FACULTY
Research and Industry-Academia Collaboration
研究?産学連携
KILPATRICK Alexander
Associate Professor
- Affiliation
- Center for Language Research
- Title
- Associate Professor
- alex@u-aizu.ac.jp
Education
- Courses - Undergraduate
- Courses - Graduate
Research
- Specialization
-
Linguistics
Theory of informatics
Computational science
Psycholinguistics
Cognitive processing in language
Cross-linguistic analysis (English and Japanese)
Iconicity and sound symbolism
Information theory in language (entropy, surprisal, redundancy)
Computational linguistics and statistical modeling
Second language acquisition and ESL education
Experimental design in linguistics
Phonotactics and phoneme-level processing
Language evolution and communicative function
- Educational Background, Biography
-
2016 – 2020
Doctor of Philosophy / University of Melbourne
Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics.
2014 – 2015
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) / University of Melbourne
Applied Linguistics.
2011 – 2014
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education / La Trobe University
Double degree in Arts (Linguistics) and Education (English as a Second Language).
- Current Research Theme
- My current research focuses on applying information theory to language processing, specifically examining how entropy, redundancy, and surprisal impact language comprehension and production. I also explore the use of AI and machine learning techniques, including statistical tests and models, to better understand these cognitive processes.
- Key Topic
- Affiliated Academic Society
Others
- Hobbies
- My hobbies are cooking, watercolor painting, and spending time playing with my daughters.
- School days' Dream
- At school, I dreamed of becoming a professional Australian Rules footballer—or maybe a firefighter.
- Current Dream
- My dream is to make a lasting contribution to science—however small—that helps expand our understanding of language, thought, and what it means to be human.
- Motto
- I begin from the assumption that my hypothesis is likely incorrect. This mindset keeps me open to unexpected results, fosters genuine discovery, and makes it all the more meaningful when the evidence supports the idea. In research, being wrong is not failure—it’s part of the process.
- Favorite Books
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Foundation – Isaac Asimov
- Messages for Students
- Language is more than just communication—it's a window into how we think, feel, and interact with the world. Whether you're interested in linguistics, improving your English, or exploring how language shapes thought, I hope you'll find our time together both challenging and rewarding. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, try new ideas, or make mistakes—language learning and research are both about curiosity and courage. Let’s explore together.
Dissertation and Published Works
Flaksman. M. & Kilpatrick, A. (In Press) Against the tide: How language-specificity of imitative words increases with time (as evidenced by Surprisal). In M. Flaksman and P. Akumbu (eds.) SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics.
Kilpatrick, A. J. & Bundgaard-Nielsen, R. L. (In Press). Exploring the Dynamics of Shannon’s Information and Iconicity in Language Processing and Lexeme Evolution. Plos one.
Kilpatrick, A. (2025). The negativity bias is encoded in language. JASA Express Letters, 5(2).
Ngai, C. H., Kilpatrick, A. J., & ?wiek, A. (2024). Sound symbolism in Japanese names: Machine learning approaches to gender classification. Plos one, 19(3), e0297440.
Kilpatrick, A. J., & ?wiek, A. (2024). Using artificial intelligence to explore sound symbolic expressions of gender in American English. PeerJ Computer Science, 10, e1811.
Kilpatrick, A. J., ?wiek, A., Lewis, E., & Kawahara, S. (2023). A cross-linguistic, sound symbolic relationship between labial consonants, voiced plosives, and Pokémon friendship. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 722.
Kilpatrick, A. J., ?wiek, A., & Kawahara, S. (2023). Random forests, sound symbolism and Pokémon evolution. Plos one, 18(1), e0279350.
Kilpatrick, A. J., Kawahara, S., Bundgaard-Nielsen, R., Baker, B., & Fletcher, J. (2020). Japanese Perceptual Epenthesis is Modulated by Transitional Probability. Language and Speech, 0023830920930042.
Kilpatrick, A. J., Bundgaard-Nielsen, R. L., & Baker, B. J. (2019). Japanese co-occurrence restrictions influence second language perception. Applied Psycholinguistics, 40(2), 585-611.
Kilpatrick, A. J. & Flaksman, M. (2025). The Exception of Humor: Iconicity, Phonemic Surprisal, Memory Recall, and Emotional Associations. In Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on Computational Humor.
Kilpatrick, A. J. & Peperkamp, P. (2024). Coarticulation and Transitional Probability in Japanese Perceptual Epenthesis. Proceedings of the 19th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology.
Kilpatrick, A. J. & Bundgaard-Nielsen R, L. (2024). Decoding Informativity and Iconicity in American English. Proceedings of the 19th Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology.
Kilpatrick, A. J. (2024). Information Equilibration in English and Japanese Morphemes. Proceedings of the 19th Conference on Laboratory Phonology.
Kilpatrick, A. J. (2024). Sound Symbolism in Automatic Emotion Recognition and Sentiment Analysis. Proceedings of Cognitive A.I.
Kilpatrick, A. J. & Wang, Y. (2023). Training Artificial Intelligence to Assess ESL Writing Using Complexity Measures. The Japanese Society for Language Sciences Handbook.
Kilpatrick A. J. & Kawahara, S. (2022). Using Random Forests to Identify Sound Symbolic Relationships in Pokémon Names. Proceedings of the 13th Iconicity in Language and Literature conference.
Kilpatrick A. J., Kawahara, S., Bundgaard-Nielsen R. L., Baker B. J. & Fletcher, J. (2019). Predictability, Word Frequency and Japanese Perceptual Epenthesis. Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences.
Kilpatrick A. J., Kawahara, S., Bundgaard-Nielsen R. L., Baker B. J. & Fletcher, J. (2018). Japanese Listeners Are More Likely to Perceive Illusory Vowels in Predictable Contexts. Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Meeting on Phonology.
Kilpatrick A. J., Kawahara, S., Bundgaard-Nielsen R. L., Baker B. J. & Fletcher, J. (2018). Japanese
Vowel Devoicing Modulates Perceptual Epenthesis. Proceedings of the Seventeenth Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology (pp. 121-124). ASSTA: Sydney, Australia.
Kilpatrick A. J., Kawahara, S., Bundgaard-Nielsen R. L., Baker B. J. & Fletcher, J. (2018). Japanese coda [m] elicits perceptual epenthesis and assimilation. Proceedings of the ISAPh 2018 international symposium on applied phonetics.
Kilpatrick A. J., Bundgaard-Nielsen R. L. & Baker B. J. (2016). Japanese Vowel Deletion Occurs in Words in Citation Form. Proceedings of the Sixteenth Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology (pp. 325-328). ASSTA: Sydney, Australia.,Flaksman. M. & Kilpatrick, A. (In Press) Against the tide: How language-specificity of imitative words increases with time (as evidenced by Surprisal). In M. Flaksman and P. Akumbu (eds.) SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics.
Kilpatrick, A. J. & Bundgaard-Nielsen, R. L. (In Press). Exploring the Dynamics of Shannon’s Information and Iconicity in Language Processing and Lexeme Evolution. Plos one.
Kilpatrick, A. (2025). The negativity bias is encoded in language. JASA Express Letters, 5(2).
Ngai, C. H., Kilpatrick, A. J., & ?wiek, A. (2024). Sound symbolism in Japanese names: Machine learning approaches to gender classification. Plos one, 19(3), e0297440.
Kilpatrick, A. J., & ?wiek, A. (2024). Using artificial intelligence to explore sound symbolic expressions of gender in American English. PeerJ Computer Science, 10, e1811.