SHINAGAWA, Daisuke

Associate Professor, Ph. D.

Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa,
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
3-11-1 Asahi-cho, Fuchu-shi,
Tokyo, 183-8534, Japan

Email: ds[at]aa.tufs.ac.jp

Personal Homepage:

Research interests: Descriptive linguistics on Bantu languages

Descriptive linguistics on Bantu languages and typological studies on Bantu-internal micro-variation

I have been doing linguistic fieldwork on Bantu languages, especially those spoken around Mt. Kilimanjaro (i.e., so-called Chaga languages, a.k.a Kilimanjaro Bantu languages) since 2000. The languages which I have investigated with language consultants include Rwa (E621A), Siha (E621C), Uru (E622D) and Rombo (E623), which were under-described or scarcely described when I started those works. As for Rombo, I conducted a field methods course focusing on the language in ILCAA’s intensive language course held in the summer of 2014. What I have been aiming for in my research are 1) to describe a reference grammar of under-documented Kilimanjaro Bantu languages, 2) to investigate the formal and structural correspondence in order to shed light on the process of historical change as well as the typological variation found within the languages, and 3) to analyze the typological variety from the Cross-Bantu and general typological perspectives. Though it may seem that my research interests tend towards general issues rather than individual facts, my fundamental motive for language description is definitely rooted in the language-specific uniqueness and linguistic diversity.

Recent Interests: Based on previous works on typological micro-variation found within Kilimanjaro Bantu and by collaborating with scholars working on Cross-Bantu morphosyntactic micro-variation, we are going to launch a new project called “Typological study on micro-variation in Bantu languages (phase-2)” in 2016.

Research Poster: (Click to show the whole image.)

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Research Projects:

• ILCAA Joint Research Project “Typological Study of Microvariation in Bantu (2) (jrp000248)”
• ILCAA Joint Research Project “Studies in Asian and African Geolinguistics (jrp000256)”
• ILCAA Joint Research Project “A new perspective on descriptive linguistics in Africa based on the translingual ecology (jrp000268)” (Coordinator)
• ILCAA Joint Research Project “Phonetic typology from cross-linguistic perspectives (jrp000269)”
• ILCAA Joint Research Project “Reconsideration of the tonal typology of Japonic languages (jrp000270)”
• ILCAA Joint Research Project “Global Youth Dynamics and ‘reality’ negotiation in Eastern Africa (jrp000272)”
• Core Project “Description and Documentation of Language Dynamics in Asia and Africa: Toward a More In-depth Understanding of the Languages and Cultures of People Living in Asia and Africa (DDDLing)”

Related Sites

• researchmap individual page
• Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Database individual page
• JSPS Core-to-Core Program (B. Asia-Africa Science Platforms) “Establishment of a Research Network for Exploring the Linguistic Diversity and Linguistic Dynamism in Africa (ReNeLDA)”

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