Dr Vean Al-Saka
- Leverhulme Early Career Fellow
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About
Dr Vean Al-Saka received her PhD in Linguistics and English Language from Newcastle University in 2021, with a thesis entitled Verbal Syntax and Differential Object Marking in Baritle Neo-Aramaic. Following the completion of her PhD, she was appointed Research Assistant at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge (2022–2024), contributing to projects including Echoes of Vanishing Voices in the Mountains: A Linguistic History of Minorities in the Near East and the North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic Database. During this period, she also served as Associate Lecturer at Newcastle University (2022–2024), teaching syntax and morphology.
In 2024, she was a Research Assistant at Uppsala University in the Department of Linguistics and Philology. She has been a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge, since September 2024.
Research
My research focuses on Semitic languages, especially Aramaic and Arabic, with interests spanning descriptive, theoretical, comparative and historical linguistics. I work on morphology, syntax, morphosyntax, agreement and nominal licensing. I am committed to documenting endangered languages and preserving the cultural heritage of Iraqi Christian communities.
A central part of my work involves studying and documenting the structure and development of North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic dialects, particularly Baritle Neo-Aramaic. This project examines the phonology, morphology and syntax of the dialect.