Inside the Indonesian bureaucracy: a sociolinguistic study of the role of talk in the doing of bureaucratic work. While talk is central to the conduct of everyday life, we know little about its role in the doing of everyday tasks in multilingual institutional settings in Indonesia. This project seeks to fill this gap by investigating the role of talk in the building and maintenance of social relationships in a multilingual Indonesian bureaucracy.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102017
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Typology of language use: quantitative investigations of discourse from endangered languages. This project investigates striking similarities in information management across under-studied, non-European languages with varying grammatical patterns. Employing an innovative quantitative methodology to the study of natural language usage, this is a foundational research project in the emergent field of text-based language typology.
Improving Communication with Aboriginal English Speakers: A Study of cultural conceptualisations in Aboriginal English. The project will explore cultural conceptualisations in Aboriginal English. Often unfamiliarity with Aboriginal cultural conceptualisations on the part of non-Aboriginal people leads to miscommunication, disadvantaging Aboriginal speakers, especially in institutional contexts (for example, schoolrooms, courtrooms, Centrelink offices). The aim of this study is to alleviate such ....Improving Communication with Aboriginal English Speakers: A Study of cultural conceptualisations in Aboriginal English. The project will explore cultural conceptualisations in Aboriginal English. Often unfamiliarity with Aboriginal cultural conceptualisations on the part of non-Aboriginal people leads to miscommunication, disadvantaging Aboriginal speakers, especially in institutional contexts (for example, schoolrooms, courtrooms, Centrelink offices). The aim of this study is to alleviate such problems, and significantly advance Aboriginal English research, by exploring culturally constructed conceptualisations, in particularly cultural-conceptual metaphor, underlying the use of Aboriginal English, using the the analytical tools of Cultural Linguistics. The study will also make a significant contribution to the development of Cultural Linguistics. Read moreRead less
A multifaceted study of Tangsa: a network of linguistic varieties in North East India. Our world's linguistic and cultural heritage, the product of human evolution, is being lost rapidly due to globalisation and modernisation. This project will record the linguistic diversity of the Tangsa people of North East India, thereby increasing our knowledge of an important regional neighbour and of our human society and history.
From little things, big things grow: how children learn a morphologically complex Australian indigenous language. This project investigates the acquisition of Murrinh-Patha, one of a small number of Australian indigenous languages still being learned by children. The results of this research will inform our understanding of the ways in which children learn grammatically complex languages, and facilitate the maintenance of this and other indigenous languages.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100399
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
He's not heavy, he's my brother: the acquisition of kinship terminology in a morphologically complex Australian language. Murrinh-Patha is one of the few Australian indigenous languages still being acquired by children. This project investigates how children acquire the grammar and lexicon of kinship. It will inform our understanding of how children gain social competence and learn complex kin-based grammars. It will help to maintain this and other indigenous languages.
Learning to tell a narrative in Murrinhpatha. This project aims to examine the linguistic, social, and cognitive stages of children’s narrative development in Murrinhpatha, an Indigenous Australian language spoken in Wadeye. Until they encounter the bilingual education system at primary school, the children of Wadeye grow up in a largely monolingual Murrinhpatha environment. The research will examine how children structure narratives in this typologically unusual language. It will provide insigh ....Learning to tell a narrative in Murrinhpatha. This project aims to examine the linguistic, social, and cognitive stages of children’s narrative development in Murrinhpatha, an Indigenous Australian language spoken in Wadeye. Until they encounter the bilingual education system at primary school, the children of Wadeye grow up in a largely monolingual Murrinhpatha environment. The research will examine how children structure narratives in this typologically unusual language. It will provide insights into how information interacts with linguistic complexity, cognitive constraints and social interaction. This project aims to maintain the vitality of Murrinhpatha in the community and contribute to the development of bilingual education programmes.Read moreRead less
Saibai Island language and cultural knowledge project. This project aims to record the Saibai Island Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect, using the Australian Descriptive Framework. The diaspora of Saibai Islanders, the impact of climate change, and the ageing and passing away of knowledge custodians make it crucial to capture the language and cultural knowledge. Under the direction of elders and cultural knowledge custodians, this project will record and document the dialect, particularly ‘Big’ Sabai langua ....Saibai Island language and cultural knowledge project. This project aims to record the Saibai Island Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect, using the Australian Descriptive Framework. The diaspora of Saibai Islanders, the impact of climate change, and the ageing and passing away of knowledge custodians make it crucial to capture the language and cultural knowledge. Under the direction of elders and cultural knowledge custodians, this project will record and document the dialect, particularly ‘Big’ Sabai language. It will use recording technology and digital analysis to document cultural knowledge and language for current and future generations of Saibailagal (Saibai people). A culturally appropriate endangered language community methodology that preserves language and cultural knowledge will benefit Indigenous communities and researchers.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: De220100356
Funder
Australian Research Council
Summary
Mother Tongue: Language revitalisation through immersive practice. This project aims to expand and enhance Gunditjmara language ecology. It will examine Gunditjmara language acquisition and learning through practical methodologies in everyday settings and across the spectrum of cultural revitalisation praxis. Expected outcomes include new knowledge about the value and efficacy of traditional Aboriginal pedagogical and methodological approaches in language acquisition and intergenerational knowle ....Mother Tongue: Language revitalisation through immersive practice. This project aims to expand and enhance Gunditjmara language ecology. It will examine Gunditjmara language acquisition and learning through practical methodologies in everyday settings and across the spectrum of cultural revitalisation praxis. Expected outcomes include new knowledge about the value and efficacy of traditional Aboriginal pedagogical and methodological approaches in language acquisition and intergenerational knowledge transmission. A cultural model of immersion practice, toolkit and digital resources will support cultural continuity, survival and thriving of First Languages into the future. Benefits include increased Aboriginal language use and improved transmission to safeguard and revitalise enduring Aboriginal traditions.
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Tangsa Wihu song: insight into culture through language, music and ritual. This project seeks to study the complex and under-researched linguistic diversity of the newly opening India–Myanmar borders. The Tangsa Wihu song-cycle is a ritual and poetic tradition common to people in a very linguistically diverse community situated in the India–Myanmar border region. This project plans to study this song-cycle, which was traditionally performed over many hours and days, examining the linguistic, his ....Tangsa Wihu song: insight into culture through language, music and ritual. This project seeks to study the complex and under-researched linguistic diversity of the newly opening India–Myanmar borders. The Tangsa Wihu song-cycle is a ritual and poetic tradition common to people in a very linguistically diverse community situated in the India–Myanmar border region. This project plans to study this song-cycle, which was traditionally performed over many hours and days, examining the linguistic, historical and musicological features of the song in its various contexts. The rich and complex linguistic diversity of Tangsa is shining a light on traditional patterns of human linguistic and social development, and this detailed study is expected to enhance our knowledge of the linguistic and cultural diversity of India and Myanmar.Read moreRead less