Experimental linguistics
Roberts, David & Stephen L. Walter (2021). Testing tone orthographies in ten Niger-Congo languages: Findings from a multilevel analysis. Paper presented at the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Israel. 23 June 2021. Co-authored with Stephen L Walter.
Roberts, David & Stephen L. Walter (2021). Investigating the performance of weak and strong readers in ten Niger-Congo tone orthographies. Paper presented at the Linguistics Colloquium, Department of English literature and linguistics, Bar Ilan University, Israel. 8 June 2021.
Roberts, David (2021). Tone, orthography and classroom experimentation in Africa. Paper presented at the research group of the School of Education, University of Tel-Aviv, 17 October 2021.
Roberts, David, Valentin Vydrin, & Dana Basnight-Brown (2019). La représentation du ton au moyen des symboles de ponctuation : Expérimentation et réforme en dan oriental [The representation of tone with punctuation symbols: Experimentation and reform in Eastern Dan]. Paper presented at the 31st congress of the West African Linguistics Society. Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Roberts, David, Matthew Harley & Stephen L. Walter (2019). The contribution of full tone marking to fluency and comprehension in Yoruba and Ife. Paper presented at the 12th International Workshop of the Association for Written Language and Literacy, 26-28 March, Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, UK.
Roberts, David & Stephen L. Walter (2019). The impact of linguistic and literacy variables on reading and writing tone in ten Niger-Congo languages. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Literacy and Writing systems: Cultural, Neuropsychological, and Psycholinguistic Perspectives, 18-21 February 2019, University of Haifa, Israel.
Roberts David, Valentin Vydrin & Dana Basnight-Brown (2018). Marking tone with punctuation: An orthography experiment in Eastern Dan (Côte d'Ivoire). Paper presented at Grafematik: Graphemics in the 21st century, Brest, France, 14 June 2018. Video
Roberts, David & Stephen L. Walter (2017). La contribution de l’écrit des tons à la fluidité varie d’une langue à une autre: Rapport préliminaire sur une expérience en lecture orale menée dans dix langues niger-congolaises. [The contribution of tone marking to fluency varies from one language to another: Preliminary report of an oral reading experiment in ten Niger-Congo languages]. Paper presented at the Institut de Linguistique Appliquée of the University of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, 28 March 2017. Download
Roberts, David & Stephen L. Walter (2016). Writing morphophonology, reading lexical tone: evidence in favour of morphographic spelling in Kabiye (Togo). Paper presented at the 10th International Workshop on Writing Systems and Literacy, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 12-13 May 2016. Download
Roberts, David (2013). Testing the representation of tone in African orthographies: precedents, procedures, priorities. Paper presented at the Haifa Language Forum, University of Haifa, Israel, 21 November 2013 (invited speaker). Download
Roberts, David (2011). Testing the optimal depth for a diacritic tone orthography: a quantitative experiment in Togo. Paper presented at the 41st Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics, 29 August - 1 September 2011, University of Leiden, Leiden, Holland. Download
Roberts, David (2011). Quel niveau d'opacité pour une graphie tonale à diacritiques ? Une expérience quantitative faite au Togo. [What is the optimal depth for a diacritic tone orthography: A quantitative experiment in Togo]. Paper presented at the Journée Scientifique du LLACAN-CNRS, Paris, 18 November 2011. Download
Roberts, David & Steven L. Walter (2010). Writing meaning rather than sound in the orthographies of tone languages. Paper presented at the 7th International Workshop on Writing Systems and Literacy, Paris, France. Download
Roberts, David (2007). Autosegmental and pedagogical considerations in preparation for a tone orthography experiment. communication donnée lors du séminaire des doctorants le 13 juin 2007 au LLACAN-CNRS, Paris.