Theoretical and Applied Linguistics (https://www.phonetics.mmll.cam.ac.uk)
Faculty of Modern & Medieval Languages & Linguistics
University of Cambridge
Raised Faculty Building
Sidgwick Avenue
Cambridge
CB3 9DA
Brechtje's research centres on how linguistic systems exploit speech sounds to convey different types of meaning. Her focus is primarily on prosody: intonation, accentuation, rhythm, and phrasing.
Drawing on a variety of disciplines (phonetics, phonology, psycholinguistics, cognitive neuroscience, and computational linguistics), this research addresses questions like:
- How do prosodic structures differ cross-linguistically, and how do linguistic systems constrain prosodic structure?
- What cross-linguistic variation can we expect to observe in the phonetic realisation of prosodic structure?
- What are the neural and cognitive underpinnings of prosody?
- How do children acquire the relevant mappings between phonetics, phonology, and other parts of the linguistic system that are at play?
- What role does prosody play in language learning in early and late bilinguals?
Her current research includes an international collaboration investigating the acquisition of timing in child speech (British Academy/Leverhulme), the English Profile Pronunciation Project with Cambridge ESOL, Empirical Foundations of Linguistics (Agence Nationale de la Recherche), and Neural Correlates of Intonation (ESRC and Cambridge Humanities Research Grant).
Recent publications include:
- Post, Brechtje and Elinor Payne (in press). Speech rhythm in development : What is the child acquiring ? In Prieto, Pilar and Núria Esteve-Gibert (eds.). Prosodic Development in First Language Acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
- Leemann, Adrian and Brechtje Post (2017). Multiplicity of cues and functions in prosody. Laboratory Phonology Special Collection
- Avanzi, Mathieu, Anne Catherine Simon, and Brechtje Post (2016). La prosodie du français : accentuation et phrasé. Language Française, 191.
- Post, Brechtje, Emmanuel Stamatakis, Iwo Bohr, Francis Nolan, and Chris Cummins (2015). Categories and gradience in intonation. An fMRI study. In J. Romero and M. Riera (eds.) The Phonetics/Phonology Interface: Sounds, representations, methodologies. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 259 – 284. doi 10.1075/cilt.335-13pos
- Lammertink, Imme; Casillas, Marisa; Benders, Titia; Post, Brechtje; and Fikkert, Paula. (2015). Dutch and English toddlers' use of linguistic cues in predicting upcoming turn transitions. Frontiers in Psychology: Language Sciences 6: 495.
- Schmidt, Anke-Elaine, and Post, Brechtje. (2015). The development of prosodic features and ambient language effects in simultaneous bilinguals. Language and Speech 58(1), 24 - 47.
- Li, Aike and Post, Brechtje (2014). L2 Acquisition of prosodic properties of speech rhythm: Evidence from L1 Mandarin and German learners of English. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 36(2), 223-255.
Details of Brechtje's graduate supervision can be found here.
Brechtje teaches phonetics, phonology, morphology, and psycholinguistics.
Dr Post welcomes inquiries from potential MPhil and PhD students with research interests relevant to her interests.
Phonetics, phonology, and psycholinguistics
Brechtje's research centres on how linguistic systems exploit speech sounds to convey different types of meaning. Her focus is primarily on prosody: intonation, accentuation, rhythm, and phrasing.
Drawing on a variety of disciplines (phonetics, phonology, psycholinguistics, cognitive neuroscience, and computational linguistics), this research addresses questions like:
- How do prosodic structures differ cross-linguistically, and how do linguistic systems constrain prosodic structure?
- What cross-linguistic variation can we expect to observe in the phonetic realisation of prosodic structure?
- What are the neural and cognitive underpinnings of prosody?
- How do children acquire the relevant mappings between phonetics, phonology, and other parts of the linguistic system that are at play?
- What role does prosody play in language learning in early and late bilinguals?
She has also published on: L1 acquisition of segmental properties, speech perception in noise, L2 pronunciation assessment, transcription and methodology for prosodic research, and morphological processing in speech comprehension.
Brechtje welcomes inquiries from potential MPhil and PhD students with research interests relevant to hers.
Selected recent publications:
- Post, Brechtje, and Samantha Jones (2020). Similarity and contrast in L1 pronunciation attrition in bilinguals. C. Gabriel, A. Pešková, M. Selig (eds.) Contact, variation, and change in Romance and beyond. Studienreihe Romania (StR).
- Graham, Calbert and Brechtje Post (2019). Constancy and variation in speech: Phonetic realisation and abstraction. Special Issue Phonetica 76 (2-3), 83-234.
- Scharenborg, Odette, Sofoklis Kakouros, Fanny Meunier, and Brechtje Post (2019). Cross-linguistic Influences on Sentence Accent Detection in Background Noise. Language and Speech.
- Post, Brechtje and Elinor Payne (2018). Speech rhythm in development : What is the child acquiring ? In Prieto, Pilar and Núria Esteve-Gibert (eds.). Prosodic Development in First Language Acquisition, 125-143.
- Leemann, Adrian and Brechtje Post (2017). Multiplicity of cues and functions in prosody. Special Collection Laboratory Phonology 8 (1).
- Avanzi, Mathieu, Anne Catherine Simon, and Brechtje Post (2016). La prosodie du français : accentuation et phrasé. Language Française, 191.
- Post, Brechtje, Emmanuel Stamatakis, Iwo Bohr, Francis Nolan, and Chris Cummins (2015). Categories and gradience in intonation. An fMRI study. In The Phonetics/Phonology Interface: Sounds, representations, methodologies, 259 – 284.
Further information:
https://www.phonetics.mmll.cam.ac.uk/staff/professor-brechtje-post
