Tom Sima Staniforth

Lecturer in Chinese language and translation in the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies, University of Bath

Doctoral researcher in computational phonetics at UCL

I come from a background in Asian studies and translation, and my teaching is underpinned by research in speech prosody and migration patterns in China and the Himalayan corridor.

CV

MPhil/PhD Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences
University College London (UCL), 2023-(ongoing)
MA Interpreting and Translation, University of Bath 2019
MA Religious Studies, University of Edinburgh 2011

Rajiv Gandhi Scholar, University of Cambridge (CCT) 2011
Visiting Scholar, University of Kathmandu (RYI) 2013
Associate, Chartered Institute of Linguists 2021
Fellow, Higher Education Academy 2021
Member, The Philological Society 2022
Member, Chartered Institute of Linguists 2023

Languages I work with

Chinese (Mandarin)
Nepali
Tibetan (Sikkimese, འབྲས་ལྗོངས་སྐད་)

Post Focus Compression

The majority of my research centres on a prosodic phenomena known as Post Focus Compression, particularly as a potential marker of migratory patterns in China and the Himalayan corridor. I am currently collecting data on the prosodic speech patterns of Nepali and Sikkimese in order to better understand PFC transfer between language families. I welcome contact from speakers of Nepali and/or Sikkimese (Denjongke/Lhoke).

Chinese phonetic reform movement (切音字運動) and history of speech perception and notation

I have a personal interest in the history of phonetic writing systems and have worked with the Pitman collection at the University of Bath library and archives, exploring the history of phonetic reform in late Qing China. I am also the inventor of Halfhand, a bilingual phonetic shorthand script based on the work of phoneticists Friedrich Scheithauer and Henry Sweet that makes it possible to record in both English and Mandarin.

Chinese tea and the tea trade

My professional translation work centres around Chinese tea culture, pottery and teaware. I am also interested in the history of the tea trade and its role as a focal point in the cultures of China, India, Tibet and Mongolia.