Language engineering in the field: preserving 100 endangered languages in New Guinea. Efforts to preserve the world's endangered linguistic heritage are labour-intensive, and unable to keep up with the pace of language loss. This project investigates a new approach to language preservation, using techniques from language engineering, and leveraging the labour of mother-tongue speakers.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100099
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$381,601.00
Summary
Pitcairn Island Language in the Diaspora. This project aims to expand knowledge of how different social environments affect language structure and use. It will analyse Pitkern, the Pitcairn Island language which is on the brink of extinction. It will supplement existing documentation of the language with that of its diaspora varieties in New Zealand and Australia. The outcomes will reveal the causes, processes and results of language change in Pitkern and create a foundation for comparison with ....Pitcairn Island Language in the Diaspora. This project aims to expand knowledge of how different social environments affect language structure and use. It will analyse Pitkern, the Pitcairn Island language which is on the brink of extinction. It will supplement existing documentation of the language with that of its diaspora varieties in New Zealand and Australia. The outcomes will reveal the causes, processes and results of language change in Pitkern and create a foundation for comparison with other island beach community languages.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101609
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$392,315.00
Summary
Telling the whole story in one sentence. This project aims to produce a framework for analysis of the ultra-long sentences that occur in hundreds of languages and to investigate the processing of these sentences by adults and children. Anticipated outcomes are enhanced models of language structure, mental processing of language, and brain functions. Understanding of drastically-different sentence types in the world’s languages will further benefit foreign language learners, machine translators, ....Telling the whole story in one sentence. This project aims to produce a framework for analysis of the ultra-long sentences that occur in hundreds of languages and to investigate the processing of these sentences by adults and children. Anticipated outcomes are enhanced models of language structure, mental processing of language, and brain functions. Understanding of drastically-different sentence types in the world’s languages will further benefit foreign language learners, machine translators, and immigrants learning English.Read moreRead less
Small stones can break big canoes: Securing records of the world's indigenous languages. Fragile records of the world’s Indigenous languages are at risk of being lost. Better research methods that can benefit not only academics but also the general public aim to be developed in this project and used to train new researchers and community members in creating better records. Collaborating across Australia and the Pacific in building tools that will result in better research practices, it will incr ....Small stones can break big canoes: Securing records of the world's indigenous languages. Fragile records of the world’s Indigenous languages are at risk of being lost. Better research methods that can benefit not only academics but also the general public aim to be developed in this project and used to train new researchers and community members in creating better records. Collaborating across Australia and the Pacific in building tools that will result in better research practices, it will increase knowledge of what research has been done, and will target areas for future focus. Modelling new fieldwork methods, building reusable datasets, and curating long-term collections of language records will all be part of this project, as will outreach to support similar work both in linguistics and in the broader community.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL120100116
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,416,141.00
Summary
How gender shapes the world: a linguistic perspective. This project will seek to understand and explain gender roles in Australian society, and in nearby nations. Emphasis is placed on training researchers with an immigrant or minority background, working towards the empowerment of women researchers. This will enhance our nation's capacity to interpret and manage gender roles in multicultural contexts.
The integration of language and society. This project aims to seek associations between social and life-style differences and language structure. All human societies show pervasive similarities and all languages share recurrent features. Viewing society and language as an integrated whole, the project will study related groups in contrasting physical and social environments in PNG, Africa, East Asia, Amazonia and Australia. Inductive generalisations about associations between societal and langua ....The integration of language and society. This project aims to seek associations between social and life-style differences and language structure. All human societies show pervasive similarities and all languages share recurrent features. Viewing society and language as an integrated whole, the project will study related groups in contrasting physical and social environments in PNG, Africa, East Asia, Amazonia and Australia. Inductive generalisations about associations between societal and language parameters (e.g. varying techniques of address relating to articulated kin systems and social hierarchy) aim to provide insight into the human dynamic. Findings should benefit programmes for cultural awareness, language teaching and revitalisation and understanding of multicultural situations.Read moreRead less
How languages differ and why. When languages interact, they become similar in certain ways. This project will explore the reasons for this, by examining why there are many languages of diverse structures in certain regions, focussing on New Guinea, Amazonia and north-east Queensland. The project will assist with understanding how language helps and hinders inter-ethnic communication.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100142
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$238,000.00
Summary
Equipment and facilities upgrade for Asia Pacific and regional archive for digital sources in endangered cultures. PARADISEC is a digital archive of Australian researchers' recordings in the Asia Pacific region. The equipment and web facilities will be upgraded to increase security, accessibility and user interaction with the digital collection of audiovisual recordings and texts.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101008
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$379,229.00
Summary
Cyber Repression and Political Protests in Thailand. This project investigates the impact of digital repressive technologies on activism in autocracies through a case study of online opposition movements in Thailand. The project advances a new conceptual framework for the analysis of networked counterpublics, which outlines the conditions under which social media aids or contains digital dissidents. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive study of interactions between the Thai State and Free Y ....Cyber Repression and Political Protests in Thailand. This project investigates the impact of digital repressive technologies on activism in autocracies through a case study of online opposition movements in Thailand. The project advances a new conceptual framework for the analysis of networked counterpublics, which outlines the conditions under which social media aids or contains digital dissidents. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive study of interactions between the Thai State and Free Youth Movement and a series of conceptual tools to assess strategies for collective action in digitally repressive environments. It will also provide a roadmap to assist civil society and policymakers in building resilience against cyber repression and reclaiming online spaces for progressive change. Read moreRead less
Understanding emerging strategies in regional migration governance. This project examines emerging bilateral strategies in border control that are based on public communication. It focuses specifically on public information campaigns conducted in Indonesia in which religious messaging (Islamic and Christian) is used to discourage Indonesian communities from assisting people-smugglers and asylum seekers en route to Australia. The impact and broader implications of these campaigns for regional mig ....Understanding emerging strategies in regional migration governance. This project examines emerging bilateral strategies in border control that are based on public communication. It focuses specifically on public information campaigns conducted in Indonesia in which religious messaging (Islamic and Christian) is used to discourage Indonesian communities from assisting people-smugglers and asylum seekers en route to Australia. The impact and broader implications of these campaigns for regional migration governance will be investigated through qualitative methods. The project aims to provide an account of governance at the intersection of political and religious arenas with significance for border control in the Asia-Pacific and for an advanced understanding of regional governance processes.Read moreRead less