My primary research interests are language acquisition and language loss. I want to know how children learn language and how adults sometimes lose language. I also investigate the way in which these mechanisms shape language variation and change, particularly in the context of Icelandic case marking.

Selected talks, posters & publications

Nowenstein, I. & Sigurjónsdóttir, S. 2022. A case for exceptions: Acquiring Icelandic dative productivity. Poster presentation at the 47th BUCLD, November 3-6.

Nowenstein, I., Ingason, A.K. & Wallenberg, J. 2022. Conditioned Variation: Children Replicate Contrasts, not Parental Variant Rate. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 28(2), 14.

Angantýsson, Á., Nowenstein, I. & Thráinsson, H. 2021. English-like V3 orders in matrix clauses in Icelandic. Working Papers in Scandinavian Syntax, 106, 17-46.

Sigurjónsdóttir, S. & Nowenstein, I. 2021. Language acquisition in the digital age: L2 English input effects on children’s L1 Icelandic. Second Language Research, 37(4), 697–723.

Nowenstein, I. & Ingason, A.K. 2021. Featural dynamics in morphosyntactic change. In J.G. Jónsson & Th. Eythórsson (eds.), Syntactic features and the limits of syntactic change, p. 301–320. Oxford University Press.

Nowenstein, I. 2019. Losing matrix V2 in Icelandic: Evidence from Heritage speakers. Invited talk at an AcqVA V2 workshop, University of Oslo, October 22-23.

Guðmundsdóttir, D., Nowenstein, I. & Sigurjónsdóttir, S. 2019. Changing Variation: Diffuse Directionality in Icelandic Subject Case Substitution. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 25(1), 13.

Sigurðsson, E., Nowenstein, I. & Sigurjónsdóttir, S. 2019. Merge before Agree: Acquiring datives in Insular Scandinavian. Talk at the 34th CGSW workshop, University of Konstanz, June 14-15.

Nowenstein, I., Thráinsson, H. & Magnúsdóttir, S. 2018. Sentence comprehension in Heritage Icelandic: The effect of age-related decline. Talk at the TALV workshop, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, April 19-20.

Arnbjörnsdóttir, B., Thráinsson, H. & Nowenstein, I. 2018. V2 and V3 orders in North-American Icelandic. Journal of Language Contact, 11(3), 379–413.

Nowenstein, I. 2017. Determining the nature of intra-speaker variation. In H. Thráinsson, C. Heycock, Z. Svabo & H. P. Petersen (eds.): Syntactic Variation in Insular Scandinavian, p. 92–112. John Benjamins.

Wood, J., Sigurðsson E.F. & Nowenstein, I. 2017. Inverse Attraction in Icelandic Relative Clauses. In H. Thráinsson, C. Heycock, Z. Svabo & H. P. Petersen (eds.): Syntactic Variation in Insular Scandinavian, p. 200-232. John Benjamins.

Sigurjónsdóttir, S. & Nowenstein, I. 2016. Passives and the “New Impersonal Construction” in Icelandic Language Acquisition. In L. Perkins, R. Dudley, J. Gerard & K. Hitczenko (eds.): Selected Proceedings of the 6th Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America, p. 110-121. Cascadilla Press.

Nowenstein, I. 2014. Intra-speaker Variation in Subject Case: Icelandic. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 20(1), 28.