
Overview
Background
I am a Lecturer in Linguistics in the School of Languages and Cultures, University of Queensland. My main research interests are the phonetics and phonology of prosody, primarily in languages of Australia and the Pacific. I am interested in how prosodic structure is realised by and affects speech segments, the use of prosodic cues alongside morphological and syntactic patterns to encode information structure, prosodic variation, and phonetic typology.
I received my PhD in Linguistics from the University of Melbourne associated with the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Linguistics from the Australian National University. Before I joined UQ in 2024, I held a postdoctoral Humboldt Fellowship, based at the Institute for Phonetics and Speech Processing, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, and I was previously a postdoctoral researcher on an ERC Advanced Grant based at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
I enjoy making linguistics accessible and interesting for audiences outside of universities. I am a co-developer of the Linguistics Roadshow - an interactive showcase about the science of language for high school students.
Availability
- Dr Kathleen Jepson is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Linguistics, Australian National University
- Doctor of Philosophy of Laboratory Phonetics and Speech Science, University of Melbourne
Research interests
-
Phonetics and phonology of prosody
-
Phonetics and phonology of Australian Indigenous languages
-
Phonetics and phonology of Oceanic languages
-
Phonetic and phonological typology
-
Speech production and perception
Works
Search Professor Kathleen Jepson’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Contrastive vowel length and segment duration in production and perception in Djambarrpuyŋu
Jepson, Kathleen (2025). Contrastive vowel length and segment duration in production and perception in Djambarrpuyŋu. Laboratory Phonology, 16 (1), 1-49. doi: 10.16995/labphon.10161
2024
Conference Publication
Vowel duration beyond contrastive length in Djambarrpuyŋu
Jepson, Kathleen and Puggaard-Rode, Rasmus (2024). Vowel duration beyond contrastive length in Djambarrpuyŋu. Nineteenth Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 3-5 December 2024. Canberra, ACT Australia: Australasian Speech Science and Technology Association.
2024
Journal Article
The Linguistics Roadshow
Jepson, Kathleen, Billington, Rosey and Vaughan, Jill (2024). The Linguistics Roadshow. Linguistics Vanguard, 10 (s3), 231-243. doi: 10.1515/lingvan-2024-0122
2024
Journal Article
Investigating differences in lab-quality and remote recording methods with dynamic acoustic measures
Zhang, Cong, Jepson, Kathleen and Chuang, Yu-Ying (2024). Investigating differences in lab-quality and remote recording methods with dynamic acoustic measures. Laboratory Phonology, 24 (1) 10492, 1-49. doi: 10.16995/labphon.10492
2024
Conference Publication
Stop production in Dhuwaya: implications for literacy teaching
Puggaard-Rode, Rasmus and Jepson, Kathleen (2024). Stop production in Dhuwaya: implications for literacy teaching. 5th International Symposium on Applied Phonetics (ISAPh 2024), Tartu, Estonia, 30 September-2 October 2024. ISCA: International Speech Communication Association. doi: 10.21437/isaph.2024-14
2024
Conference Publication
Stylised sustained prosody in three Australian languages
Jepson, Kathleen, Puggaard-Rode, Rasmus and Mansfield, John (2024). Stylised sustained prosody in three Australian languages. Speech Prosody 2024, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2-5 July 2024. ISCA - International Speech Communication Association. doi: 10.21437/speechprosody.2024-198
2023
Book Chapter
Lexical stress
Jepson, Kathleen and Ennever, Thomas (2023). Lexical stress. The Oxford guide to Australian languages. (pp. 145-158) edited by Claire Bowern. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780198824978.003.0014
2023
Conference Publication
Prosody and word order in marking focus within Djambarrpuyŋu noun phrases
Jepson, Kathleen (2023). Prosody and word order in marking focus within Djambarrpuyŋu noun phrases. 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic, 7-11 August 2023. International Phonetic Association.
2021
Journal Article
Comparing acoustic analyses of speech data collected remotely
Zhang, Cong, Jepson, Kathleen, Lohfink, Georg and Arvaniti, Amalia (2021). Comparing acoustic analyses of speech data collected remotely. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 149 (6), 3910-3916. doi: 10.1121/10.0005132
2021
Journal Article
Prosodically conditioned consonant duration in Djambarrpuyŋu
Jepson, Kathleen, Fletcher, Janet and Stoakes, Hywel (2021). Prosodically conditioned consonant duration in Djambarrpuyŋu. Language and Speech, 64 (2), 261-290. doi: 10.1177/0023830919826607
2019
Conference Publication
The role of vowel and consonant duration in vowel length categorisation by Djambarrpuyŋu listeners
Jepson, Kathleen (2019). The role of vowel and consonant duration in vowel length categorisation by Djambarrpuyŋu listeners. 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 5-9 August 2019. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australasian Speech Science and Technology Association.
2015
Conference Publication
Vowel duration and consonant lengthening in Djambarrpuyngu
Jepson, Kathleen and Stoakes, Hywel (2015). Vowel duration and consonant lengthening in Djambarrpuyngu. 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 10-14 August 2015. Glasgow, United Kingdom: University of Glasgow.
2014
Conference Publication
Intonational marking of focus in Torau
Jepson, Kathleen (2014). Intonational marking of focus in Torau. 44th Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 1-4 October 2013. Parkville, VIC, Australia: University of Melbourne.
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Kathleen Jepson is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Media
Enquiries
For media enquiries about Dr Kathleen Jepson's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team: