Marit Kristine Richardsen Westergaard (born 12 August 1956) is a Norwegian linguist, known for her work on child language acquisition and multilingualism.
She defended her PhD thesis The Development of Word Order in Norwegian Child Language: The Interaction of Input and Economy Principles in the Acquisition of V2 at the University of Tromsø in 2005.
[15] Westergaard is also the author of the Micro-cue Model of L1 acquisition, arguing that children are sensitive to fine distinctions in syntax and information structure from early on (micro-cues).
The model is currently receiving increased attention, resulting in invitations as keynote speaker and contributor to handbooks.
[16][17][18] In cooperation with Antonella Sorace and Bilingualism Matters at the University of Edinburgh, Westergaard runs an advice and information service called Flere språk til flere for bilingual families and the general public, based on current research in the field.