My name is Maarten Mous, and I am Professor of African Linguistics at Leiden University, the Netherlands. I received my Ph.D. in 1992 with a thesis entitled “A Grammar of Iraqw” at Leiden University, and I obtained MA degrees in African Linguistics in 1985 and Mathematics in 1983, both at Leiden University.
My research is clustered around four themes: (1) Cushitic languages, (2) Language and Identity, (3) Diathesis and derivation, and (4) Bantu languages.
My research on Cushitic languages consists of the description of (aspects of) grammar, lexicon and verbal arts of Iraqw ( Tanzania), Alagwa (Tanzania), Konso (Ethiopia) and Somali. I am working on the history of the South Cushitic languages and on a typological overview of Cushitic. My research on Language and Identity derives from my interest in Creole languages and started seriously with a study of the mixed language Ma’a/Mbugu and continued with a typological study of African urban youth languages. My interest in morphology is centred around the study of valency changing verbal derivations such as causatives, middles and passives in Iraqw, Konso, Tunen, and Seereer, and comparatively in Africa. The Bantu languages that I have published on are Tunen and Nyokon (Cameroon), Mbugu, Pare, and Mbugwe (all Tanzania). I have started to work on Seereer (Atlantic, Senegal) and I have done some work on Seme (Kru) and Toussian (Gur) in Burkina Faso.
