A longitudinal study of the interaction of home and school language in three Aboriginal communities. The importance of language skills cannot be underestimated, and contribute to 'a healthy start to life'. In multilingual Indigenous communities, children must negotiate the complexities of different languages used for different purposes. This project will provide detailed insights into how children manage differences between home and school language, the kinds of problems they encounter when the ....A longitudinal study of the interaction of home and school language in three Aboriginal communities. The importance of language skills cannot be underestimated, and contribute to 'a healthy start to life'. In multilingual Indigenous communities, children must negotiate the complexities of different languages used for different purposes. This project will provide detailed insights into how children manage differences between home and school language, the kinds of problems they encounter when they enter the school system, and how their languages develop over the first four crucial years of school which provide the foundation for the children's future education. Their ability to manage the language of school underpins their ability to lead successful and engaged lives as adults. Read moreRead less
Modelling micro-level language planning and intervention in regional Australian refugee communities. This project is the first empirically-based Australian study of motivation in immigrant communities' language maintenance and micro-level language planning. It addresses the linguistic, social and cultural issues of refugee settlement in Australia. It is in line with the Australian National Research Priority of 'Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric' and 'help families and individu ....Modelling micro-level language planning and intervention in regional Australian refugee communities. This project is the first empirically-based Australian study of motivation in immigrant communities' language maintenance and micro-level language planning. It addresses the linguistic, social and cultural issues of refugee settlement in Australia. It is in line with the Australian National Research Priority of 'Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric' and 'help families and individuals live healthy, productive lives'. The outcomes offer major practical benefits to improve resettlement services, develop informed language policies and indirectly better the social and mental well-being of refugees. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100872
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,761.00
Summary
Aboriginal language evolution in urban contexts. This project aims to investigate how Aboriginal languages evolve in, and shape, Aboriginal engagement in cities. It will focus on Darwin-based speakers of Murrinhpatha, a language with unusually complex word structure. The expected outcome of this project is an understanding of linguistic complexity in an urban context.
Life after death: Exploring the birth of Gurindji Kriol, a new Aboriginal mixed language. Considerable attention is currently being directed towards the problems faced by Indigenous people living in remote communities. Just how best to help the younger generations emerge from the cycle of poor health and education standards is the topic of many debates in contemporary Australian society and politics. This project addresses the issue of what it is to be a modern Indigenous person and how this ide ....Life after death: Exploring the birth of Gurindji Kriol, a new Aboriginal mixed language. Considerable attention is currently being directed towards the problems faced by Indigenous people living in remote communities. Just how best to help the younger generations emerge from the cycle of poor health and education standards is the topic of many debates in contemporary Australian society and politics. This project addresses the issue of what it is to be a modern Indigenous person and how this identity is expressed linguistically. In understanding more clearly what it means to be a modern Indigenous person, communication channels between mainstream Australia and Indigenous communities can be improved.Read moreRead less
Voice, indexicality and the mediation of diversity on Australian television. Multicultural Australia is a country of many voices, although concern has been expressed about the under-representation of those voices in the media. This project investigates how the voices of minority groups are represented on mainstream Australian television, when they do appear. It examines a substantial body of TV data, from four types of programming: news, sports, advertising and drama. It focuses on minority ethn ....Voice, indexicality and the mediation of diversity on Australian television. Multicultural Australia is a country of many voices, although concern has been expressed about the under-representation of those voices in the media. This project investigates how the voices of minority groups are represented on mainstream Australian television, when they do appear. It examines a substantial body of TV data, from four types of programming: news, sports, advertising and drama. It focuses on minority ethnic voices and on voices linked to different social classes. Close analysis of media processes will be supplemented by consulting professionals and TV viewers. The findings will provide a new perspective on the media’s role in promoting or curtailing cultural literacy and linguistic diversity.Read moreRead less
Success and failure in second language learning (SLL). Why do some people succeed in learning a second language to very high levels and others fail miserably despite the fact that both groups may have set out with similarly positive attitudes and high levels of motivation? This research project focuses on the social contexts in which second language learning takes place. It aims to provide an insider account of what it is like to be a successful or unsuccessful L2 user. It will describe the ling ....Success and failure in second language learning (SLL). Why do some people succeed in learning a second language to very high levels and others fail miserably despite the fact that both groups may have set out with similarly positive attitudes and high levels of motivation? This research project focuses on the social contexts in which second language learning takes place. It aims to provide an insider account of what it is like to be a successful or unsuccessful L2 user. It will describe the linguistic and discursive resources language learners have access to, and the ways in which such access is structured in the communities they participate in.Read moreRead less
Preserving and reviving language and culture of Norfolk Island. The project will help revive the endangered Norfolk Island language, thereby strengthening the sense of identity of the Norfolk Islanders. It will help achieve greater visibility of the language through an exhibition, interpretive signage and production of educational resources. The training provided will open up employment opportunities in education and cultural tourism in a remote community.
The social dynamics of language: a study of phonological variation and change in West Australian English. This project studies the role of pronunciation as a marker of individual and community identity. As the first systematic study of accent variability in Perth, it focusses on how, across different contexts, speakers from older and younger generations and different backgrounds deploy speech as a means of projecting social affiliation and difference.
Community languages in early 21st Century Australia. Drawing on the 2001 and earlier censuses, three in-depth studies and a survey of community institutions, this project will provide an up-to-date assessment of the use and maintenance levels of a range of community languages and of Australia's changing language demography. It will test models of language maintenance/shift and the impact of census question changes on the calculation of language shift. It will contribute to the international lite ....Community languages in early 21st Century Australia. Drawing on the 2001 and earlier censuses, three in-depth studies and a survey of community institutions, this project will provide an up-to-date assessment of the use and maintenance levels of a range of community languages and of Australia's changing language demography. It will test models of language maintenance/shift and the impact of census question changes on the calculation of language shift. It will contribute to the international literature in the field as well as to a greater understanding of our own community. The latter will allow an informed approach to Australian language policy issues in the early twenty-first century.Read moreRead less
Change in language, culture and identity in a small isolated speech community: Palmerston Island English. This project will investigate language variation and change through a case study of Palmerston Island, a small, isolated community in the Cook Islands, where a new dialect of English has developed. The relationship between social networks, cultural identity and linguistic variation will be explored.