Are some languages better than others? It is important for the Australian community - speaking several hundred different indigenous and immigrant languages across the nation - to realise that each language has approximately (but not precisely) the same overall complexity as every other. One may have intricate word structure, while another has short words but elaborate rules for putting words together to make sentences. And, striding above 'political correctness', many people in Australia will be ....Are some languages better than others? It is important for the Australian community - speaking several hundred different indigenous and immigrant languages across the nation - to realise that each language has approximately (but not precisely) the same overall complexity as every other. One may have intricate word structure, while another has short words but elaborate rules for putting words together to make sentences. And, striding above 'political correctness', many people in Australia will be interested to know whether a certain language is a little more efficient than certain other languages for a particular purpose (for example, commercial business). Read moreRead less
Basic Linguistic Theory. The project is to write the first comprehensive monograph on basic linguistic theory, the theoretical model which underpins almost all grammatical descriptions and most work on typological universals of language (e.g. asking whether all languages have relative clauses, and how these differ between languages). Part 1 will focus on methodology, modes of argumentation and the components of a linguistic description, while Part 2 will profile grammatical categories and const ....Basic Linguistic Theory. The project is to write the first comprehensive monograph on basic linguistic theory, the theoretical model which underpins almost all grammatical descriptions and most work on typological universals of language (e.g. asking whether all languages have relative clauses, and how these differ between languages). Part 1 will focus on methodology, modes of argumentation and the components of a linguistic description, while Part 2 will profile grammatical categories and construction types (such as negation, interrogatives, causatives). This work will constitute both a major contribution to linguistic theory and also a practical manual for pursuing linguistic description and typological generalisations concerning the nature of human language.Read moreRead less
The effects of sentence structure on consonant and vowel articulations. Whilst machine-generated speech is generally of good quality at the level of the single word, it is noticeably less natural-sounding at the level of the sentence. This project examines an important aspect of the naturalness of human speech, namely, the effect that sentence structure has on individual consonants and vowels. A break-down of this naturalness is seen in some speakers who have suffered traumatic brain injury: suc ....The effects of sentence structure on consonant and vowel articulations. Whilst machine-generated speech is generally of good quality at the level of the single word, it is noticeably less natural-sounding at the level of the sentence. This project examines an important aspect of the naturalness of human speech, namely, the effect that sentence structure has on individual consonants and vowels. A break-down of this naturalness is seen in some speakers who have suffered traumatic brain injury: such speakers perform well when asked to utter a short word, but struggle when asked to produce a longer string of sounds. A better understanding of the interaction between speech sounds and sentence structure will lead to improvements in the treatment of speech disorders, and in the quality of human-machine communication.Read moreRead less
Learning to talk whitefella way. Many Indigenous children speak Aboriginal English or 'Kriol', which often sounds very different to Standard Australian English. Understanding the differences between these languages, and how 'Kriol' affects the learning of English, will help us to better assist Indigenous children to learn English and likely improve their educational outcomes.
Discovering the developmental trajectory of lexical stress production. In English words some syllables are more strongly stressed than others. Most children will learn to emphasise these syllables appropriately but some will not. This project will help to understand the normal development of this vital aspect of speech production and allow more effective assistance to those who experience difficulties.
Lexical access in Australian languages. This project aims to investigate how listeners use cues from the way speech sounds are produced to break the speech stream into individual, recognisable words. The project investigates Australian languages which show unusual patterns in the production of speech sounds to generate new knowledge about speech perception and production. Outcomes will include advances in theories of speech processing, informing the development of speech processing systems, and ....Lexical access in Australian languages. This project aims to investigate how listeners use cues from the way speech sounds are produced to break the speech stream into individual, recognisable words. The project investigates Australian languages which show unusual patterns in the production of speech sounds to generate new knowledge about speech perception and production. Outcomes will include advances in theories of speech processing, informing the development of speech processing systems, and contributions to Indigenous cultural maintenance.Read moreRead less
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.
Language processing in children with high functioning autism: Evidence from eye tracking. The language abilities in people with autism predict their response to intervention and their cognitive outcome. Young children with autism with poor language abilities are severely disadvantaged. Yet we understand little about what impedes their language development and their interpretation of what others say. The research findings will make a significant contribution by enriching our understanding of why ....Language processing in children with high functioning autism: Evidence from eye tracking. The language abilities in people with autism predict their response to intervention and their cognitive outcome. Young children with autism with poor language abilities are severely disadvantaged. Yet we understand little about what impedes their language development and their interpretation of what others say. The research findings will make a significant contribution by enriching our understanding of why and how comprehension may go astray, as well as helping us to identify subgroups within the autism population.Read moreRead less
New Insights on Modelling Time Trends with Panel Data: Theory and Practice. This project aims to tackle important challenges in time trend modelling by taking advantage of panel data structures. This project expects to propose flexible models in time trend modelling to retrieve reliable inference. The expected outcomes include innovative econometric models and methods that have a wide range of applications, and are particularly suited for empirical problems within large and complex systems. This ....New Insights on Modelling Time Trends with Panel Data: Theory and Practice. This project aims to tackle important challenges in time trend modelling by taking advantage of panel data structures. This project expects to propose flexible models in time trend modelling to retrieve reliable inference. The expected outcomes include innovative econometric models and methods that have a wide range of applications, and are particularly suited for empirical problems within large and complex systems. This will provide significant benefits to all fields in which data displays any form of trending behaviour. The proposed model is used to evaluate the economic consequences of climate change and global housing market contagion, which provide strong evidence-based insights to the environmental and economic policies in Australia.Read moreRead less
Constrained and Stable Solutions of Nonlinear and Semismooth Equations. In this project, comprehensive models for designing safe power system parameters will be proposed, efficient algorthms for solving these models will be constructed. The new models and algorithms in this project will provide efficient tools to prevent catastrophic events in power systems, which is related with national security. This project will also strengthen collaboration of Australian applied
mathematians with inter ....Constrained and Stable Solutions of Nonlinear and Semismooth Equations. In this project, comprehensive models for designing safe power system parameters will be proposed, efficient algorthms for solving these models will be constructed. The new models and algorithms in this project will provide efficient tools to prevent catastrophic events in power systems, which is related with national security. This project will also strengthen collaboration of Australian applied
mathematians with international researchers and engineering scientists. This is important for the advance of science and technology in
Australia.Read moreRead less