Darya Kavitskaya

Darya Kavitskaya serves as Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where she also holds the position of Undergraduate Advisor. Previously, she was faculty at Yale University's Department of Linguistics from 2001 to 2011.

Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Linguistics from UC Berkeley (2001) and a dual B.A. in Linguistics and Slavic Languages and Literatures from the same institution (1995).

Professor Kavitskaya's research focuses on phonological theory, particularly contrast, opacity, syllable structure, sonority, and phonotactics, with specialized expertise in palatalization and vowel harmony. Her phonetics work examines acoustic and articulatory properties of trills and distinctive features, while her field linguistics research spans Slavic languages (Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech), Turkic languages (Crimean Tatar), and Uralic languages (Tundra Nenets).

Her publication record reveals consistent exploration of sound change mechanisms, particularly in Slavic palatalization processes, and systematic documentation of endangered language features in Crimean Tatar and Tundra Nenets. The research demonstrates sophisticated integration of synchronic phonetic variation with diachronic phonological change.

As Undergraduate Advisor, Professor Kavitskaya provides academic guidance to students pursuing studies in Slavic languages and linguistics at UC Berkeley.