Anna Laoide-Kemp
Thesis title: Initial consonant mutation in Irish

PhD Linguistics
Year of study: 2
- Linguistics and English Language
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
Contact details
- Email: anna.laoide-kemp@ed.ac.uk
PhD supervisors:
Background
I have a diverse academic background, having initially studied theoretical physics and mathematics in university before moving into linguistics for my master's degree. While doing my master's, I became interested in the phenomenon of initial consonant mutation in the Celtic languages. I wrote my MPhil dissertation on this topic, looking at how interactions between grammatical modules could be modelled within the framework of Optimality Theory. I am currently working towards a PhD, continuing my research into the theory of Celtic initial consonant mutation, but this time with a focus on whether it could be compatible with a modular approach to grammar.
Qualifications
MPhil Linguistics (Trinity College Dublin): An Optimality Theory Approach to Initial Consonant Mutation in Modern Irish
MASt Mathematics (University of Cambridge)
BA (Hons) Theoretical Physics (Trinity College Dublin): Nonlinear Electromagnetism in General Relativity
Responsibilities & affiliations
Co-chair of LELPGC22 (6th-8th June 2022)
General Secretary of Language Lunch @ Edinburgh (2021-2022)
Undergraduate teaching
In 2022/23 I am tutoring on the following courses:
- LEL2A: Linguistic Theory and the Structure of English (LASC08017)
- PPLS Skills Centre: one-on-one academic writing appointments
In 2021/22 I tutored on the following courses:
- LEL1B: Linguistics and English Language 1B (LASC08023)
- LEL2D: Cross-Linguistic Variation: Limits and Theories (LASC08020)
Research summary
Linguistic theory, Celtic linguistics, phonology, morphology, modularity, interactions between grammatical modules
Current research interests
I am studying initial consonant mutation (ICM) in Irish and the other Celtic languages. ICM consists of the systematic phonological alternation of word-initial consonants in a range of morphosyntactically defined environments. It is of interest to theoretical linguistics because of its apparent incompatibility with a modular approach to grammar: that is, the view that components such as phonology, morphology and syntax operate without reference to one another. My PhD project begins with the most restrictive hypothesis - namely, that these modules are distinct and independent from one another - and investigates whether the Irish ICM data is consistent with this hypothesis. So far, the results of my analysis suggest that the Irish ICM is not necessarily incompatible with a strictly modular grammatical system, although some additional assumptions may need to be made.Organiser
I co-chaired the Linguistics and English Language Postgraduate Conference 2022 (LELPGC22), which was held in the University of Edinburgh, 6th-8th June 2022.
Papers delivered
I presented a poster entitled "Irish initial consonant mutations: disentangling phonology from morphosyntax" at ACTL summer school 2022 in York.