Katalin É. KISS

Katalin É. KISS is a Research Professor at the Institute for Historical and Uralic Linguistics at Eötvös Loránd University and a distinguished member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Her academic career spans over five decades with extensive contributions to the field of linguistics, particularly in syntactic theory, diachronic syntax, and Uralic languages research. She maintains an active research profile with numerous publications appearing through 2025.

Professor KISS's research interests encompass syntactic theory, diachronic syntax, the syntax of Hungarian and Uralic languages, the evolution of finite subordination in Uralic, information structure, and the emergence of structural focus positions in Old Hungarian. Her work bridges theoretical linguistics with historical language change, demonstrating how grammatical structures evolve across centuries. She has made significant contributions to understanding the relationship between word order, information structure, and grammaticalization processes in Hungarian and related languages.

Her recent publications reveal a consistent focus on diachronic syntactic change, particularly examining Hungarian dialects (especially Moldavian Hungarian), Uralic language comparison, and grammaticalization phenomena. The pattern across her work shows a sophisticated integration of theoretical syntax with historical linguistics, often drawing connections between seemingly disparate phenomena in language change. Her research frequently addresses how language contact influences grammatical development, with particular attention to Balkan linguistic influences on Hungarian varieties.

• Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Professor KISS has been instrumental in establishing the Diachronic and Comparative Syntax Research Group at the Institute for Historical and Uralic Linguistics. Her work has significantly shaped Hungarian linguistic scholarship, including co-authoring the influential New Hungarian Grammar with Ferenc Kiefer and Péter Siptár. She has supervised numerous academic projects focused on documenting endangered Uralic languages and analyzing historical Hungarian texts. Her research continues to explore the intricate relationships between syntax, information structure, and historical change across language families.

Professor KISS maintains strong connections with international linguistic communities through the Uralic Information Centre and has extensive collaborations with scholars across Europe. Her laboratory work focuses on comparative syntactic analysis of Uralic languages, with particular emphasis on documenting grammatical structures in endangered varieties. Current projects include the Hanti database (KhDB) and continued investigation into the evolution of focus and topic marking in Hungarian historical stages.