John Ohala
Also known as John J. Ohala
John Ohala was a UC Berkeley linguist whose work in experimental phonology and phonetics earned recognition from the International Speech Communication Association. He earned a UCLA doctorate in 1969 under Peter Ladefoged and joined the Berkeley faculty in 1970. His frequency code hypothesis tied a high pitch to a small vocalizer and a low pitch to a large one, and a Berkeley conference he initiated produced the 1994 volume Sound Symbolism. The association gave him its Medal for Scientific Achievement in 2006 and named him a Fellow in 2012, and the Acoustical Society of America awarded him its Silver Medal in speech communication in 2015. He died in Berkeley in 2020.
- Works
- 176
- Citations
- 11,992
- h-index
- 52
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.
Timeline
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1963–1969
Linguistics training at UCLA
He earns an English degree from Notre Dame in 1963, a UCLA master's in linguistics in 1966, and a UCLA doctorate in 1969 under Peter Ladefoged.
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1970–2004
Phonology Laboratory at Berkeley
He joins the Berkeley faculty in 1970, and his research covers experimental phonology and phonetics. From 1975 to 2004 he directs the Phonology Laboratory.
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1994
Frequency code and sound symbolism
He develops the frequency code hypothesis, which holds that a high pitch signals a small vocalizer and a low pitch signals a large one. A Berkeley conference he initiates and hosts produces the 1994 Cambridge volume Sound Symbolism.
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1996
Ethological theory of vocal emotion
He publishes "Ethological theory and the expression of emotion in the voice" in the proceedings of the 1996 International Conference on Spoken Language Processing.
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2004
Berkeley Citation and retirement
He receives the Berkeley Citation in 2004. He retires in June 2004.
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2006–2012
ISCA medal and fellowship
The International Speech Communication Association gives him its Medal for Scientific Achievement in 2006 and names him a Fellow in 2012.
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2015
Acoustical Society silver medal
The Acoustical Society of America gives him its Silver Medal in speech communication in 2015. He is also a research scientist at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley.
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2020
Death in Berkeley
He dies in Berkeley in August 2020.
Sources and credits
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