Jason Riggle

Jason Riggle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Chicago, serving as Director of the Chicago Language Modeling Lab and Resident Dean of The Max Palevsky Residential Commons. He holds a PhD from UCLA (2004) and has taught at UChicago since 2004. His research focuses on computational linguistics, phonology, and learnability, particularly exploring how models of grammar and learning predict linguistic typology. He investigates articulatory frequencies across languages, dialects, and contexts, with special attention to phonetic and phonological patterns.

Recent courses include Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, The Language of Deception and Humor, and Computational Models in Phonology. His work spans theoretical frameworks like Optimality Theory and computational methods for analyzing sign languages (e.g., ASL fingerspelling), with publications on topics such as vowel harmony, constraint-based grammars, and linguistic universals. Riggle’s research emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, combining formal models with empirical data to address questions in phonological typology and learnability.

His academic contributions include co-editing The Handbook of Phonological Theory (2nd ed., 2011) and developing tools like Erculator for constraint-based phonology. No scientific awards are listed in the provided materials, though his extensive publication record reflects sustained academic impact. Riggle advises students in phonetics, computational linguistics, and related fields, though specific advisee names are not detailed here.