My research is in phonology, investigated through in-depth fieldwork on individual languages and using the data to analyze theoretical and typological topics. I have also collaborated with researchers in both phonetics and psycholinguistics. My main interests are long-distance consonant and vowel harmony and tone.
I primarily work on African languages, specializing in Heiban (Kordofanian) languages of Sudan and Semitic languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea. I have also worked with speakers of Somali, Bari, and Frafra.
In Semitic, I have studied the phonetics and phonology of ejectives and guttural consonants, featural affixation (palatalization and labialization) and reduplication. The analysis of the distribution of ejective consonants led to the development, with Rachel Walker, of the Agreement-by-Correspondence theory applied to consonant harmony; the language Chaha featured prominently in that work. Other Semitic languages I have worked on include Muher, Endegen, Tigre and Tigrinya.
My research on the Kordofanian Heiban language, Moro, was funded by a National Science Foundation grant. With colleagues, we investigated the distribution of tone and its interaction with syllable structure, affix order and and intonation. Other topics included vowel harmony, [-voice] dissimilation, ideophones, and morpho-syntax, including wh-questions, case and clausal structure. A co-authored grammar of Moro with Peter Jenks, Angelo Naser and Elyasir Julima will be published with Language Science press.
Along with several students, I am currently working on two Heiban languages of Sudan: Rere (also known as Koalib), with Titus Kunda and Tira with Himidan Hassen.
A Grammar of Thetogovela Moro (co-authored with Peter Jenks, Elyasir Julima and Angelo Naser). To appear. Language Science Press
Perception of musical pitch by speakers of tone languages - with Sarah Creel, Michael Obiri-Yeboah, Samuel Akinbo, Samuel Asitanga and Yaya Yadoma. We are investigating whether speakers of African tone languages show a musical melody pitch processing advantage, as has been reported for East Asian languages such as Mandarin. Results show that speakers of Akan (level 2-tone language) do not show an advantage compared to speakers of East Asian languages. Our more recent results show that other languages with more tone contrasts do show the effect.
Creel, Sarah, Michael Obiri-Yeboah & Sharon Rose. 2023. Language-to-music transfer effects depends on the tone language: Akan vs. East Asian languages. Memory and Cognition.
Grammatical tone in Rere (Koalib) and Tira. with Klaus Kim (Rere) and Himidan Hassen and Nina Hagen Kaldhol (Tira), we are investigating the tone patterns of participant marking in verbs in Rere and Tira.
"Tone patterns of object marked verbs in Rere" presented at the 50th Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics at Leiden University (online). 2020
"Tira participant marking: the role of tone" presented at the Annual Conference on African Linguistics 51 at the U. of Florida (online) (w/ Himidan Hassen and Nina Hagen Kaldhol). 2021
Wh-questions in Tira. Tira is similar to Moro in allowing in-situ and ex-situ wh-questions. However, the ex-situ questions require the subject to appear post-verbally, and effectuate alternate agreement patterns.
"A′-satisfaction with φ-interaction in Tira" (w/ Himidan Hassen & Peter Jenks) presented at the 40th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. 2022
"Content questions in Tira" (w/ Himidan Hassen, Nina Hagen Kaldhol & Peter Jenks) presented at the 10th World Congress of African Linguistics, Leiden University. 2021