Tihomir Rangelov
Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
phone: +49 (0) 341 3550 263
e-mail: tihomir_rangelov@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de
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About me
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution and a member of theComparative Oceanic Linguistics (CoOL) group.
My main research interests are language documentation, description and maintenance, Oceanic languages and the languages of Vanuatu in particular, historical linguistics, phonetics and phonology, linguistic typology and narrative techniques. I have been working on the Ahamb language, spoken on Malekula Island, since 2017. Since 2022, I have been conducting a linguistic survey of Espiritu Santo Island and working towards a detailed description of the Nokuku language. I work with data from these and other languages with a focus on using comparative methods in identifying patterns in the structures of the languages of Vanuatu, the Pacific and the world. The goal is to document new linguistic data, contribute to existing linguistic and evolutionary theories, and assist the communities of speakers of these endangered languages to maintain and revitalise their traditional knowledge and linguistic competence. I also use my filmmaking skills in achieving these goals.
Previously I worked on North Germanic languages (Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Old Norse), phonetics and phonology and machine translation. I am passionate about cycle touring, high mountains and volcanoes, adventure travel and all things outdoors.
Curriculum Vitae
| 2017-2021 | PhD in Linguistics. University of Waikato, New Zealand. Thesis title: “A grammar of the Ahamb language (Vanuatu)” |
| 2009-2013 | MA in Computational Linguistics. University of Iceland/University of Reykjavík. hesis: “Apertium-is-sv: Rule-based machine translation between Icelandic and Swedish.” |
| 2005-2008 | BA in Icelandic Studies. University of Iceland. Major: Icelandic; Icelandic Phonetics and Phonology. BA thesis (in Icelandic): “Fortis and lenis stops: On voice onset time in Icelandic, Swedish and Bulgarian.” |
| 2000-2007 | MA in Scandinavian Studies. Five-year course at Sofia University. Major: Swedish, Phonetics and Phonology; Minor: Danish, Scandinavian literature. MA thesis (in Swedish): “The plosives in Swedish and Icelandic: A comparative analysis from a synchronic viewpoint.” |
Publications & Presentations
Rangelov, T., Walworth, M., & Barbour, J.(2023). A multifaceted approach to understanding unexpected sound change: The bilabial trills of Vanuatu’s Malekula Island. Diachronica,40(3), 384-432. |
Open AccessRangelov, T. R.(2020). A grammar of the Ahamb language (Vanuatu). PhD Thesis, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. |
Rangelov, T.(2019). The bilabial trills of Ahamb (Vanuatu): Acoustic and articulatory properties. In S. Calhoun, P. Escudero, M. Tabain, & P. Warren ( | |
Rangelov, T., Bratrud, T., & Barbour, J.(2019). Ahamb (Malekula, Vanuatu) — Language Contexts. Language Documentation and Description,16, 86-126. |
2025
Rangelov, T., Ridge, E., & Takau, L.(2025). Introduction to the three Special Issues on Vanuatu languages. Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(2), 1-6. Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal_article/introduction-to-the-three-special-issues-on-vanuatu-languages/. | |
Rangelov, T., Ridge, E., & Takau, L.(2025). Introduction: Vanuatu languages in action. Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(3), 1-4. Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal_article/introduction-vanuatu-languages-in-action/. | |
Rangelov, T., Ridge, E., & Takau, L.(2025). Linguistics in Vanuatu 45 years after independence. Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(2), 31-78. Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal_article/linguistics-in-vanuatu-45-years-after-independence/. | |
Ridge, E., Rangelov, T., & Takau, L.(2025). Introduction: Vanuatu language structures. Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(4), 1-3. Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal_article/introduction-vanuatu-language-structures/. | |
Ridge, E., Rangelov, T., & Takau, L.(2025). Introduction: Vanuatu languages in context. Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(2), 27-30. Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal_article/introduction-vanuatu-languages-in-context/. | |
Takau, L., Rangelov, T., & Ridge, E.(2025). Introdaksen long trifala Spesel Isiu wetem ol samari long Bislama. Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(2), 7-26. Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal_article/introdaksen-long-trifala-spesel-isiu-wetem-ol-samari-long-bislama-introduction-to-the-three-special-issues-and-summaries-in-bislama/. | |
Taman, A., Taman, S., & Rangelov, T.(2025). Language ecosystems in Western Santo. Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(2), 186-245. Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal_article/language-ecosystems-in-western-santo/. | |
Vanuatu language structures [Special Issue].(2025). Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(4). Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal/current-issue/?journal_volumes=321. | |
Vanuatu languages in action [Special Issue].(2025). Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(3). Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal/current-issue/?journal_volumes=320rnal_volumes=321. | |
Vanuatu languages in context [Special Issue].(2025). Te Reo: Journal of the Linguistic Society of New Zealand,68(2). Retrieved from https://nzlingsoc.org/journal/current-issue/?journal_volumes=319. | |
King, B., Rangelov, T., & Walworth, M.(2025). Phylogenetic ancestral state reconstruction of bilabial trills in the languages of Malekula Island (Vanuatu), and the historical evolution of rare sound changes. Journal of Language Evolution,10(1). |
2023
Rangelov, T.(2023). The acoustic and articulatory properties of the prenasalised coronal trill in two Oceanic languages. In R. Skarnitzl, & J. Volín ( | |
Rangelov, T., Walworth, M., & Barbour, J.(2023). A multifaceted approach to understanding unexpected sound change: The bilabial trills of Vanuatu’s Malekula Island. Diachronica,40(3), 384-432. |
2020
Rangelov, T.(2020). Book review: Mari C. Jones (ed.), Endangered languages and new technologies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. xv, 211. Pb. £23. Language in Society,49(5), 795-796. | |
Rangelov, T. R.(2020). A grammar of the Ahamb language (Vanuatu). PhD Thesis, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. |
2019
Rangelov, T.(2019). The bilabial trills of Ahamb (Vanuatu): Acoustic and articulatory properties. In S. Calhoun, P. Escudero, M. Tabain, & P. Warren ( | |
Rangelov, T., Bratrud, T., & Barbour, J.(2019). Ahamb (Malekula, Vanuatu) — Language Contexts. Language Documentation and Description,16, 86-126. |
2013
Rangelov, T.(2013). Shallow-Transfer Rule-Based Machine Translation between Icelandic and Swedish. Developing Apertium-is-sv: A Bidirectional Open-Source RBMT Application for Icelandic and Swedish. Master Thesis, University of Iceland, Reykjavík. |
2008
Rangelov, T.(2008). Harðhljóð og linhljóð: Um aðröddunartíma í íslensku, sænsku og búlgörsku. [Fortis and lenis stops: On voice onset time in Icelandic, Swedish and Bulgarian.]. Bachelor Thesis, University of Iceland, Reykjavík. |
2025
Rangelov, T.(2025).A new survey in western Santo (Vanuatu). Talk presented at 13th conference on Oceanic Linguistics (COOL). Canberra. 2025-06-23 - 2025-06-27. | |
Rangelov, T.(2025).Deontic modality marking in some Vanuatu languages was reorganised by colonisation-induced language ecosystem disturbances. Talk presented at 17th Austronesian and Papuan Languages and Linguistics Conference (APLL17). Cologne. 2025-07-21 - 2025-07-23. |
2024
Rangelov, T.(2024).Are phonetic rara marginal phonemes?. Talk presented at 56th Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea. Helsinki. 2024-08-21 - 2024-08-24. | |
Rangelov, T.(2024).The NDR sound in Austronesian languages. Talk presented at 16th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics. Manila, Philippines. Manila. 2024-06-20 - 2024-06-24. | |
Veselinova, L., & Rangelov, T.(2024).Phasal polarity expressions: A cross-linguistic and intragenealogical study. Talk presented at 15th International Conference of the Association for Linguistic Typology (ALT15). Singapure. 2024-12-04 - 2024-12-06. |
2023
King, B., Rangelov, T., & Walworth, M.(2023).Phylogenetic ancestral state reconstruction of bilabial trills in the languages of Malekula Island (Vanuatu), and the historical evolution of rare sound changes. Talk presented at Sixth Edinburgh Symposium on Historical Phonology. Edinburgh. 2023-12-04 - 2023-12-04. | |
Rangelov, T.(2013).Higher numerals in the languages of Espiritu Santo. Talk presented at Vanuatu Languages Conference. Port Vila, Vanuatu. 2013-07-10 - 2023-07-13. | |
Rangelov, T.(2023).Phonetic rarities and their role in speaker identity changes, language divergence and convergence: Evidence from Vanuatu. Talk presented at 56th Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea. Athens. 2023-08-29 - 2023-09-01. |
2022
Rangelov, T.(2022).A geographically determined spatial reference system in a small-offshore-island setting: the case of Ahamb (Vanuatu). Talk presented at 55th Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea. Bucharest. 2022-08-24 - 2022-08-27. | |
Rangelov, T.(2022).Postverbs in Oceanic languages: Nuclear serial verb constructions as а locus of grammaticalization. Talk presented at 14th Austronesian and Papual Languages and Linguistics Conference (APLL14). Berlin. 2022-06-09 - 2022-06-11. | |
Rangelov, T.(2022).The languages of Santo and the Vanuatu Voices database. Talk presented at Friends of the Museum series. National Museum of Vanuatu, Port Vila. 2022-12-06 - 2022-12-06. | |
Rangelov, T.(2022).The morphological marking of sequentiality in Austronesian languages. Talk presented at 14th International Conference of the Association for Linguistic Typology (ALT14). Austin, Texas. 2022-12-15 - 2022-12-17. | |
Rangelov, T.(2022).The origins of non-back (front) rounded vowels in Ahamb (Vanuatu). Talk presented at 12th conference on Oceanic Linguistics (COOL). French Polynesia. 2022-09-03 - 2022-09-09. |
2021
Rangelov, T.(2021).The expression of sequential events in Ahamb (Vanuatu). Talk presented at 15-ICAL – 15th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics. Olomouc, CZ. 2021-06-28 - 2021-07-01. | |
Rangelov, T.(2021).Facebook as a medium for promoting the status of an endangered indigenous language: Experiences from Ahamb (Vanuatu). Talk presented at NEWCON2020: New Contexts for the Use of Minoritized Languages/Varieties. Zadar. 2021-05-26 - 2021-05-28. | |
Rangelov, T.(2021).The form and function of reduplication in Ahamb (Vanuatu). Talk presented at Language & Society Conference 2020. Waikato. 2021-02-10 - 2021-02-12. | |
Rangelov, T.(2021).Coverbs in the languages of Vanuatu and beyond. Talk presented at 54th Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea. Athens/online. 2021-08-30 - 2021-09-01. | |
Rangelov, T.(2021).Defying aerodynamics: the plain voiceless bilabial trill in Malekula languages. Talk presented at Fifth Edinburgh Symposium on Historical Phonology. Edinburgh/online. 2021-12-06 - 2021-12-08. | |
Rangelov, T.(2021).Revitalisation experiences from Ahamb (Vanuatu). Talk presented at XVIII International Conference on Minority Languages. Bilbao. 2021-03-24 - 2021-03-26. |
2020
Rangelov, T.(2020).Community initiatives for literacy material design as a function of institutional support for vernacular education: Experiences from Ahamb (Vanuatu). Talk presented at FEL 24 - Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL) Annual Conference. 2020-09-23 - 2020-09-25. | |
Rangelov, T.(2020).Coverbs in Ahamb (Vanuatu): At the intersection of verbs, adverbs, quantifiers and prepositions. Talk presented at 2020 Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society "Building Bridges". online. 2020-12-13 - 2020-12-15. | |
Rangelov, T., & Barbour, J.(2020).Multi-verb constructions in Ahamb (Vanuatu): Between serialisation and echo reference. Talk presented at SLE2020 – the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea. 2020-08-26 - 2020-09-01. |
2019
Barbour, J., & Rangelov, T.(2019).Common, local and personal noun formation in the languages of Malekula. Talk presented at 11th Austronesian and Papuan Languages and Linguistics Conference (APLL11). Leiden. 2019-06-13 - 2019-06-15. | |
Rangelov, T.(2019).Negation strategies in Ahamb (Vanuatu). Talk presented at 2019 New Zealand Linguistic Society Conference. Christchurch, NZ. 2019-11-28 - 2019-11-29. | |
Rangelov, T., & Barbour, J.(2019).On the origins of bilabial trills in the languages of Malekula, Vanuatu. Talk presented at 11th Austronesian and Papuan Languages and Linguistics Conference (APLL11). Leiden. 2019-06-13 - 2019-06-15. |
2018
Rangelov, T.(2018).The bilabial trills of Ahamb (South Malekula). Talk presented at Vanuatu Languages Conference. Port Vila, Vanuatu. 2018-07-25 - 2018-07-27. |
2013
Martinović, V., & Rangelov, T.(2013).Automatic detection of phonological adjustments in Bislama’s lexicon of English origin. Talk presented at Vanuatu Languages Conference. Port Vila, Vanuatu. 2013-07-10 - 2023-07-13. |
2011
Rangelov, T.(2011).Rule-based machine translation between Bulgarian and Macedonian. Talk presented at Second international workshop on free/open-source rule-based machine translation. Barcelona, Spain. 2011-01-20 - 2011-01-20. |
2010
Rangelov, T.(2010).Computational solutions for Icelandic morphology. Talk presented at Icelandic Centre for Language Technology 2010 Conference. Reykjavik, Iceland. 2010-04-15 - 2010-04-15. |