More about me

More about me

I am a Ph.D. student in Linguistics at The Ohio State University. My path into linguistics was not a straight one. I was first trained in computer science and software engineering, and worked as an engineer in Shanghai before moving into research in natural language processing in Dallas, Texas and Tucson, Arizona. I later studied applied mathematics at the University of Washington, Seattle, where I worked on dynamical systems, chaos, and coupled oscillators.

I began my linguistic life in Arizona. While pursuing graduate work in computer science, I met Elly van Gelderen and was first trained in syntax, especially in the Chomskyan tradition. Before beginning my Ph.D., I worked with Andrew Wedel and Diana Archangeli, and gradually moved from syntax into phonology. I have stayed with phonology since then.

This background still shapes how I think about language. I am interested in linguistic systems as dynamic systems: how structures emerge, stabilize, change, and sometimes fail to remain stable. My current work in phonology, phonetics, sound change, and computational modeling reflects this path through engineering, mathematics, syntax, and linguistic theory.

Outside linguistics

Classical music

Outside linguistics, I spend a lot of time with classical music. I play some piano at home, and I am also interested in music theory and music history, especially Romantic and late-Romantic music in the German/Austrian, French, and Russian traditions. I am especially drawn to orchestral music rather than chamber music, and to works with a large symphonic sound.

Tianyi Ni reading music at the piano
Outside linguistics, I spend much of my time with classical music.

Some pieces I often return to include:

  • Symphonies: Beethoven Nos. 3, 5, and 6; Mozart Nos. 40 and 41; Rachmaninoff No. 2; Tchaikovsky Nos. 4, 5, and 6; Saint-Saëns No. 3.
  • Piano concertos: Beethoven Nos. 4 and 5; Mozart Nos. 20, 21, and 23; Saint-Saëns Nos. 2 and 5; Tchaikovsky No. 1; Shostakovich No. 2; Prokofiev Nos. 2 and 3; Chopin Nos. 1 and 2.
  • Violin concertos: Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor; Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.

Details

Name and background

Name
Both my first and last names are Mandarin Chinese.
Pronunciation
天 [tʰjɛn55] 益 [i51]; 倪 [ni35].
Also published as
Tian-Yi Ni in earlier computer science work.
Pronouns
He/him/his in English.

Training

Education

  1. Ph.D. in Linguistics The Ohio State University, 2021-present
  2. M.A. in Linguistics University of Arizona, 2021
  3. M.S. in Applied Mathematics University of Washington, 2021
  4. M.S. in Computer Science Arizona State University, 2018
  5. B.Eng. in Computer Science Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2016

Languages

Languages

Learning

German, Eastern Armenian, and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.

Research

Siriano, Burmese, Khmer, Cantonese, and Germanic languages.

Eastern Armenian linguistic notes