Kathryn Franich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Harvard. In her research, she examines the influence of phonological structure on phonetic patterns at the level of speech acoustics, articulation, and perception. She is also interested in the ways that constraints on speech production and perception can shape sound systems in human languages. Her research draws in large part on languages spoken in Central and West Africa, including, especially, Grassfields Bantu languages spoken in Cameroon. Her work explores how cross-linguistic variation and sociocultural patterns are implicated in the structure and evolution of sound systems in language, with a particular interest in metrical structure and rhythm. Dr. Franich received her PhD from the University of Chicago and spent four years as a faculty member at the University of Delaware before coming to Harvard.
Personal Website: http://www.katiefranich.com