Abigail C Cohn

About

Abigail C. Cohn is a professor in the Department of Linguistics at Cornell University, with a focus on phonetics and phonology and their interaction through a laboratory phonology approach. Her research investigates the relationship between phonology—the abstract patterning of sounds within a sound system—and phonetics—the physical output of speech. She explores the processes and representations within both fields, emphasizing the mapping between physical sound and abstract sound patterns. In addition to her theoretical work, Cohn focuses on the documentation and analysis of Austronesian languages of Indonesia. Her recent research examines issues of language use and language shift among local Indonesian languages, particularly in the context of increased use of Indonesian. She was a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar during 2012-13, conducting research on language contact and structural shifts in Indonesia. Her scholarly contributions include editing the Oxford Handbook of Laboratory Phonology and authoring chapters and articles on phonological theory, language shift, and the interface between phonetics and phonology.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Linguistics
• Anthropology
• Natural Language Processing
• Economic growth
• Geography
• Computer Science
• Economic geography
• Economics

Selected publications

• The Oxford Handbook of Laboratory Phonology

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2011-12-08 · 221 citations

  bookSenior author

  This handbook, the first specifically dedicated to the laboratory phonology approach, builds on the foundation of knowledge amassed in linguistics, speech research and allied disciplines. With the varied interdisciplinary contributions collected, this handbook advances work in this vibrant field.

  PublisherDOI

• Modeling social factors in language shift

  International Journal of the Sociology of Language · 2016-01-01 · 100 citations

  article

  Abstract This article introduces a quantitative approach to modeling language shift in communities with millions of speakers. Using Indonesia as a case study, and employing a large body of data from the Indonesian population census, we document how factors such as urbanization, ethnicity, economic development, gender, and religion correlate with the shift from local languages (Javanese, Sundanese, etc.) to the national language, Bahasa Indonesia. Our findings inform ongoing research on the socio…

  PublisherDOI

• LOCAL LANGUAGES IN INDONESIA: LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE OR LANGUAGE SHIFT?

  Linguistik Indonesia · 2014-08-21 · 88 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The choice and subsequent development of Bahasa Indonesia as the national language following the founding of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945 is widely cited as a great success story in language planning. With the increased use of Indonesian—both formal (bahasa resmi) and informal (bahasa sehari-hari)—in all facets of daily life, the question arises as to whether Indonesia will continue as a highly multilingual society or move toward monolingualism. We consider this issue from the perspecti…

  PublisherDOI

• Can a language with millions of speakers be endangered

  ANU Open Research (Australian National University) · 2014-01-01 · 51 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The dialogue on language endangerment worldwide has largely focused on languages with small speaker populations, in line with Krauss’s (1992) prediction that any language with a speaker population of less than 100,000 is at risk. The relationship between population size and language vitality is particularly relevant in the Indonesian context, where over 700 local languages have speaker populations that range from single digits to tens of millions of speakers. This paper considers the role of siz…

  Publisher

• Phonetics in Phonology and Phonology in Phonetics

  2012-12-11 · 43 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  In this paper, I explore the relationships between phonology and phonetics and argue that there are two distinct ways that they interact. A distinction needs to be drawn between the way phonetics affects phonology–phonetics in phonology, and the way phonology affects or drives phonetics–phonology in phonetics. The former concerns the way that phonetic effects and constraints are reflected in the phonology, often referred to as naturalness. The latter is the mapping between the units of phonology…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Maya Ravindranath Abtahian

  University of Rochester

  7 shared

• Cécile Fougeron

  Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie

  7 shared

• Marie K. Huffman

  Stony Brook University

  4 shared

• Thomas B. Pepinsky

  4 shared

• Ioana Chițoran

  3 shared

• Sam Tilsen

  2 shared

• Anastasia K. Riehl

  2 shared

• Maya Ravindranath

  University of New Hampshire

  2 shared

Education

• PhD, Linguistics

  UCLA

  1990

Awards & honors

• Fulbright Senior Research Scholar (2012-13)

Similar researchers at Cornell University

• John B. Whitmanh-27
• Mats Roothh-17
• Marten van Schijndelh-16