Russell Barlow

Russell Barlow is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution within the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. His work focuses on endangered languages of Papua New Guinea, particularly within the Keram language family.

His educational background includes:

• PhD in Linguistics (2018), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
• MA in Linguistics (2016), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
• BA in Indo-European Studies (2013), CUNY Baccalaureate
• BA in Film Studies (2006), Wesleyan University

Barlow's research centers on language documentation, historical linguistics, and linguistic typology with a geographical focus on the Pacific region. His fieldwork-intensive approach emphasizes preserving endangered Keram languages like Ulwa, Pondi, and Tomoip. He investigates numeral systems, language contact phenomena between Papuan and Austronesian languages, and morphosyntactic structures including antipassive constructions. His methodology combines traditional fieldwork with computational approaches to language evolution.

His publication record shows consistent output in top linguistics journals with recent work examining numeral colexification patterns, areal loanwords in New Britain, and detailed grammatical descriptions of endangered languages. The publications demonstrate interdisciplinary connections between linguistic typology, cultural evolution, and cognitive science.

As an active member of the Comparative Oceanic Linguistics (CoOL) research group, Barlow has secured significant research funding through Fulbright and DAAD programs. His fieldwork spans Indonesia (Gorontalo State University), Papua New Guinea, and Germany (MPI-SHH in Jena prior to Leipzig).

His research infrastructure includes extensive language archives at SOAS, PARADISEC, and Kaipuleohone, ensuring long-term preservation of endangered language materials. Current projects involve analyzing esoteric numeral systems and cross-linguistic patterns in infix preservation.