Francesca Di Garbo Francesca Di Garbo, Maîtresse de Conférences AMU – Laboratoire Parole et Langage

Présentation

Short bio

I'm a language typologist, studying the distribution of linguistic diversity in space and time. In my research, I try to understand the synchronic distribution and evolutionary dynamics of morphosyntactic structures of the world’s languages in light of the interplay between general human cognitive abilities and processes of cultural evolution. My domains of expertise include: morphosyntactic typology, nominal classification systems, number systems, Bantu languages, and the comparative study of contact-induced language change.

Since 2022, I am an Associate Professor (Maîtresse de Conférences) at Aix-Marseille University and the CNRS Laboratory Parole et Langage. Together with Annemarie Verkerk, I coordinate the SocioBaGS project, funded by the French and German National Research Foundations. Our research team investigates how Bantu nominal classification systems vary and change in contact situations, and, more specifically, whether processes of change differ depending on whether languages in contact share ancestry.

Since 2019, I am one of the Associate Editors of the Diamond Open Access journal Linguistic Typology at the Crossoroads.

A complete list of publications can be found here.

Teaching

At the Department of Language Sciences at Aix-Marseille University, I teach undergraduate and graduate level courses in morphosyntax, language typology, research methods, and epistemology of linguistic research. Since September 2025, I am the Program Director of the Master’s in Language Sciences

Publications

Article dans une revue (11)

Towards greater social anchoring in language typology Francesca Di Garbo,Kaius Sinnemäki,Eri Kashima Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads, 2026, 5 (2), pp.1-35. ⟨10.60923/issn.2785-0943/19626⟩ Article dans une revue hal-05527659v1
The design principles of a sociolinguistic typological questionnaire for language contact research Eri Kashima,Francesca Di Garbo,Ruth Singer,Olesya Khanina Language Dynamics and Change, 2025, 15 (1), pp.1-103. ⟨10.1163/22105832-bja10035⟩ Article dans une revue hal-04904991v1
Contact effects in nominal number systems Francesca Di Garbo,Panagiotis Kapellis Studies in Language, 2025, ⟨10.1075/sl.24019.dig⟩ Article dans une revue hal-05212430v1
Embracing uncertainty, and the multifaceted soul of linguistic typology: commentary on “Replication and methodological robustness in quantitative typology” by Becker and Guzmán Naranjo Francesca Di Garbo Linguistic Typology, 2025, ⟨10.1515/lingty-2025-0028⟩ Article dans une revue hal-05212418v1
A curated global dataset of social contact between diverse language communities Eri Kashima,Francesca Di Garbo,Oona Raatikainen,Robert Forkel,Rosnátaly Avelinoet al. Scientific Data , 2025, 12, pp.1958. ⟨10.1038/s41597-025-06192-1⟩ Article dans une revue hal-05425133v2
The evolution of gender and number agreement in the noun phrase Olena Shcherbakova,Marc Allassonnière-Tang,Francesca Di Garbo Linguistic Typology, 2025, ⟨10.1515/lingty-2024-0072⟩ Article dans une revue hal-05212398v1
A typological approach to language change in contact situations Kaius Sinnemäki,Francesca Di Garbo,Ricardo Napoleão de Souza,T. Mark Ellison Diachronica, 2024, ⟨10.1075/dia.23029.sin⟩ Article dans une revue hal-04628458v1
Serge Sagna, Cross-categorial classification: Nouns and verbs in Eegimaa Francesca Di Garbo Linguistique et Langues Africaines, 2024, ⟨10.4000/lla.13158⟩ Article dans une revue (compte-rendu de lecture) hal-04506339v1
A sampling technique for worldwide comparisons of language contact scenarios Francesca Di Garbo,Ricardo Napoleão de Souza Linguistic Typology, 2023, ⟨10.1515/lingty-2022-0005⟩ Article dans une revue hal-03984522v1
Sociogeographic correlates of typological variation in northwestern Bantu gender systems Annemarie Verkerk,Francesca Di Garbo Language Dynamics and Change, 2022, 12 (2), pp.155-223. ⟨10.1163/22105832-bja10017⟩ Article dans une revue hal-03955649v1
A typology of northwestern Bantu gender systems Francesca Di Garbo,Annemarie Verkerk Linguistics, 2022, 60 (4), pp.1169-1239. ⟨10.1515/ling-2020-0217⟩ Article dans une revue hal-03955624v1

Communication dans un congrès (1)

Faire de la phonétique dans la vallée du Grand Rift Africain Alain Ghio,Yohann Meynadier,Francesca Di Garbo,Didier Demolin,Michael Karani Journée d'études "Cultures de l’oral :enjeux de la phonétique expérimentale de terrain", Laboratoire de Neuropsycholinguistique, Département des Sciences du langage, Département de Lettres modernes, Cinéma et Occitan, 2024, Toulouse, France Communication dans un congrès hal-04774217v1

Chapitre d'ouvrage (2)

Animacy-based nominal classification in northwestern Bantu and beyond Francesca Di Garbo,Lyne Rahabi,Annemarie Verkerk Ines Fiedler and Lee J. Pratchett. Areas, families, and pools aplenty: a Festschrift for Tom Güldemann, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, pp.163-179, 2025, ⟨10.18452/32624⟩ Chapitre d'ouvrage hal-05156422v1
Contact-induced reduction, loss, and emergence of numeral classifiers Erika Sandman,Francesca Di Garbo Nominal Classification in Asia and Oceania, 362, John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp.161-199, 2023, Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, ⟨10.1075/cilt.362.06san⟩ Chapitre d'ouvrage hal-04322549v1

Autre publication scientifique (1)

GramAdapt Social Contact Dataset Eri Kashima,Francesca Di Garbo,Oona Raatikainen,Rosnátaly Avelino,Sasha Becket al. 2023, ⟨10.5281/zenodo.7508053⟩ Autre publication scientifique hal-04571560v1