Thomas Staniforth

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

Doctoral researcher in Speech Science at the Department of Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, UCL

Chartered Linguist (Mandarin Chinese, Language Specialist, Education) with the Chartered Institute of Linguists

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
Chartership, Chartered Institute of Linguists 2025

Languages I work with

Mandarin
Cantonese
Tibetan
Manchu

Prosodic focus in Chinese dialects

My research centres on a prosodic phenomenon known as Post Focus Compression, a pitch pattern present in Mandarin speech but absent from most southern forms of Chinese. PFC has been argued to be a marker of a typological divide within the wider Chinese language family, and remains understudied particularly with regards to how it manifests depending on the L1 and L2 of the speaker. My thesis is a synthesis of Qing dynasty language policy analysis with modern speech data analysis collected from relevant areas in South China.

Role of emerging technology in language acquisition

I hold expertise in the application of new research in speech science technology in language learning. I am also interested in the interation between natural and formal languages and their acquisition, particularly Lisp dialects due to their emphasis on recursive thinking. 

Chinese tea and the tea trade

The majority of my professional translation work continues to be centred on the Chinese tea trade, both leaf and ware. I am interested in the history of the tea trade and its role as a focal point in the cultures of China, India, Tibet and Mongolia.