MAIN INTERESTS IN THE STUDY OF MINORITY AND ENDANGERED LANGUAGES IN ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN OF AFRICA:
- Language documentation and description
- Sociolinguistics
- Anthropological linguistics
- Language classification
- Historical linguistics
EDUCATION:
Leiden University Department of African Languages and Cultures, The Netherlands
PhD in African Languages and Cultures
− Dissertation: A Grammar of Ts’amakko (defended on 10 October 2005)
− Supervisors: Prof. Maarten Mous and Prof. Thilo Schadeberg
− Co-Supervisor: Dr. Maarten Kossmann
− Members of the jury: Prof. Mauro Tosco (external reader), Prof. Bernd Heine,
Prof. Hans-Jürgen Sasse, Prof. Harry Stroomer, Dr. Aone Van Engelenhoven and Dr. Azeb Amha
Leiden University Centre for Non-Western Studies, The Netherlands
Advanced Master's in Non-Western Studies, 1998-1999
− Preparation of the PhD research proposal A Grammar of Ts’amakko
− Supervisor: Maarten Mous
Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale", Naples, Italy
MA in Oriental Languages and Civilisations - Africa stream, 1992-1997
− Dissertation: Il Lessico Relativo all'Ensete (Ensete ventricosum) in Chaha-Gurage (Etiopico Meridionale) (“The lexicon of the Ensete (Ensete ventricosum) in Chaha-Gurage (Southern Ethiopic”)
− Supervisor: Mauro Tosco
− Result: 110/110 cum laude
RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS AND CONTRACTS:
April 2016-April 2018: Postdoctoral researcher - Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale", Naples, Italy
− Project title: The documentation of Nara (Nilo-Saharan, Eritrea): grammar, dictionary and texts
− Supervisor: Prof. Giorgio Banti, Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale", Naples, Italy
April-May 2016: Temporary research contract - Hamburg University/ Volkswagen
Foundation: DoBeS, Documentation of Endangered Languages
− Project title: The documentation of Bayso (Cushitic) and Haro (Omotic): two Afroasiatic endangered languages of the Abbaya Lake in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.
− Supervisor: Prof. Mechthild Reh, Hamburg University
September-November 2015: Temporary research contract - Hamburg University/ VolkswagenvFoundation: DoBeS, Documentation of Endangered Languages
− Project title: The documentation of Bayso (Cushitic) and Haro (Omotic): two Afroasiatic endangered languages of the Abbaya Lake in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.
− Supervisor: Prof. Mechthild Reh, Hamburg University
June 2015: Temporary research contract - University of Turin
− Project title: The Edition of a Grammar of Dizi (Ethiopia) by Father Giovanni Toselli.
− Supervisor: Prof. Mauro Tosco, University of Turin
January 2015: Temporary research contract - Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale", Naples, Italy
− Project title: A Website on the Material Culture in Danger of the Ongota (Ethiopia), Oromo (Ethiopia) and Kulango (Ivory Coast)
− Supervisor: Prof. Gianfrancesco Lusini, Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale", Naples, Italy
August 2014: Temporary research contract - Hamburg University/ Volkswagen Foundation: DoBeS, Documentation of Endangered Languages
− Project title: The documentation of Bayso (Cushitic) and Haro (Omotic): two Afroasiatic endangered languages of the Abbaya Lake in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.
− Supervisor: Prof. Mechthild Reh, Hamburg University
July 2014: Temporary research contract - Hamburg University/ Volkswagen Foundation: DoBeS, Documentation of Endangered Languages
− Project title: The documentation of Bayso (Cushitic) and Haro (Omotic): two Afroasiatic endangered languages of the Abbaya Lake in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.
− Supervisor: Prof. Mechthild Reh, Hamburg University
2013-2015: Postdoctoral fellowship - Volkswagen Foundation: DoBeS, Documentation of Endangered Languages (based at Hamburg University, Germany and Llacan, France)
Main applicant, principal investigator and project team coordinator
− Project title: The documentation of Bayso (Cushitic) and Haro (Omotic): two Afroasiatic endangered languages of the Abbaya Lake in the Ethiopian Rift Valley
− Supervisor: Prof. Mechthild Reh, Hamburg University
2010-2012: Postdoctoral fellowship - Recherche de haut niveau, City of Paris (based at Llacan, France)
Main applicant and principal investigator
− Project title: A Grammar of Ongota, an Endangered Language with Seven
− Supervisor: Dr. Martine Vanhove, Llacan, France
2008-2010: Postdoctoral fellowship - ELDP: Hans Rausing Endangered LanguagesDocumentation Project - School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (based at L’Orientale University, Naples, Italy)
Main applicant, principal investigator and project team coordinator
− Project title: The Documentation of Ongota: A Linguistic Isolate of a Hunter Gatherer Community in Southwest Ethiopia
− Supervisor: Giorgio Banti, Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale", Naples, Italy
RESEARCH GRANTS:
WOTRO/NWO, The Netherlands 2001
− Project title: A Grammar of Ts’amakko
LUF, The Netherlands 1999
− Project title: A Grammar of Ts’amakko
POSITIONS:
Adjunct Professor in Linguistics, 2010-2011
Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
TEACHING:
Instructor
Workshop Methodological Paths for the Documentation and the Preservation of Ethiopian Languages and Cultures, June 2017
Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale", Naples, Italy
Instructor in the Training Course on Cultural Values (Language Diversity) in Ethiopia, May 2017
Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism
PRO-HE-DEV Promoting Heritage for Ethiopian Development
Instructor in African Linguistics, spring 2010
Università degli Studi di Napoli “L'Orientale", Naples, Italy
Associate Professor in Linguistics, 2008-2010
Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Instructor, Addis Ababa University; PhD course Multimedia Language Documentation fall 2010, spring 2011
Instructor, Addis Ababa University; MA course Field Methods spring 2010
Instructor, Addis Ababa University; PhD course Practical Issued in Language Documentation fall 2008, spring and fall 2009, spring 2010
Instructor, Addis Ababa University; MA course Language and Culture Documentation fall 2008, spring and fall 2009, spring 2010
Instructor, 3L International School on Language Documentation and Description, Leiden University Centre for Linguistics; Practical Issues in Doing Documentary Fieldwork spring 2010
Instructor, Italian Community School in Addis Ababa; teachers’ training Gli studenti madrelingua amarica della Scuola Italiana di Addis Abeba e i loro errori di italiano (Amharic mother tongue student at the Italian School in Addis Ababa and their mistakes speaking Italian) spring 2009 (June)
Instructor, Italian Community School in Addis Ababa; teachers’ training Gli studenti madrelingua amarica della Scuola Italiana di Addis Abeba e i loro errori di italiano (Amharic mother tongue student at the Italian School in Addis Ababa and their mistakes speaking Italian) spring 2009 (March)
Research Assistantship
Agence Nationale de la Recherche, France 2013-2016
− Project title: CorTypo: Designing spoken corpora for cross-linguistic research
Agence Nationale de la Recherche, France 2007-2011
− Project title: CorpAfroAs: Corpus oral en langues Afroasiatiques - analyse prosodique et morphosyntaxique
Dreiköningaktion, Austria 2009 and 2007
− Project title: The Omopedia: Language and Culture of the Hamar of the L'Orientale University, Naples, Italy 2006
− Project title: Documentazione dell’ongota
L'Orientale University, Naples, Italy 2000
− Project title: Linguistic Atlas of the Omo Valley and Adjoining Areas
Lower Omo River Valley
SERVICE AND ACTIVITIES
Article and Abstract Peer-reviewing
− Rassegna di Studi Etiopici
− Journal of Ethiopian Studies
Head Organiser of Conferences and Colloquia
- 1st Conference La Metodologia della Ricerca sul Campo in Africa: Esperienze di Dottorandi e Giovani Ricercatori dell'Orientale di Napoli (July 2008, L’Orientale University, Naples, Italy)
- 4th International Conference of Cushitic and Omotic Languages (July 2003, Leiden University)
- 1st International Symposium on Ethiopian Morphosyntax in an Areal Perspective (May 2001, Leiden University)
Conference Panel Organizer
- Studi Italiani in Africa a 50 anni dall'Indipendenza “Lingua e Cultura in Africa” (September 2010, L’Orientale University, Naples)
Board Member
- -Rassegna di Studi Etiopici
- -Journal of African History, Politics, and Society
FIELDWORK EXPERIENCE (OVERVIEW)
Various fieldwork periods spanning from two weeks to six months for
language data collection, recording, elicitation, transcription and annotation on minority and endangered languages of South Ethiopia.
Chaha-Gurage (Ethiosemitic, two months)
Ts’amakko and, marginally, other Dullay dialects (Cushitic, eleven months)
Ongota (Unclassified, six months)
Hamar (Omotic, two-and-a-half months)
Bayso (Cushitic, five months)
Haro (Omotic, one month)
LANGUAGES
Italian: Mother tongue
Sicilian: Mother tongue
English: Excellent
French: Very good
Amharic: Good
Dutch: Fair
Spanish: Fair
German: Read
COMPUTER SKILLS
- Linguistic tools such as Toolbox, Praat, Elan, Elan-Corpa, Ukelele and Keyman
- Audio and video digital editing tools
- Basic technical skills in software, hardware and network management
- Windows (all versions) and Pack Office
- Mac OSX (all versions) and Pack iWork
- Web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari)
- Web designing (Sandvox, Webpage Maker and notions of HTML)