ㄎㄜ  ㄧ  ㄌㄢˊ

柯禕藍　Kellen Parker van Dam, PhD  

Hello!

My name is Kellen Parker van Dam, 又叫作 柯禕藍. I am a linguist specialising in Sino-Tibetan languages in the far Eastern Himālaya along the India / China / Myanmar border. I mostly work on historical phonology, language documentation, tonogenesis& tonoexodus, linguistic typology, the history of migration & social contact, the role of geography & maps in the context of language description, and the use of computational methods to those ends.
I also co-founded Phonemica (乡音苑), a platform for crowd-sourced oral history and linguistic documentation.
I am actively engaged in community-focused capacity building including development and management of workshops in and around Notheast India.
The languages I work with most are part of the Patkaian ("Northern Naga") branch within Sino-Tibetan, including Tangsa-Nocte and Khiamniungic, however I'm also involved with a handful of communities elsewhere in Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh.
This page serves as a snippet of a résumé for the purpose of making myself a little more searchable, for those who may be interested in the relevant research topics. I am always happy to talk to new people with an eye toward the Eastern Himālaya.
To get in touch, see the links at the bottom of the page.
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current positions

Chair assistant / Akademischer Rat auf Zeit (Assistant Professor equivalent)

Lehrstuhl für Multilinguale Computerlinguistik (MCL)
2023.10

Associate Academic Director

Center for Cultural-Linguistic Diversity – Eastern Himalaya (CCLD-EH)
2020.01

Adjunct Research Fellow

Department of Languages & Cultures
La Trobe UniversityMelbourne, VIC, AU
2019.04

upcoming talks

2025

Dam, K. P. van. (2025) Computational methods for identification of roots and forms in Maltese verbs. Għaqda Internazzjonali tal-Lingwistika Maltija. (GĦILM9). Heinrich-Heine-Universität. Düsseldorf, DE.
computationalhistoricalSemiticMaltese
—(2025) On the independence of tonogenesis in Northern Naga branches with new evidence from Khiamniungan. 58th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics - Workshop on Advances in Sino-Tibetan Historical-Comparative Linguistics. (ICSTLL58). University of Bern, Department of Linguistics. Bern, CH.
tonetonogenesisPatkaianKhiamniunganWanchoTangsa

recent works

Below are some of my talks and papers since 2024.

conferences

2025

Dam, K. P. van. (2025) Phonetic realisation of ⟨r⟩ in Tangsa-Nocte varieties and the influence of community interpretations in orthography development. R-ATICS 8. L-Università ta' Malta. Valletta, MT.
historicalTangsaNoctean
—(2025) The texts of the Moka Garden Embroidery Mission in early 20th century Sūzhōu & Chángzhōu. Discussions on Legacy Materials – opportunities and challenges for descriptive linguistics. (DiLegMa). University of Bern, Department of Linguistics. Bern, CH.
legacy materials
Dam, K. P. van, Nieder, J., Thaam, K.(2025) An L1-Focused Approach To Concept Elicitation And Identification In Northeast India. 13th International Conference of North East Indian Linguistics Society. (NEILS13). Nagaland University. Kohima, NL, IN.
documentationTibeto-Burman
Levy, A., Sakhamo, T., Dam, K. P. van. (2025) Porba Chokri: A phonological analysis. 13th International Conference of North East Indian Linguistics Society. (NEILS13). Nagaland University. Kohima, NL, IN.
Naga languagesChokri

2024

Dam, K. P. van, Rupini, M.(2024) Substratum effects in modern Rupini Kok Is there evidence for a non-Tibeto-Burman origin of Old Rupini?. International Seminar on Kokborok as a look out of Literature & Linguistics. Department of Kokborok, Government Degree College Khumulwng. Tripura, IN.
historicalKokborokRupini Kok
Dam, K. P. van. (2024) Hidden compounds and the importance of diachrony in synchronic description: The case of Khiamniungan. 21st International Congress of Linguists. (ICL2024). Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie. Poznań, PL.
historicalKhiamniunganWolam
—(2024) Understanding J. F. Needham’s 19th century description of Muishaung as a record of language change in the Eastern Himalaya. Legacy materials as data sources for language description and documentation. Université Paris Cité. Paris, FR.
historicallegacy materialsTangsa
Sakhamo, T., Dam, K. P. van. (2024) The Structure of Chokrimi Society in Porba Village, Nagaland. First International Conference on Social Sciences. (ICSS-1). Tharananellur Arts & Science College. Kerala, IN.
Naga languagesChokri
Thaam, K., Meyan, S., Thangjiu, M., Dam, K. P. van. (2024) Topographical sensitivity of verbs for “to go” in Thang, Wolam & Pounyiu. 4th International Conference of Tibeto-Burman Linguistics Association of North East India. (ICTiBLANEI-4). The English and Foreign Languages University. Shillong, ML, IN.
typologyKhiamniunganWolamThangPounyiu

invited talks

2025

Dam, K. P. van. (2025) Tonal Frontiers: Reconciling descriptive linguistic fieldwork with modern computational analyses. Phon Brown Bag series. National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Hsinchu, TW.
tonetonogenesis
—(2025) Investigating tone in an undocumented language at the Burmese border. Linguistics Circle Seminar. L-Università ta' Malta. Msida, MT.
tone
—(2025) Legacy materials as a tool for modern documentation in the Northeast. Keynote, 5rd International Conference of Tibeto-Burman Linguistics Association of North East India (ICTiBLANEI-5). North East Hills University. Tura, ML, IN.
legacy materials

2024

—(2024) Novel computational methods for analysing languages: What Bayesian inference can and can not tell us about Kokborok. Keynote, International Seminar on Kokborok as a look out of Literature & Linguistics. Tripura, IN.
computational
—(2024) Multilingual Computational Linguistics. Summer School of Linguistics. České Budějovice, CZ.
computational
—(2024) Computationally-focused fieldwork with under-described languages. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Leipzig, SN, DE.
computationaldocumentation
—(2024) Bridging the gap between computational methods and language documentation. Universität Regensberg. Department of General and Comparative Linguistics. Regensburg, BY, DE.
computationaldocumentation

recent publications

forthcoming

Dam, K. P. van(forthcoming). On the Independence of Tonogenesis in Patkaian Branches. In: Bradley, D., Taylor, J. (Ed.) Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area.vol. 48:2.John Benjamins.
tonetonogenesisPatkaian
@article{vandam2025tonogenesis,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {On the Independence of Tonogenesis in Patkaian Branches},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area},
	editor = {Bradley, D. and Taylor, J.},
	volume = {48},
	number = {2},
	publisher = {John Benjamins}
}
—(forthcoming). Nasal coda loss in Northern Naga: Revising W. T. French’s *–Vŋ rimes. In: Vaak Manthan.vol. 10:2.SEL India.
historical
@article{vandam2025nasalcoda,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {Nasal coda loss in Northern Naga: Revising W. T. French’s <em>*–Vŋ</em> rimes},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {Vaak Manthan},
	volume = {10},
	number = {2},
	publisher = {SEL India}
}
Thaam, K., Dam, K. P. van(forthcoming). De-Intensifying Intensifiers in North Khiamniungan. In: Bradley, D., Taylor, J. (Ed.) Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area.vol. 49:1.John Benjamins.
intensifiersKhiamniungan
@article{thaam2026deintensifying,
	author = {Thaam, K.and Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {De-Intensifying Intensifiers in North Khiamniungan},
	year = {2026},
	journal = {Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area},
	editor = {Bradley, D. and Taylor, J.},
	volume = {49},
	number = {1},
	publisher = {John Benjamins}
}
Dam, K. P. van, Thaam, K.(forthcoming). Wolam Ngio, a Khiamniungic variety of Nagaland. In: Longmailai, M., and Cin, Z. N. (Ed.) Lesser Known Languages of Northeast India.New Delhi: Mittal Publications.
PatkaianKhiamniunganWolam
@article{vandam2025wolam,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van and Thaam, K.},
	title = {Wolam Ngio, a Khiamniungic variety of Nagaland},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {Lesser Known Languages of Northeast India},
	editor = {Longmailai, M. and and Cin, Z. N.},
	publisher = {Mittal Publications},
	address = {New Delhi}
}
Dam, K. P. van, (forthcoming). Patkaian (Northern Naga). In: Hildebrandt, K., Modi, Y., Peterson, D., Suzuky, H. (Ed.) The Oxford Guide to the Tibeto-Burman Languages.Oxford University Press.
Patkaian
@incollection{vandam2025patkaian,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {Patkaian (Northern Naga)},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {The Oxford Guide to the Tibeto-Burman Languages},
	editor = {Hildebrandt, K. and Modi, Y. and Peterson, D. and Suzuky, H.},
	publisher = {Oxford University Press}
}
Dam, K. P. van, Rupini, M.(forthcoming). Substratum effects in modern Rupini Kok: Is there evidence for a non-Tibeto-Burman origin of Old Rupini?. In: Proceedings of the International Seminar on Kokborok as a look out of Literature & Linguistics.
Rupini Kok
@inproceedings{vandam2025substratum,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van and Rupini, M.},
	title = {Substratum effects in modern Rupini Kok: Is there evidence for a non-Tibeto-Burman origin of Old Rupini?},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {Proceedings of the International Seminar on Kokborok as a look out of Literature & Linguistics}
}
Dam, K. P. van, (forthcoming). Novel computational methods for analysing languages: What Bayesian inference can and can not tell us about Kokborok. In: Proceedings of the International Seminar on Kokborok as a look out of Literature & Linguistics.
computational
@inproceedings{vandam2025novel,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {Novel computational methods for analysing languages: What Bayesian inference can and can not tell us about Kokborok},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {Proceedings of the International Seminar on Kokborok as a look out of Literature & Linguistics}
}

2025

Snee, D., Ciucci, L. Rubehn, A., Dam, K. P. van, List, M.(2025). Unstable Grounds for Beautiful Trees? Testing the Robustness of Concept Translations in the Compilation of Multilingual Wordlists. In: 7th Workshop on Research in Computational Linguistic Typology and Multilingual NLP (SIGTYP). 10.48550/arXiv.2503.00464
typology
@inproceedings{snee2025unstable,
	author = {Snee, D. and Ciucci, L. Rubehn, A.and Dam, K. P. van and List, M.},
	title = {Unstable Grounds for Beautiful Trees? Testing the Robustness of Concept Translations in the Compilation of Multilingual Wordlists},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {7th Workshop on Research in Computational Linguistic Typology and Multilingual NLP (SIGTYP)},
	doi = { https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2503.00464}
}
Rubehn, A., Rzymski, C., Ciucci, L., Dam, K. P. van, Kučerová, A., Bocklage, K., Snee, D., Stephen, A., List, M.(2025). Annotating and Inferring Compositional Structures in Numeral Systems Across Languages. In: 7th Workshop on Research in Computational Linguistic Typology and Multilingual NLP (SIGTYP).10.48550/arXiv.2503.01625
computational
@inproceedings{rubehn2025annotating,
	author = {Rubehn, A. and Rzymski, C. and Ciucci, L.and Dam, K. P. van and Kučerová, A. and Bocklage, K. and Snee, D. and Stephen, A. and List, M.},
	title = {Annotating and Inferring Compositional Structures in Numeral Systems Across Languages},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {7th Workshop on Research in Computational Linguistic Typology and Multilingual NLP (SIGTYP)},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2503.01625}
}
Inman, D., Chousou-Polydouri, N., Vuillermet, M., Dam, K. P. van, Easterday, E., Rose, F., Witzlack-Makarevich, A., Baetscher, K., Cocaud-Degrève, O., Graff, A., Hardegger, S., Huber, T., Hong, T., Krasovskaya, D., Luffroy, R., Muheim, N., Müller, A., Nogina, A., Perrot, D., Steiger, M., and Bickel, B.(2025). The Areal Typology of Languages of the Americas (ATLAs) database. In: Scientific Data.vol. 12:1.pp. 1-11.
typology
@article{inman2025atlas,
	author = {Inman, D. and Chousou-Polydouri, N. and Vuillermet, M.and Dam, K. P. van and Easterday, E. and Rose, F. and Witzlack-Makarevich, A. and Baetscher, K. and Cocaud-Degrève, O. and Graff, A. and Hardegger, S. and Huber, T. and Hong, T. and Krasovskaya, D. and Luffroy, R. and Muheim, N. and  Müller, A. and Nogina, A. and Perrot, D. and Steiger, M. and and Bickel, B.},
	title = {The Areal Typology of Languages of the Americas (ATLAs) database},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {Scientific Data},
	volume = {12},
	number = {1},
	pages = {1--11}
}
Dam, K. P. van, Kelim Mossang, W.(2025). A Classified Account of J. F. Needham’s ‘A Collection of a Few Môshâng Naga Words’. In: Journal of Asian and African Studies.vol. 2025:109.pp. 111-145. 10.57275/ilcaajaas.2025.109_111
legacy materials
@article{vandam2025classified,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van and Kelim Mossang, W.},
	title = {A Classified Account of J. F. Needham’s ‘A Collection of a Few Môshâng Naga Words’},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {Journal of Asian and African Studies},
	volume = {2025},
	number = {109},
	pages = {111--145},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.57275/ilcaajaas.2025.109_111}
}
Vuillermet, M., Inman, D., Chousou-Polydouri, N., Dam, K. P. van, Easterday, S.(2025). Is there a typological profile of isolates?. In: Investigating language isolates: Typological and diachronic perspectives.John Benjamins. 10.1075/tsl.135.01vui
typology
@incollection{vuillermet2025isolates,
	author = {Vuillermet, M. and Inman, D. and Chousou-Polydouri, N.and Dam, K. P. van and Easterday, S.},
	title = {Is there a typological profile of isolates?},
	year = {2025},
	journal = {Investigating language isolates: Typological and diachronic perspectives},
	publisher = {John Benjamins},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.135.01vui}
}

2024

Dam, K. P. van(2024). Preparing Acoustic Pitch Data for Computational Analysis and Presentation. In: Computer-Assisted Language Comparison in Practice.vol. 7:2.Universität Passau. 10.15475/calcip.2024.2.4
tone
@article{vandam2024preparing,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {Preparing Acoustic Pitch Data for Computational Analysis and Presentation},
	year = {2024},
	journal = {Computer-Assisted Language Comparison in Practice},
	volume = {7},
	number = {2},
	publisher = {Universität Passau},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.15475/calcip.2024.2.4}
}
Sakhamo, T., Dam, K. P. van(2024). Social Structure of Porba. In: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Social Sciences (ICSS – I).Tharananellur Arts & Science College. 10.5281/zenodo.14017612
Naga languagesChokri
@inproceedings{sakhamo2024porba,
	author = {Sakhamo, T.and Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {Social Structure of Porba},
	year = {2024},
	journal = {Proceedings of the First International Conference on Social Sciences (ICSS – I)},
	publisher = {Tharananellur Arts & Science College},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14017612}
}
List, J.-M., Dam, K. P. van(2024). EDICTOR 3. A web-based tool for Computer-Assisted Language Comparison. In: Proceedings of the 5th Workshop on Computational Approaches to Historical Language Change.pp. 1-11. Bangkok: Association for Computational Linguistics.
computationaltools & resources
@article{list2024edictor,
	author = {List, J.-M.and Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {EDICTOR 3. A web-based tool for Computer-Assisted Language Comparison},
	year = {2024},
	journal = {Proceedings of the 5th Workshop on Computational Approaches to Historical Language Change},
	pages = {1--11},
	publisher = {Association for Computational Linguistics},
	address = {Bangkok}
}
Dam, K. P. van(2024). Implementing Fuzzy Spelling Search in Dictionaries of Under-Described Languages Lacking Standard Orthographies. In: Computer-Assisted Language Comparison in Practice.vol. 7:2.Universität Passau. 10.15475/calcip.2024.1.5
computationaltools & resources
@article{vandam2024fuzzy,
	author = {Dam, K. P. van},
	title = {Implementing Fuzzy Spelling Search in Dictionaries of Under-Described Languages Lacking Standard Orthographies},
	year = {2024},
	journal = {Computer-Assisted Language Comparison in Practice},
	volume = {7},
	number = {2},
	publisher = {Universität Passau},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.15475/calcip.2024.1.5}
}