Milad Abedi

Milad Abedi is a PhD candidate in Linguistics at the University of Zurich and Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO), Paris, focusing on the cultural history of Sino-Iranian lexical contacts. He has taught Zoroastrian Middle Persian and Middle Iranian languages at the University of Zurich while conducting research on topics including language contact mechanisms and historical Persian grammar.

• PhD in Linguistics (2020–Present), University of Zurich & INALCO, Paris
• MA in Ancient Languages and Cultures of Iran (2015–2019), Allameh Tabataba'i University (Highest Distinction)
• BSc in Cellular-Molecular Biology (2010–2015), Islamic Azad University

His research spans ancient Iranian language contact (Elamite-Iranian, Sino-Iranian, Arabic-Iranian), historical grammar of Persian, and Classical Persian literature. He has published on topics such as kinship term evolution, cuneiform epigraphy, and metonymic phrases in Achaemenid Elamite.

Recent publications highlight his focus on lexical diffusion across Eurasia, with key works on donkey terminology in cross-cultural contexts and the origins of felt words in Iranian languages. His collaborative research with Wolfgang Behr and Samira Müller demonstrates interdisciplinary approaches combining linguistics and archaeology.

• 2021 Travel grant, University of Zurich
• 2016 Travel grant, Allameh Tabataba'i University
• 2016 Top student award, Allameh Tabataba'i University

As a Lecturer at the University of Zurich, he has taught courses on Zoroastrian Middle Persian and historical linguistics. His digital humanities expertise includes ELAN software, GIS, and SQL for language documentation.