Svenja Bonmann

Dr. Svenja Bonmann is an Assistant Professor of Historical-Comparative Linguistics at the University of Cologne's Department of Linguistics. Her work focuses on reconstructing syntactic parameters in Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Indo-Iranian, with a particular interest in linguistic areas, typological comparisons, and undeciphered scripts. She holds a PhD from the University of Cologne (2023) and has held research positions at the Universities of Zurich and Duisburg-Essen. Her research explores Indo-European languages (especially Italic, Germanic, and Iranian), Yeniseian, and Austronesian language families, alongside projects on deciphering ancient scripts like the Kushan trilingual inscriptions.

Education highlights include a Master's in Historical-Comparative Linguistics (University of Cologne, 2016) and a Bachelor's in History and German Studies (University of Duisburg-Essen, 2014). Her awards include the second-place Society for Indo-European Studies dissertation prize (2022) and top thesis awards at both bachelor's and master's levels.

Research interests span theoretical questions about linguistic universals (e.g., 'linguistic periodic table'), substrate influences in Central Asian languages, and syntactic reconstruction methodologies. Recent projects include deciphering the Dašt-i Nāwur trilingual inscription and studying Yeniseian sound systems. She leads the 'Junges Kolleg' fellowship (2025) and collaborates on international projects like the Hellenistic Central Asia Research Network.

Publications focus on Indo-European syntax, Yeniseian phonology, and Central Asian epigraphy. Key contributions include work on the ā-conjunctive in Italic languages, partial decipherment of the Kushan script, and proto-language sound system reconstructions. Her talks address topics like substrate effects in Sogdian and Bactrian, multilingualism in ancient Central Asia, and linguistic connections between the Xiongnu and Huns.

Awards include the best master's thesis award (2016), best bachelor's thesis award (2014), and the 2022 dissertation prize. She actively participates in academic organizations like the Societas Linguistica Europaea and the Indogermanischen Gesellschaft.