Immigration, technology and literacy: key challenges for language policy in a changing Japan. Australia needs a sophisticated understanding of social and cultural dynamics in a regional partner with whom we have substantial economic, political and cultural relations. This project will problematise current language policy in Japan to take account of important recent areas of social transformation and associated key cultural beliefs about language. It will produce a body of significant individual ....Immigration, technology and literacy: key challenges for language policy in a changing Japan. Australia needs a sophisticated understanding of social and cultural dynamics in a regional partner with whom we have substantial economic, political and cultural relations. This project will problematise current language policy in Japan to take account of important recent areas of social transformation and associated key cultural beliefs about language. It will produce a body of significant individual research and policy recommendations; will bring together high profile international researchers and Japanese policy makers and educators in two collaborative exercises which will strengthen links between the two countries at both academic and government levels; and will launch the research career of a postgraduate student. Read moreRead less
Pop Cultures in Indonesia: a New Asian Politics of Pleasure and Identity. The study addresses one of National Research Priorities (Goal 4 'Safeguarding Australia'), by better 'understanding our region and the world', and boosting Australia's 'soft power'. Recent changes in Indonesia render much of our knowledge about that society outdated. The study will deliver a significant contribution to the urgent revitalisation of Indonesian and cultural studies. It will hopefully elevate the quality of ou ....Pop Cultures in Indonesia: a New Asian Politics of Pleasure and Identity. The study addresses one of National Research Priorities (Goal 4 'Safeguarding Australia'), by better 'understanding our region and the world', and boosting Australia's 'soft power'. Recent changes in Indonesia render much of our knowledge about that society outdated. The study will deliver a significant contribution to the urgent revitalisation of Indonesian and cultural studies. It will hopefully elevate the quality of our public debate about the world's largest Muslim populated country and Australia's neighbour, by paying serious and overdue attention to the brightest sides of contemporary Indonesia that have occupied the minds of one hundred millions or so ordinary people there.Read moreRead less
Reclamation of Victorian Indigenous languages: Using ICT to enable effective exchange between academics, educators and the Indigenous community. The project will exploit online technologies to provide centralised resources for the Indigenous languages of Victoria. The use of modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to present a non-threatening and personalised interface to the resources will connect people and materials, and breathe new life into these ancient languages of such cont ....Reclamation of Victorian Indigenous languages: Using ICT to enable effective exchange between academics, educators and the Indigenous community. The project will exploit online technologies to provide centralised resources for the Indigenous languages of Victoria. The use of modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to present a non-threatening and personalised interface to the resources will connect people and materials, and breathe new life into these ancient languages of such contemporary, social and cultural significance. This 'living system' of language information and exchange, built on pure linguistic research will have wide value. It will be of crucial benefit in rural and regional areas. The project will also encourage intergenerational communication within Indigenous families and will improve awareness and appreciation of Indigenous languages.Read moreRead less
The Old Zhuang Script: a Vernacular Character Script from Southern China. The Zhuang are a Tai-speaking people and the most populous of China's minority peoples. Traditionally they used a modified version of the Chinese character script. The aim of this project is to provide the wherewithal for a decipherment of the old Zhuang character script, to present evidence for the age of the script, and to describe the social and political conditions that gave it birth and influenced its development.
Stories around a sand space: multimodal interaction in Central Australian Aboriginal sand drawing narratives. Central Australian Aboriginal sand stories are a unique form of storytelling that incorporates speech, song, gesture, signs and drawn graphic symbols. This project will enhance our understandings of these narrative traditions and provide insights into the complexities of multimodal communicative systems as they are used in day-to-day interactions.
Intercultural Approaches to Teaching Chinese: A basis for pedagogical innovation. The nation in general will benefit by having a better prepared and more competent population of Chinese teachers, learners and professionals, whose exposure to Chinese language and culture will encompass the multiplicity of identities in a contemporary, multicultural society. This research will establish Australia as a major innovator in Chinese language pedagogy and will equip Australians to better understand our ....Intercultural Approaches to Teaching Chinese: A basis for pedagogical innovation. The nation in general will benefit by having a better prepared and more competent population of Chinese teachers, learners and professionals, whose exposure to Chinese language and culture will encompass the multiplicity of identities in a contemporary, multicultural society. This research will establish Australia as a major innovator in Chinese language pedagogy and will equip Australians to better understand our region and our world. A unique feature of the project is the provision for assessment of cultural awareness derived from study of language, ensuring that students who do not persevere with Chinese language will have a 'surrender value' declaration, recording competency in knowledge of Chinese culture.Read moreRead less
Words from the sand: A lexical analysis of early Greek papyri from Egypt. The project's central outcomes will be a more systematic knowledge of the development of one of the world's three oldest continually-recorded languages, and insight into the dynamics of lexical usage in different speech communities within a multicultural context. These outcomes will maintain Australia's prominent international role in investigating the history of the Greek language over three millennia, and offer social be ....Words from the sand: A lexical analysis of early Greek papyri from Egypt. The project's central outcomes will be a more systematic knowledge of the development of one of the world's three oldest continually-recorded languages, and insight into the dynamics of lexical usage in different speech communities within a multicultural context. These outcomes will maintain Australia's prominent international role in investigating the history of the Greek language over three millennia, and offer social benefits through study of the interaction of language and social dynamics in Diaspora speech communities and multilingual societies, addressing the National Research Priority Goal of 'Understanding our region and the world' by enhancing Australia's capacity to interpret and engage with its global environment.Read moreRead less
The measurement of primary traits in second language oral proficiency in second language acquisition research. The proposed research will help to inform high-quality learning outcomes for international ESL (English as a Second Language) students and students who study Japanese or Spanish as a second language in Australian universities. Improved effectiveness in current second language teaching pedagogy will result from a deeper understanding of the role that the key language traits (syntactic co ....The measurement of primary traits in second language oral proficiency in second language acquisition research. The proposed research will help to inform high-quality learning outcomes for international ESL (English as a Second Language) students and students who study Japanese or Spanish as a second language in Australian universities. Improved effectiveness in current second language teaching pedagogy will result from a deeper understanding of the role that the key language traits (syntactic complexity, lexical range, accuracy and fluency) play in the attainment of advanced proficiency. Read moreRead less
Literature, Language and the Expression of Cultural Change in the Francophone Pacific. The proposal aims to analyse and document in monographs, critical editions, doctoral theses and other forms the evolution of linguistic and cultural change in the French Pacific through a comprehensive case study of the contemporary literature and press of New Caledonia. After years of civil unrest, stability was restored to this French Pacific Territory, a near neighbour of Australia, through the Matignon and ....Literature, Language and the Expression of Cultural Change in the Francophone Pacific. The proposal aims to analyse and document in monographs, critical editions, doctoral theses and other forms the evolution of linguistic and cultural change in the French Pacific through a comprehensive case study of the contemporary literature and press of New Caledonia. After years of civil unrest, stability was restored to this French Pacific Territory, a near neighbour of Australia, through the Matignon and Noumea Accords (1988, 1998).This has led to the emergence of new forms of cultural expression, particularly in literature, and a specific form of Pacific French, as part of a process of nation-building in New Caledonia.Read moreRead less
Byzantine Chronicle of Kedrenos, Translation and Commentary. Mid-East and Balkan tensions have roots in the 11th-12th centuries when Orthodox Byzantium, already under northern pressure (Slavs), became the battleground where the West (Normans, Franks, Catholic Christianity) fought the Arabs and Islam for the glittering prize: Jerusalem.
Kedrenos's massive Chronicle, from the heart of this period, is indirectly a major ideological statement. The key of intertextuality can unlock its insights in ....Byzantine Chronicle of Kedrenos, Translation and Commentary. Mid-East and Balkan tensions have roots in the 11th-12th centuries when Orthodox Byzantium, already under northern pressure (Slavs), became the battleground where the West (Normans, Franks, Catholic Christianity) fought the Arabs and Islam for the glittering prize: Jerusalem.
Kedrenos's massive Chronicle, from the heart of this period, is indirectly a major ideological statement. The key of intertextuality can unlock its insights into the genesis of current attitudes and conflicts.
The project joins a "dream team" of Australian Byzantinists (world leaders in this approach) with specialist international collaborators to produce a reliable, accessible text and reveal its relevance.
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