RESEARCH

I am a theoretical phonologist with a special interest in Germanic phonology, in particular issues of prosodic structure. I am interested in the historical development of Germanic, as well as the synchronic structure of both present and past stages of these languages. As a postdoctoral researcher in the Language and Brain Laboratory, my research interests additionally include experimental psycholinguistics, again focusing on questions of processing phonological representations and morphological complexity. My DPhil thesis, Prosody in the parchment: Manuscript evidence for the pertinacity of syllable, foot and word-prosodic structures in the mediaeval German grammar, aimed to provide an account of the development of the phonological system of German from the mediaeval to the modern period, with questions of prosodic structure of particular interest, such as quantity, foot structure and lexical stress. I am currently investigating the prosodic representation of simple and special clitics in Middle High German.

PUBLICATIONS

ARTICLES

• Booth, Joshua & Aditi Lahiri. 2023. ‘Foot Structure in Germanic’. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics. 20th September 2023. Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.962 [PDF]
• Booth, Joshua. 2023. Open syllable lengthening and diphthongisation in Upper Middle High German: Evidence from verse. Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics 26: 5. DOI: 10.1007/s10828-023-09145-3
• Booth, Joshua J. 2023. Rethinking the metre of Parzival: Iambic verse for a trochaic language. Transactions of the Philological Society. DOI: 10.1111/TRPS.12257

CONFERENCE TALKS

• Fritz, Isabella & Joshua Booth & Aditi Lahiri. 2024. ‘Phonological constraints on the processing of cognates and loanwords in L2’. Presented at the 48th Österreichische Linguistiktagung, 17th–19th December 2024. University of Innsbruck.
• Booth, Joshua. 2024. ‘Pertinacity and systematicity: Insights into diachronic change from manuscripts’. Presented at the Pertinacious Phonology and Morphology Workshop, 23rd–25th September 2024. Ettington Park Hotel.
• Booth, Joshua. 2023. ‘Prosodic asymmetries between simple and special clitics in German’. Presented at the 30th Manchester Phonology Meeting, 25th–27th May 2023. University of Manchester.
• Booth, Joshua. 2022. ‘The Persistence of the Germanic Foot in Middle High German’. Presented at the 25th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, 1st–5th August 2022. University of Oxford.
• Booth, Joshua. 2022. ‘Vowel quantity and syllable weight in German: A reanalysis’. Presented at the 29th Manchester Phonology Meeting, 25th–27th May 2022. University of Manchester.
• Booth, Joshua. 2021. ‘Metre in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival: a reanalysis’. Presented at the Virtual Colloquium in Germanic Linguistics for Postgraduate Research Students and Early Career Researchers, 12th-13th January 2021. University of Sheffield.

CONFERENCE POSTERS

• Fritz, Isabella & Joshua Booth & Aditi Lahiri. 2024. ‘Pertinacious influence of native metrical parameters on affixed Romance loans in German and English: Diachronic and synchronic experimental evidence’. Presented at the 21st International Morphology Meeting, 28th–30th August 2024. Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien.
• Booth, Joshua. 2022. ‘The prosodic representation of Verschmelzungsformen in Middle High German’. Presented at the 25th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, 1st–5th August 2022. University of Oxford.

THESES

• Booth, Joshua. 2020. Prosody in the parchment: Manuscript evidence for the pertinacity of syllable, foot and word-prosodic structures in the mediaeval German grammar. Thesis (DPhil), University of Oxford, Oxford.
• Booth, Joshua. 2020. The metrical treatment of Romance loan words in Middle High German and its impact on the native word prosodic system. Thesis (MPhil), University of Oxford, Oxford.

TEACHING

LECTURER | Linguistic Introduction to Middle High German | University of Oxford 2024

• Wrote and delivered a series of eight departmental lectures (compulsory for finalist undergraduates taking the ‘Paper IV’ module in German linguistics).
• Topics included: ‘Introduction to Middle High German’, ‘Phonology I’, ‘Phonology II’, ‘Morphology I’, ‘Morphology II’, ‘Syntax’, ‘Lexis & Language Contact’ and ‘Phonology III’.

LECTURER | Historical Germanic Phonology & Morphology (with Prof. Aditi Lahiri) | University of Oxford, 2021–2022

• Wrote and delivered three of six lectures, directed at graduate students.
• Topics included ‘IE > Gmc > WGmc > OHG’, ‘The Gmc Foot’ and ‘High Vowel Deletion’.

TUTOR | Undergraduate Paper IV (The development of the German language from 1170–present) | University of Oxford 2023–Present

• Tutorial teaching for undergraduate finalists, focusing on topics in historical linguistics and involving the discussion of weekly termtime essays.
• Comprises eight tutorials on the development of the German language.

TUTOR | Undergraduate Prelims General Linguistics | University of Oxford, 2022–2023

• Tutorial teaching for first-year undergraduates, focusing on General Linguistics and involving the discussion of weekly termtime essays.
• Comprises two tutorials each in ‘Foundations’, ‘Historical Linguistics’, ‘Sociolinguistics’ and ‘Psycholinguistics’.

TUTOR | Graduate Foundations: Phonology | University of Oxford, 2020–2023

• For three years, I have taught the weekly practical class supporting the obligatory lecture series introducing new master’s students to phonology.
• Involves marking and providing feedback on 25–30 students’ weekly problem sheets and reviewing these in a weekly seminar.

TUTOR | Graduate B Option: Phonetics & Phonology | University of Oxford, 2020–2023

• The equivalent class to the above for master’s students taking an options paper in Phonetics & Phonology, focusing on advanced phonology.