Nick Danis

Research interests

• Phonology, Optimality Theory, computational and mathematical linguistics, African languages

Academic Positions

Current

• Lecturer, Washington University in St. Louis (since 2019)

Previous

• 2017-2019, Lecturer, Princeton University (10%-60% FTE)
• 2018, Adjunct Professor, Rowan University

Education

• 2017, PhD in Linguistics, Rutgers University
• 2011, MA in Applied Linguistics, Boston University
• 2008, B.A. in Linguistics, cum laude, Boston University
• 2008, B.S. in Film and Television, cum laude, Boston University

Publications

Journal articles

• Jardine, Adam, Nick Danis, and Luca Iacoponi. 2021. A formal investigation of Q-Theory in comparison to Autosegmental Representations. Linguistic Inquiry 52.2. [doi, lingbuzz]
• Danis, Nick. 2020. Yoruba vowel deletion involves compensatory lengthening: evidence from phonetics. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus 60. [doi]
• Danis, Nick. 2019. Long-distance major place harmony. Phonology 36.4. 573-604. [doi, lingbuzz, ROA-1365]

Chapters

• Akinlabi, Akinbiyi and Nick Danis. In press. “Nonlinear representations.” To appear in Adam Jardine and Paul de Lacy (eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Phonology, 2nd edition.

Conference Proceedings

• Danis, Nick and Adam Jardine. 2019. “Q-Theory Representations are Logically Equivalent to Autosegmental Representations,” Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics: Vol. 2 , Article 5. [doi]
• Danis, Nick. 2017. Major place harmony in ABC and the (reduced) role of representation: evidence from Ngbaka. In Karen Jesney, Charlie O’Hara, Caitlin Smith and Rachel Walker (eds.), Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Meeting on Phonology. Washington, DC: Linguistic Society of America. [doi, lingbuzz, ROA-1302]
• Danis, Nick. 2017. Markedness and Complex Stops: Evidence from Simplification Processes. In Shigeki Kaji (ed.), Proceedings of the 8th World Congress of African Languages Kyoto 2015, 25–43. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa. [ROA-1303]
• Danis, Nick, Jonathan Barnes, and Catherine O’Connor. 2012. Downstep and Contour Formation in Medumba: A Prosodic Account. In Michael R. Marlo, Nikki B. Adams, Christopher R. Green, Michelle Morrison, and Tristan M. Purvis (eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project, pp. 22-31. [PDF]

Manuscripts

• Danis, Nick. 2017. Complex place and place identity. PhD Dissertation, Rutgers University. Chair: Akin Akinlabi. [doi, lingbuzz, ROA-1324]
• Danis, Nick. 2014. Deriving Interactions of Complex Stops. Ms., Rutgers University. Second Qualifying Paper. Committee: Alan Prince (Chair), Bruce Tesar, Akin Akinlabi. [ROA-1220, ROA-1221 (OTWorkplace Supplement)]
• Danis, Nick. 2011. The Phonological Word in Medumba. Ms., Boston University. Master’s project.

Edited Volumes

• Danis, Nick, Kate Mesh, and Hyunsuk Sung (eds.). 2011. Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference on Language Development. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.

Presentations

Invited

• Danis, Nick. 2024. Comparing representations: Towards a strong generative capacity for phonology. Invited speaker, RULing 2024, Rutgers University, May 3, 2024. [python supplement]
• Danis, Nick. 2023. Comparing representations: Towards a strong generative capacity for phonology. Invited colloquium, GSAS Circles Talk, Harvard University, February 17, 2023.
• Danis, Nick. 2022. Comparing phonological representations. Invited keynote, Graduate Linguistics Expo at Michigan State (GLEAMS) 2022. Michigan State University, October 28-29, 2022.

Oral

• Danis, Nick. 2022. Natural class-preserving transductions among phonological representations. Workshop on Model-Theoretic Representations in Phonology. Stony Brook University, September 22-24, 2022. [supplemental material]
• Danis, Nick and Adam Jardine. 2019. Q-Theory Representations are logically equivalent to Autosegmental Representations. SCiL, co-meeting with the LSA 2019.
• Danis, Nick. 2016. Major place harmony and the (reduced) role of representation: Evidence from Ngbaka. AMP 2016. USC. October 21-23, 2016.
• Danis, Nick. 2016. Cross-category vowel-consonant interactions in Aghem and Vietnamese. Presented at the University of Chicago Phonology Group, May 13, 2016.
• Danis, Nick. 2015. Markedness and Complex Segments: Evidence from Simplification Processes. 8th World Congress of African Linguistics. Presented Talk. Kyoto University. August 21, 2015.
• Danis, Nick. 2015. A Typology of Complex Segments: Multiple Place Interactions on a Scale. Workshop on Formal Typologies. Rutgers University, May 30, 2015.
• Danis, Nick. 2015. Complex Segments Made Simple: Markedness and Doubly-Articulated Stops. 46th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Presented Talk. University of Oregon. March 27, 2015.
• Danis, Nick, Jonathan Barnes, and Catherine O’Connor. 2011. Downstep and Contour Formation in Medumba: A Grassfields Bantu Language. 42th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Presented Talk. University of Maryland.

Poster

• Danis, Nick. 2024. Logical transductions are not sufficient for notational equivalence. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting on Phonology (AMP) 2024. Rutgers University, November 1-3, 2024.
• Danis, Nick. 2024. Logical transductions are not sufficient for notational equivalence. Poster presented at the 29th Mid-Continental Phonetics and Phonology Conference (MidPhon 29). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, October 4–5, 2024. (See AMP 2024 link for poster PDF.)
• Danis, Nick. 2020. Phonology needs geometry: Implicit axioms in segmental representation. Poster presented at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the LSA.
• Danis, Nick. Cross-category agreement as reference to general dominance. AMP 2018, UC San Diego. Oct 5-7, 2018. Poster. [conf. link]
• Danis, Nick, Jeffrey Heinz and Adam Jardine. 2018. How constraints refer to nothing: The correct notion of substructure for phonology. Poster that was present at the 2018 LSA.
• Danis, Nick. 2018. A theory of cross-category agreement and new evidence for unified place features. Poster that never made it to the 2018 LSA due to inclement weather. See the AMP 2018 version.
• Danis, Nick. 2017. Phonetics of Yoruba vowel deletion: durational evidence for hidden structure. ACAL 48, Indiana University. March 30-April 2, 2017. Poster.

Student Work

• Duggan, Jacob. 2023. Why WUTSL? A Grammar for Wh-Movement and Tier-based Strictly Local Syntax’s Computation Tool. Senior honor’s thesis, Washington University in St. Louis. (primary advisor)
• Calhoun, Adrianna. 2021. Invisible Issues: Exploring the Unspoken Rift Between the Black Community and the Field of Speech-Language Pathology. Senior honor’s thesis, Washington University in St. Louis. (reader)
• Goldberg, Jack. 2021. Phonological treatment of affricates in Yiddish and segmental analysis. Poster presented at CULC 15. (directed study)
• Zhang, Yutong. 2021. A phonological analysis of the word-borrowing process in Volapük. Senior honor’s thesis, Washington University in St. Louis. (primary advisor)
• Goldberg, Jack. 2020. Phonological treatment of affricates in Yiddish. Poster presented at Midphon 25. (directed study)

Teaching

Washington University in St. Louis

• Ling 148 The Linguistics of Constructed Languages
  • Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2024
• Ling 170D Introduction to Linguistics
  • Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Spring 2019, Spring 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025
• Ling 258 Methods in Linguistic Research
  • Fall 2024
• Ling 312 Phonetics
  • Spring 2019, Spring 2020
• Ling 313 Phonological Analysis
  • Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2024
• Ling 317 Introduction to Computational Linguistics
  • Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025
• Ling 427 Computation and Learnability in Linguistic Theory
  • Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2020
• Ling 495 Senior Seminar in Optimality Theory
  • Fall 2023

Princeton University

• LIN201 Introduction to Language and Linguistics (preceptor)
  • Fall 2018; Spring 2018

Rowan University

• CMS 04326 Linguistics
  • Spring 2018

Rutgers University

• 01:615:190 Linguistic Perspectives on Language: Invented Languages
  • Fall 2016; Spring 2016, 2017
• 01:615:201 Introduction to Linguistic Theory
  • Fall 2013 (TA); Spring 2014; Summer 2015

Field Experience

• 2010, Medumba ([byv], Grassfields Bantu, Cameroon): Conducted one month of intensive fieldwork in Yaoundé, Bangangté, and local surrounding villages. Funded by NSF Grant BCS 1026724.

Service

Reviewing

• 2024, Nordic Journal of African Studies
• 2021, Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus
• 2020, Natural Language and Linguistic Theory
• 2018-2020, Phonology
• 2019, Cambridge University Press
• 2017, Oxford University Press
• 2015, Diversity in African languages: Selected papers from the 46th Annual Conference on African Linguistics

Other Education

Summer Programs

• 2021, May 2021 Data Science Boot Camp
  Erdős Institute
• 2010, 3L Summer School on Language Documentation and Description
  Leiden, Netherlands
• 2010, Medumba Intensive Literacy Course
  Comité de Langue pour l’Etude et la Production des Œuvres Bamiléké-Medumba (CEPOM)
  Bangangté, Cameroon
• 2009, LSA Summer Institute
  University of California, Berkeley

Awards

• 2019, Washington University Course Innovation Grant
• 2016, Mellon Summer Study Grant
• 2014, Excellence Fellowship for doctoral study in Linguistics
• 2014, Mellon Summer Study Grant
• 2011-2012, Excellence Fellowship for doctoral study in Linguistics

Skills

Language

• English (native)
• Italian (intermediate to advanced)
• Medumba [byv] (research and field knowledge)
• French, German (academic reading)
• ASL (basic)

Technical

• ◾◾◾◾◾ OTWorkplace/VBA
• ◾◾◾◾◾ Python
  • ◾◾◾◾◽ nltk
  • ◾◾◾◾◽ pandas/matplotlib
  • ◾◾◽◽◽ flask
  • ◾◾◽◽◽ sklearn
  • ◾◾◽◽◽ scipy
• ◾◾◾◾◽ Praat
• ◾◾◾◾◽ LaTeX
• ◾◾◾◽◽ R
• ◾◾◾◽◽ HTML/CSS