[NGBU] Non-explosion and Glottalisation in the Basin of the Ubangi
Ente: EC
Scadenza: 2030-08-31
Importo max: 388.294 EUR
Paese: EU
Descrizione
NGBU investigates how non-explosion and glottalisation vary, emerge, and evolve in human speech. These sound classes, which include labial-velar and implosive stops, remain poorly understood, despite their importance for phonetic typology, phonological theory, and models of language evolution. As things stand, not only do accounts diverge on whether these sounds share the same articulatory bases and represent primordial or emergent phenomena, but current research is fragmented, limited to single-language case studies, and unable to integrate phonetic microvariation with diachronic reconstruction.
NGBU addresses this gap through a targeted, interdisciplinary case study in the Ubangi River Basin (Central African Republic), a key linguistic convergence zone where glottalised and non-explosive sounds are uncharacteristically widespread. Combining fieldwork, instrumental phonetics, phonological modelling, and comparative-historical reconstruction, the project will deliver the first large-scale cross-linguistic study of these phenomena in Central Africa. Five Research Objectives structure the action, as I aim to: (RO1) develop a microvariationist phonetic protocol from a multimodal dataset (with acoustic, electroglottographic, aerodynamic, static-palatographic evidence); (RO2) assess multilingual outcomes in Sango; (RO3) test competing feature- vs. gesture-based phonological models; (RO4) reconstruct the diachronic emergence of the target sounds, triangulating linguistic, archaeological, and genetic evidence; and (RO5) synthesise all findings into a unified account of glottalisation and non-explosion.
Through strategic mobility between Ghent and Tokyo, NGBU combines complementary expertise to advance fundamental knowledge of speech origins and variability. Additionally, it provides urgently needed documentation in a region severely affected by language endangerment, and offers pioneering insights into the interconnection of phonetics, phonology, and language history.
Settori: Horizon Europe Topics
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