Kathryn Franich

Kathryn Franich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Harvard University and director of the Harvard PhonLab. She is affiliated with the Mind, Brain, Behavior faculty initiative and the Center for African Studies. Her research focuses on phonological structure, phonetic patterns, and prosodic variation across languages.

• Academic Background: PhD from University of Chicago
• Previous Affiliation: Faculty at University of Delaware (2016-2020)

Research interests include:

• Interaction of metrical structure, rhythm, and tone in African languages
• Timing dynamics in speech and co-speech gestures
• Speech prosody in autism spectrum disorder
• Language-music interface across cultures

Recent publications analyze temporal coordination in Niger-Congo languages, articulatory gesture dynamics, and prosodic patterns in Medʉmba. She has ongoing projects examining cross-linguistic rhythm typology and prosodic biomarkers in ASD.

Advising and Collaborations:

• Advisees include Katie Garvin (postdoc), Victor Nwosu, William Dych
• Collaborative work with researchers at University of Chicago, University of Delaware
• Labs directed: Harvard PhonLab