about

sk

I am senior lecturer in the Phonetics Lab, Department of Linguistics and English Language and Data Science Institute at Lancaster University. From 2025 I will be associate editor at Journal of Phonetics.

My research investigates the dynamic interplay between structure and variability in the sound systems of human language. I am fascinated by spoken language because it involves the interaction of many complex systems, including the biology of the vocal tract, the physics of sound, the dynamics of the brain, skilled movement, and the sociocognitive dimensions of language. I am particularly interested in modelling the relationship between vocal tract dynamics (motion) and cognitive systems (mind) using conceptual and mathematical tools from dynamical systems and synergetics. This spans a number of topics, including the relationship between high-dimensional phonetic variation and low-dimensional phonology, acoustic-articulatory relations, and sound change. The majority of my work uses a combination of electromagnetic articulography, ultrasound tongue imaging, and computational modelling. I am also interested in using cognitive models of spoken language to solve outstanding questions in speech technology.

I have previously done research on the phonetics of bilingualism, sociophonetic variation, minority languages, and phonetic typology.

Current research

I am currently working on the following projects:

  • Modelling the dynamics of phonetic variation & phonological change (AHRC fellowship, 2024-25)
  • Targets and dynamics in speech (with Patrycja Strycharczuk, AHRC standard grant, 2019-23)