John T. M. Merrill

John T. M. Merrill is a Lecturer in the Program in Linguistics at Princeton University. He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from UC Berkeley (2018). His research focuses on historical linguistics and language documentation, particularly within the Niger-Congo language family, with emphasis on Atlantic languages such as Sereer, Noon, and Kobiana. He specializes in phonology, morphology, and the evolution of noun class systems and consonant mutation.

Key research interests include linguistic reconstruction, diachronic analysis of West African languages, and the documentation of endangered languages. He has conducted fieldwork in Senegal and the US, producing lexical and grammatical resources for Sereer, Noon, Kobiana, and Wolof. His work intersects with topics like phonological typology, morphosyntactic evolution, and historical sound change.

Merrill has authored/co-authored peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Phonology, Language in Africa, and Diachronica. His 2023 book The Cangin Languages: Phonological and Morphological Reconstruction and Diachrony (Brill) explores the historical phonology of Atlantic languages. He frequently presents at workshops and conferences including the Comparative Niger-Congo Workshop and the Westermann Workshop.

His scholarly contributions bridge historical linguistics and fieldwork-based documentation, emphasizing the interplay between synchronic and diachronic analysis. No scientific awards are explicitly noted in the provided materials.

Merrill maintains active language resources through platforms like the California Language Archive, preserving audio recordings and lexical databases for languages such as Noon and Kobiana. He collaborates with institutions globally to advance the study of underdocumented African languages.