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Professor I Wayan Arka is a leading academic at the School of Culture, History & Language, Australian National University (ANU), with a focus on Austronesian and Papuan languages. He has held leadership roles including Head of Linguistics Program (2014-2021, 2024-present) and Convenor of the Indonesian Language Program (2021-2023). His career spans theoretical linguistics, typology, and language documentation, supported by funding from the ARC, ELDP, and UK AHRC grants. PhD and MPhil in Linguistics (University of Sydney) MA in Applied Linguistics (University of Sydney) His research integrates Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG) with fieldwork on Indonesia's diverse languages, emphasizing community collaboration and digital archiving. Recent projects include the Barrier Islands Project (2023-2027) and Enggano language studies (2019-2024). Key publication themes include: Corpus-based typology and syntactic analysis Computational grammar implementation Orthography development for endangered languages Scientific recognitions: Elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (2021) Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (2022) He supervises research students and contributes to interdisciplinary linguistics teaching, covering syntax, morphology, and Austronesian languages.

• Austronesian languages
• Papuan languages
• Eastern Indonesia
• +8 more

Dr. Claudia Wegener is a Researcher at the Department of Linguistics, University of Cologne, specializing in General Linguistics. Her work focuses on language documentation, speech-gesture interaction, and Papuan/Austronesian languages like Savosavo and Gela. She holds a PhD from Radboud University Nijmegen (2008) and has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Solomon Islands and Malaysia. Previous Positions: Research Assistant, University of Cologne (2017–present) Postdoctoral Researcher at MPI for Psycholinguistics, Radboud University (2002–2011) DoBeS Project Leader for Savosavo documentation Research Interests Her research spans: Socio-linguistic aspects of gesture systems Morphosyntactic typology of Papuan languages Lexical semantics and kinship terminology Documentation methodologies for endangered languages Publications Her work includes a landmark grammar of Savosavo (2012), co-edited volumes on language documentation (2011), and influential articles on gesture studies (2022) and motion event encoding (2022). Projects Leading the Savosavo-Gela Documentation Project (DoBeS-funded) Contributions to MPI's Endangered Languages Documentation Archive Collaborations with Australian National University and University of Manchester Her research bridges linguistic theory with applied documentation, emphasizing community-driven preservation strategies.

• Language Documentation
• Speech-Gesture Interaction
• Morphosyntax
• +6 more

Dr. Katherine Walker is a Researcher in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Cologne, working on the DFG-funded project \"Taking spoken language seriously\" since April 2024. Previously, she completed her PhD at the Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC), Universiteit van Amsterdam (2020-2024), and held academic assistant and student assistant positions at the University of Cologne. Her educational background includes: PhD in Linguistics, Universiteit van Amsterdam (2020-2024) MA in Linguistics, University of Cologne (2017-2019) BA in Linguistics and French, University of Cologne (2014-2017) Dr. Walker's research focuses on syntax and morphology of understudied languages, particularly Papuan languages like Kamang and Tabaq. She investigates indexing phenomena, viewpoint alternation, differential marking, and lexical constraints on grammatical relations, contributing significantly to linguistic typology and language documentation through fieldwork and theoretical analysis. Her publication trends reveal concentrated expertise in Papuan language structures, with recent works analyzing morphosyntactic patterns in Kamang (2024) and nominal systems in Tabaq (2019). The 2025 chapter \"Iha\" for The Oxford Guide to the Papuan Languages extends this focus to phonological and semantic dimensions across the language family. Dr. Walker currently leads DFG project \"Taking spoken language seriously\" and previously collaborated on \"Exceptions rule! Lexical restrictions on grammatical structure\". Her guest research at LACITO (2022) and co-editorship of Open Linguistics special issues demonstrate active engagement in international linguistic discourse and collaborative grant-funded research.

• Linguistics
• Syntax
• Morphology
• +3 more

Dr. Constantijn Kaland is a Lecturer in Word Prosody & Laboratory Phonology at the University of Cologne since 2022, specializing in experimental phonetics and prosodic analysis. His research focuses on Speech production and perception , particularly in Papuan Malay , with interests in Language typology and Acoustic phonetics . He has previously held positions at Utrecht University, Free University of Bolzano, and University of Malta. Education: PhD (2014) in Prosodic marking of semantic contrasts, Tilburg University MA (2009) in Clinical and Experimental Linguistics, Leiden University BA (2007) in General Linguistics, Leiden University His research explores the acoustic correlates of prosody, including fundamental frequency (F0) analysis, stress perception, and the interaction of tone and intonation. Using computational tools like contour clustering, he investigates prototypical F0 patterns and their functional implications in speech processing. Publications span journals such as The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and Journal of Phonetics , focusing on cross-linguistic prosody and speech technology. Dr. Kaland has taught courses on prosody at the University of Cologne, Utrecht University, and University of Malta. His work bridges theoretical and applied phonetics, with methodological contributions to analyzing prosodic patterns in field data.

• Experimental phonetics
• Prosody
• Speech production and perception
• +2 more

Prof. Dr. Nikolaus P. Himmelmann is a Full Professor of General Linguistics at the University of Cologne's Department of Linguistics, part of the Philosophical Faculty. His academic journey includes previous professorships at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and WWU Münster, and a research fellowship at the Australian National University. His research focuses on language typology, grammaticalization theory, prosody, and language documentation, particularly in Austronesian, Papuan, and Australian languages. He leads projects like the SFB 1252 on 'Prominence in Language' and has contributed to the DoBeS documentation initiative. Education highlights include a PhD from the University of Munich and habilitation at Cologne. His work bridges theoretical linguistics with practical fieldwork, emphasizing prosodic systems and cross-linguistic comparison. Recent articles explore differential object marking, prosodic phrasing, and documentation methodologies. Awards include the Georg von der Gabelentz Award 2009 for outstanding contributions to linguistics. Research interests span syntactic typology, prosodic analysis, and the documentation of endangered languages. His projects often involve interdisciplinary collaboration, leveraging audiovisual data mining techniques. Office hours are Tuesdays 2-4 PM, requiring prior appointment via phone.

• Language Typology
• Linguistic Theory
• Language Documentation
• +4 more

Mark Stoneking is an Honorary Professor of Biological Anthropology at the University of Leipzig and a Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. His research focuses on evolutionary genetics, human population history, and the genetic basis of human adaptation. Education: B.A. in Anthropology, University of Oregon (1974–1977) M.S. in Genetics, Pennsylvania State University (1977–1979) Ph.D. in Genetics, University of California, Berkeley (1981–1986) Research Interests: Dr. Stoneking studies genetic diversity in human populations, ancient DNA, and the demographic history of human migrations. His work explores how genetic data illuminate cultural and linguistic patterns, such as the spread of Austronesian languages and the Bantu expansion in Africa. Publications: His recent work includes studies on maternal origins of Southeast Asian populations, ancient genomes in Wallacea, and genetic adaptations to height and metabolism. These studies highlight the interplay between genetic, cultural, and environmental factors in human evolution. Awards: Elected to the National Academy of Sciences USA (2020) Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2000) FBI Award for Service to the Forensic DNA Community (1998) Advising/Grants: Dr. Stoneking has advised numerous students and led projects funded by the Max Planck Society and international collaborations. He has also served on advisory panels for forensic genetics and evolutionary synthesis centers. Labs/Teams: His research is conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, focusing on evolutionary genetics and ancient DNA analysis.

• Evolutionary Genetics
• Human Evolution
• Population Genetics
• +3 more

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.

• Language Documentation
• Historical Linguistics
• Linguistic Typology
• +5 more

Prof. Birgit Hellwig is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Cologne, specializing in language documentation, child language acquisition, and anthropological linguistics. Her research focuses on understudied languages such as Qaqet (Papua New Guinea), Tabaq (Sudan), and Goemai (Nigeria). She holds the Lichtenberg Professorship since 2014, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. Her work integrates fieldwork, corpus linguistics, and cross-linguistic comparison to address issues in language endangerment, acquisition, and typology. Educational Background: PhD (Linguistics) 2003: Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics & Radboud University Nijmegen M.A. (African Linguistics) 1998: Universität Hamburg Research Interests: Language documentation and revitalization Child language acquisition in multilingual contexts Semantic typology of motion events Language contact in West Chadic and Nilo-Saharan languages Corpus-driven linguistic analysis Key Projects: "Documenting child language: The Qaqet Baining of Papua New Guinea" (longitudinal corpus) "The Acquisition Sketch Project" (cross-linguistic documentation framework) Documentation of Tabaq (Nubian) and Katla (Kordofanian) Grants and Funding: Lichtenberg Professorship (2014–present) ARC Discovery Grant for Qaqet language documentation Labs/Teams: Leading the Cologne Language Documentation Group Collaborator in the Language Documentation Reference Corpus (DoReCo)

• Language Documentation
• Language Acquisition
• Anthropological Linguistics
• +3 more

Dr. Sonja Riesberg is affiliated with the Department of Linguistics at the University of Cologne. Her research focuses on theoretical linguistics, language documentation, and the study of Austronesian and Papuan languages. She has contributed significantly to understanding symmetrical voice systems, morphosyntactic alignment, and prosodic structures in understudied languages. Her work integrates fieldwork methodologies with formal syntactic analysis, particularly in regions like Eastern Indonesia and Papua. Key research areas include syntax, morphosyntax, and the documentation of endangered languages such as Yali and Totoli. She has led projects on prominence-related structures in symmetrical voice languages (SFB 05) and prosodic entrainment in multilingual interactions. Notable publications include edited volumes on caused motion events and dictionaries of Yali, reflecting her commitment to both theoretical and applied linguistic research. Her recent work explores differential object marking, valency alternations, and the interface between syntax and prosody. Collaborations with institutions like Asia-Pacific Linguistics and contributions to journals such as Linguistic Typology and Studies in Language highlight her interdisciplinary approach to linguistic inquiry.

• Theoretical Linguistics
• Language Documentation
• Austronesian Languages
• +5 more