general research interest.
- speaker & speaking variability and learning
- typoplogy of linguistic voice quality / phonation types and tonal feature composition
- dialectology, areal typology and (socio)linguistic accomodation
- ethnography and linguistic anthropology of endangered language communities
- phonetic lab work (EPG, EGG, ultrasound, aerodynamics)
- articulatory and physiological investigation in linguistic phonetic fieldwork (EPG, EGG, ultrasound, aerodynamics)
- human linguistic & paralinguistic vocal behaviour and phonetics of throat singing, throat games, overtone singing
current projects
- areal typology of glottalization and pharyngealization in the area of the Caucasus and Transcaucasus (including languages like Ingush, Bezhtl'a, Tsez, Dargwa, Avar, Georgian, Svan, Kurdish) [joint work with Don Stilo (MPI EVAN Leipzig)]
- phonetics and tonology of Ket [joint work with Ed Vajda (Western Washington U)]
- phonetic-phonemic variation in Vilela [joint work with Lucia Gallucio (U Buenos Aires) and Juliette Blevins(MPI EVAN Leipzig)]
- gemination and sibilants in Bangla (Bengali) [joint work with Arunkumar Ghosh, (Burdwan University)]
- phonetic description of Gata', Bonda & Santali (Munda languages in CE-India) [joint work with Arunkumar Ghosh, Burdwan University]
- phonetic structures of Dargwa [initially joint work with Helma van den Berg(†)]
- phonetic description of Ghulfan [joint work wit Robert S. Williams (The American University in Cairo)]
- phonetic structures of Tsez, Beshtl'a [joint work with M. Khalilov (AcadSc Makhachkala, Daghestan), I. Maddieson (U New Mexico), A. Simpson (U Jena)]
- varieties of Tofa, Tuvan, Khakas [joint work with K. David Harrison (Swarthmore Coll) and Gregory D. Anderson (Living Tongues I)]
- phonetics (ejectives, phonation types, laryngeal-velar coordination) of Western !Xóõ [joint work with Christfried Naumann (MPI EVAN Leipzig)]
- prosodic and morphophonemic features in NE-Thuringian (Mansfelder Mundart) and N-Saxonian (Ostmeissnisch)[ongoing data collection and description, joint field work Christoph Walter]
- acoustic-phonetic correlates of rhythmic features [joint work with René Schiering (U Leipzig), Ines Bose(U Halle)]
Fieldwork:
- Tuva 1998, 2000, 2001 (Tyvan)
- Khakassia 1998, 2000 (Khakas)
- Tofalaria 2001, 2002 (Tofa)
- Mongolia 2002 (varieties of Tyvan in Mongolia)
- Germany 2004, 2005, 2007 (Saxonian and Thuringian varieties of German)
- India 2006 (Santali, Gata', Bangla)
- Namibia 2006 (Western !Xóõ)
- Egypt 2007 (Ghulfan, a language from Sudan)