Dr Sam Kirkham

Senior Lecturer

Research Overview

My research investigates the dynamics of spoken language, such as how people coordinate movements of the tongue, lips and larynx to produce speech. I do experiments that monitor vocal tract movements using and technology, and build computational models of the cognitive and physical mechanisms that underpin spoken language. I apply these insights to a range of longstanding scientific puzzles, including the mysteries of language change, why humans sound different from one another, and how to improve the use of speech technologies in everyday life. In doing so, I draw upon theory and methods from linguistics, cognitive science, physics, and computer science. The common thread in my work is a view of living (and artificial) systems as .

I am currently working on the following projects:

  • Interpretable acoustic-articulatory relations in speech production (, 2025-27)
  • Modelling the dynamics of phonetic variation & phonological change ( fellowship, 2024-25)
  • TARDIS: Targets and dynamics in speech (, 2019-23)


01/04/2024 → 30/09/2025
Research


01/10/2022 → ¡­
Research


01/09/2019 → 31/08/2022
Research


01/07/2014 → 30/04/2016
Other


01/06/2014 → 31/12/2018
Other


01/10/2009 → 30/09/2012
Research


Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition


Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar


Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition


Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition


Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

  • Phonetics Lab