Alona Kononenko-Szoszkiewicz, PhD

🎓 I am a linguist with a strong technical background, combining linguistic expertise with data-driven and computational methods. My work bridges language and technology to uncover the rules and patterns that shape sound systems across languages.

🔬 In my research I employ corpus-based and NLP methods in Python to analyze phonological data and study early language acquisition. Additionally, I use Scopus-based bibliometric techniques to detect research trends and quantify academic impact.

🤖 I am passionate about integrating artificial intelligence and automation into research workflows. I build custom AI agents and n8n-based automation pipelines that streamline data collection, processing, and analysis. This technical approach allows me to enhance research reproducibility, reduce manual effort, and explore the creative potential of AI-assisted linguistic research. Check my latest project :)

🌍 Beyond academia, I enjoy theatre and cinema, and spending time hiking in the mountains.

news

Sep 23, 2025	📝 I had the opportunity to present our joint study with W. U. Dressler, “When ‘No’ Goes Astray: A Blind Alley Development in the Early Acquisition of Polish Negative Sentences”, at the 53rd Poznań Linguistic Meeting (PLM2025). Check a snapshot from the session.
May 08, 2025	Thrilled to announce the launch of FOSTERLANG: the new EU Horizon project aiming to boost Europe’s minoritised languages! 🌍🗣️✨ As a proud member of the FOSTERLANG consortium, I’m excited to work alongside an inspiring network of universities, research institutes and community organisations to create the Linguistic Capital Road Map and empower language communities across the continent. Learn more here 🔗
Mar 26, 2025	📢 Our paper “Phonotactics and morphonotactics of word-initial clusters in Belarusian: A corpus-based study” (with Katarzyna Dziubalska-Kołaczyk, Dziyana Sabaleuskaya, Paulina Żydorowicz, and Alona Kononenko-Szoszkiewicz) has been presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Societas Linguistica Europaea 🎉
Jan 20, 2024	🧠 Our poster “A Blind Alley Development in the Early Acquisition of Polish Negative Sentences” (co‑authored with W.U.Dressler) has been accepted for presentation at The Mental Lexicon Conference, held this June at McGill University, Canada. 📄 Check the poster (PDF)

selected publications

IJL

(Mor)phonotactics of Ukrainian: The Study of Word-Initial Consonant Clusters

A. Kononenko-Szoszkiewicz

Italian Journal of Linguistics, 2023

Abs HTML

The present paper aims to provide the first analysis of Ukrainian phonotactics and morphonotactics, compare them qualitatively and quantitatively, and explain the difference between these two perspectives. Further, the paper explores the morphological complexity of consonant clusters in the Ukrainian language. The research is limited to consonant clusters in word-initial position compared to earlier studies in other Slavic languages, namely Russian and Polish. With respect to markedness, two hypotheses were tested, suggesting that morphonotactic clusters are expected to be less preferred than phonotactic, and that cluster preferability is directly proportional to frequency. Additionally, there have been discussed predictions of clusters’ preferability derived from the Net Auditory Distance principle.