," said Stephen Wright, acting dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. "Her contributions to research, education and the advancement of Hispanic linguistics are exceptional. Her work is especially meaningful at this point in history, given the growing role of Spanish across North America.”

“Before coming from the States, I very much admired Canada’s cultural openness to multilingualism, and the beautiful tapestry of languages that cities like Toronto have to offer," said Pérez-Leroux. "U of T has been a fantastic place to grow my research and teaching. While I am truly honoured to receive the 2025 CLA National Achievement Award, the truth is that I owe it all to others: generous mentors, amazing colleagues, and the best students in the world.”