Education Background
| Level | Qualification Name | Institution | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhD | Master of Arts in English language and Linguistics | University of Edinburgh | 2025 |
| Master | English & Linguistics | Chuka University | 2017 |
| Bachelor | Bachelor of Education Arts (English & Literature) | Kenyatta University | 2009 |
Appointments/ Related Experience
| Period | Institution | Position |
|---|---|---|
| August 2025 – To date | Tharaka University | Lecturer |
| January 2025 – To date | Tharaka University | Field Attachment Coordinator (Humanities) |
| 2019-2021; October 2024- To date | Tharaka University | Section Head (English & Linguistics) |
| 2019-August 2025 | Tharaka University | Assistant Lecturer of English & Linguistics |
| 2023-2024 | University of Edinburgh | Tutor |
Invited Talks
| Kanampiu, P. (2024). Differential preference in the choice of nominal classification rules in kˆıˆıtharaka. Talk given at Centre for language Evolution (CLE) talk series at The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. |
| Kanampiu, P., Alexander, M., and Culbertson, J. (2023). A theory of morphological productivity is essential in characterizing noun classes: corpus and experimental ev idence from Bantu. Talk given at This Time for Africa (TTFA) talk series at Leiden University, Netherlands. |
| Kanampiu, P. (2022). Morphophonological and semantic productivity of Kˆıˆıtharaka noun classes. Talk given at Meaning and grammar (MGRG) talk series at The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. |
Book Chapters
| Kanampiu, P. and van der Wal, J. (2025). The expression of information structure in Kˆıˆıtharaka. In The expression of information structure in Bantu, Contemporary African Linguistics. Language Science Press, Berlin |
| van der Wal, J., Asiimwe, A., Kanampiu, P., Kerr, E., Lusekelo, A., Nhantumbo, N., and Nshemezimana, E. (2025). On the expression of information structure in Bantu. In The expression of information structure in Bantu. Language Science Press |
Journal Articles
| Kanampiu, P., Martin, A., and Culbertson, J. (2025). Experimental evidence for semantic and morphophonological productivity in Kˆıˆıtharaka noun classes. Glossa psycholinguistics, 4(1):1–45. |
| Kanampiu, P., Martin, A., and Culbertson, J. (2025). Semantic and morphophono logical productivity in Kˆıˆıtharaka gender system: A quantitative study. Glossa: a journal of General Linguistics, 10(1):1–33 |
| Saldana, C., Kanampiu, P., and Culbertson, J. (In Press). Gender comes first: Experimental evidence for the representation of gender closer to the noun stem than number across linguistic populations |
| Martin, A., Adger, D., Abels, K., Kanampiu, P., and Culbertson, J. (2024). A universal cognitive bias in word order: Evidence from speakers whose language goes against it. Psychological Science, 35(3):304–311. |
| J Kerr, E., Asiimwe, A., Kanampiu, P., Li, Z., Nshemezimana, E., and van der Wal, J. (2023). Bantu word order between discourse and syntactic relations. Linguistique et langues africaines, (9 (1)). |
| Kanampiu, P. and Muriungi, P. (2019). Order of modifiers in Kˆıˆıtharaka determiner phrase. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, pp. 11–21 |
| Kanampiu, P. (2024). Expression of referents in Kˆıˆıtharaka. Studies in African Linguistics, 53(2):120–140. |
Conference Presentations
| Kanampiu, P., Asiimwe, A., Lusekelo, A., Nshemezimana, E., and van der Wal, J.(2023). Functional propertes of the particle-o in four bantu languages. Joint talkpresented during BaSiS Conference at Leiden University, Netherlands. [slides] |
| Kanampiu, P., Alexander, M., and Culberston, J. (2024). A contest between form and meaning: Differential preference in the choice of nominal classification rules in Kˆıˆıtharaka. Paper presented at the 11th World Congress on African Linguistics (WOCAL 11) Conference, The University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya [slides] |
| van der wal, J. and Kanampiu, P. (2024). Kˆıˆıtharaka initial focus: revisiting the cleft analysis. Joint talk given at World Congress on African Linguistics (WOCAL 11) conference held at The University of Nairobi, Kenya |
| Marlo, M., Mbaka, N., Kirimi, H., Kanampiu, P., Miriti, E., and Ntalala, S. (2024). Collaborative research in meru linguistics. Talk given at World Congress on African Linguistics (WOCAL 11) conference held at The University of Nairobi, Kenya |
| Asiimwe, A., Kanampiu, P., and van der wal, J. (2023). Information structure in Eastern Bantu languages. Joint talk given at Language Association of East Africa Bantu Syntax and Information (LAEA 3) conference held at Makerere University, Kampala |
| Kanampiu,P., Alexander, M., and Culberston, J. (2023). Semantic and morphophono logical productivity in Kˆıˆıtharaka noun classes. Joint talk given at Language Asso ciation of East Africa Bantu Syntax and Information (LAEA 3) conference held at Makerere University, Kampala [slides] |
| Kerr, E., Asiimwe, A., Kanampiu, P., Li, Z., Nshemezimana, E., and van der wal, J. (2023). Bantu word order between discourse and syntactic relations. Joint talk given at Bantu Syntax and Information Structure (BaSiS) conference held at Leiden University, Netherlands. |
| Kanampiu, P., Alexander, M., and Culberston, J. (2022). Determinants of noun classification in Kˆıˆıtharaka: a synchronic approach. Paper presentad at the 9th con ference on Bantu linguistics (Bantu 9), Malawi University of Science and Technology, Blantyre, Malawi.. [slides] |
| Asiimwe, A., Kanampiu, P., Kerr, E., Lusekelo, A., and van der Wal, J. (2021). Bantu word order from discourse to syntactic relations. Joint talk given at Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL) held in Florida, United States. |
| Kanampiu, P., Asiimwe, A., Lusekelo, A., Nshemezimana, E., and van der Wal, J. (2023). Functional propertes of the particle-o in four bantu languages. Joint talk presented during BaSiS Conference at Leiden University, Netherlands. [slides] |
Awards, Honours & Grants
| University of Edinburgh, College of Arts and Humanities PhD Scholarships 2020, (Full fees and stipends) |
| CODESRIA Grant, 2023. Meru Tonal dialectology Project (A collaborative Re search Project with Prof. Nancy Mbaka (Chuka University), Prof. Humprey Kirimi (Chogoria Campus), Dr. Safari Ntalala (Karatina University, Dr. Gervasio Miriti (Turkana University) and Prof. Michael Marlo (University of University of Missouri, USA), ($50,000) |
| Partnership Fund Research Grant (CO-PI). Language context and attitudes among Kˆıˆıtharaka speakers in Kenya, (£17,893.333) |
Research Interests
| Language acquisition and change |
| Learning biases |
| Language typology |
| Experimental approaches to language research |
| Theoretical syntax and morphology |
| Artificial language learning and grammaticality judgments |