Wencke Ophaug

Wencke Ophaug is an Associate Professor Emerita at the University of Oslo's Faculty of Humanities, Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies. Her research focuses on phonetics, particularly singing phonetics and German language studies. She has contributed extensively to understanding vowel articulation, consonant realization, and IPA transcription challenges in classical singing across German, Scandinavian, and Finnish languages. Ophaug is affiliated with the research group 'Phonetics Fanatics' and has been involved in projects like the Telemann Project. Her work bridges linguistics and musicology, addressing practical vocal performance issues and historical phonological developments.

Key research interests include the interplay between speech and singing phonetics, vowel modification in classical singing, and cross-linguistic challenges in vocal performance. She has authored/co-authored articles on topics like laterals in singing, Scandinavian IPA transcription, and German rhotacism in vocal contexts. Her career spans over four decades, with contributions to academic reviews and pedagogical approaches in foreign language pronunciation.