I am an Assistant Professor of French linguistics at the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, specializing in phonology and its interfaces (morphology, phonetics). I received a PhD in Linguistics from MIT (my academic tree).
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2560-2265Research themes
One important goal in linguistic research is to explain why some patterns are very common across languages whereas others rarely or never occur. For instance, why are [a], [i], and [u] very common in vowel inventories? Linguists have long hypothesized that part of the explanation lies in languages optimizing the resources available to speakers and hearers to ensure an efficient communication. For instance, among all vowels which can be produced by the human vocal tract, [a], [i], and [u] are the most acoustically distinct. If vowel inventories are selected in a way which maximizes the distinctiveness of their component vowels, it is expected that [a], [i], and [u] should occur frequently.
In my research, I take this approach and extend it in two directions:
- beyond static phonological inventories, to account for contextual restrictions on the distribution of sounds (e.g., patterns of allophony and contextual neutralization )
- beyond phonology, to account for the morphological structure of the lexicon (e.g. syncretism, phonologically conditioned allomorphy, homophony avoidance).
I am also interested in how the optimization observed in phonological and morphological patterns interacts with grammar, i.e. whether it is part of grammar as a substantive bias shaping speakers’ productions, as assumed in constraint-based phonology, or only arises as a by-product of transmission across generations, as assumed in usage-based phonology. I tackle this question in a paper comparing the constraint-based and usage-based approach to French liaison.
French plays a prominent role in my work as a testing ground for linguistic theories and I have experience working with a range of French varieties and creoles. I have worked on various topics in French phonology: the loi de position, French liaison, French schwa and the loi des trois consonnes, etc.
Research methods
In my research, I combine theories developed in formal linguistics, experimental and corpus data, and computational modeling. This approach is described in this paper (written in French).
I also have a methodological contribution in statistical modeling. I proposed a method that combines systemic constraints (distinctiveness constraints, anti-homophony constraints) and probabilistic grammars, making it possible to model variable patterns involving contrast enhancement and homophony avoidance.