The spread of gender-inclusive language reform in Outer-Circle Englishes: English in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines. This examination aims to describe the adoption and spread of gender-inclusive language use in the Englishes in Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and to compare this process to the one observed in 'native' Englishes (eg.Australian English). The comparative approach between 'native' and 'non-native' Englishes is innovative. Expected outcomes include significant progre ....The spread of gender-inclusive language reform in Outer-Circle Englishes: English in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines. This examination aims to describe the adoption and spread of gender-inclusive language use in the Englishes in Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and to compare this process to the one observed in 'native' Englishes (eg.Australian English). The comparative approach between 'native' and 'non-native' Englishes is innovative. Expected outcomes include significant progress in the study of planned language change, of English as a global language and language and gender identity. The study will have an impact on social policy development.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100118
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$387,882.00
Summary
Empowering vulnerable youth in Australia by combatting linguistic racism. This project aims to investigate how culturally and linguistically diverse young Australians experience discrimination in their daily lives because of how they speak.The project will generate new knowledge addressing the critical need to review the linguistic disparity experienced by bi/multilingual speakers. Major benefits are policy recommendations to improve health and welfare of the population.
English as a spoken lingua franca in ASEAN: a study of its linguistic and socio-cultural features. The project will collect the first corpus of Lingua Franca English in Asia. It will thus complement the two European LFE projects currently underway and will put Australia at the forefront of this new research. Given that the findings of the research have the potential to revolutionise the ways English is taught and learned throughout the ASEAN region, as it takes the focus away from the impositio ....English as a spoken lingua franca in ASEAN: a study of its linguistic and socio-cultural features. The project will collect the first corpus of Lingua Franca English in Asia. It will thus complement the two European LFE projects currently underway and will put Australia at the forefront of this new research. Given that the findings of the research have the potential to revolutionise the ways English is taught and learned throughout the ASEAN region, as it takes the focus away from the imposition of an external native speaker norm of English. The research thus places Australia in the forefront of culturally and contextually sensitive work into English language teaching and research. The project will also benefit all communities within Australia where English plays a role as a lingua franca.Read moreRead less
Cultural linguistics and intercultural discourse. This project will develop a theoretical framework for the study of intercultural communication by drawing on the theory of cultural linguistics. Cultural linguistics is a recent sub-field of linguistics which has so far been applied to the study of mono-cultural, monolinguistic data. This study will bring the theory to examine discourse in a significant muli-cultural setting such as Australia. In particular, it will shed light on the nature of mi ....Cultural linguistics and intercultural discourse. This project will develop a theoretical framework for the study of intercultural communication by drawing on the theory of cultural linguistics. Cultural linguistics is a recent sub-field of linguistics which has so far been applied to the study of mono-cultural, monolinguistic data. This study will bring the theory to examine discourse in a significant muli-cultural setting such as Australia. In particular, it will shed light on the nature of miscommunication between people of different cultural backgrounds, which has often led to serious damage to human relationships. This will be achieved by explicating the culturally-constructed conceptualizations that people bring to their intercultural discourse.Read moreRead less
Towards improved quality of written patient records: language proficiency standards for non-native speaking health professionals. This project will focus on the quality and safety of healthcare in Australia by improving the screening of written communication of overseas trained non-native English speaking health professionals. This project will be achieved by investigating writing practices in hospitals and by setting more profession-oriented standards on the Occupational English Test.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100211
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
The Big Australian Speech Corpus: An audio-visual speech corpus of Australian English. Contemporary speech science and technology are driven by the availability of large speech corpora. While audio databases exist for languages spoken in America, Europe and Japan, there is currently no large auditory-visual database of spoken language, and certainly not one for Australian English. Here we will establish the Big Australian Speech Corpus, which will support a speech science research and developmen ....The Big Australian Speech Corpus: An audio-visual speech corpus of Australian English. Contemporary speech science and technology are driven by the availability of large speech corpora. While audio databases exist for languages spoken in America, Europe and Japan, there is currently no large auditory-visual database of spoken language, and certainly not one for Australian English. Here we will establish the Big Australian Speech Corpus, which will support a speech science research and development using Australian English and facilitate the development of Australian speech technology applications from automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech synthesis used in taxi and other ordering services, to hearing prostheses and talking head aids for learning-impaired children, and a range of security and forensic applications.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100493
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,000.00
Summary
Aboriginal English in the global city: Minorities and language change. This project aims to document patterns of variation and change in metropolitan Aboriginal English. Since colonisation, English has encroached on Australian languages, and Aboriginal English has emerged as a powerful carrier of ethnic identity. The project will quantitatively study how Aboriginal English storytelling functions cross-generationally, and whether global linguistic innovations are apparent. Exploring these dynamic ....Aboriginal English in the global city: Minorities and language change. This project aims to document patterns of variation and change in metropolitan Aboriginal English. Since colonisation, English has encroached on Australian languages, and Aboriginal English has emerged as a powerful carrier of ethnic identity. The project will quantitatively study how Aboriginal English storytelling functions cross-generationally, and whether global linguistic innovations are apparent. Exploring these dynamics is key to understanding language change in minority urban communities, and to refining educational programs to suit the needs of Indigenous children and youth. The project expects to inform the implementation of cross-cultural teaching programmes in Australia, helping teachers and curriculum developers to design materials, and to empower Indigenous Australians by documenting how Aboriginal English is changing.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100216
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,000.00
Summary
Emotions, language and culture in Arnhem Land (Katherine region). This project aims to increase our understanding of emotional language and cultural practices about emotions among Indigenous Australian groups. Emotion is a fundamental human experience, yet different languages provide very different ways of talking about it. What are the consequences of this? Are these differences culturally constrained? Might differences in the grammar of a language influence the way its speakers express emotion ....Emotions, language and culture in Arnhem Land (Katherine region). This project aims to increase our understanding of emotional language and cultural practices about emotions among Indigenous Australian groups. Emotion is a fundamental human experience, yet different languages provide very different ways of talking about it. What are the consequences of this? Are these differences culturally constrained? Might differences in the grammar of a language influence the way its speakers express emotions, or even the way they experience emotions? This project seeks to describe and compare the way emotions are expressed in five Aboriginal languages of Arnhem Land. Four of these languages are endangered and the project will also provide the urgent documentation needed to preserve them.Read moreRead less
Landscape, language and culture in Indigenous Australia. This project aims to determine how culture and social diversity interact with landscape in representing physical space in the minds and grammars of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages. The project will conduct the first Australia-wide survey of Indigenous spatial description correlated with landscape, and the first large-scale investigation of diversity in spatial behaviour among individuals within communities. The findings are exp ....Landscape, language and culture in Indigenous Australia. This project aims to determine how culture and social diversity interact with landscape in representing physical space in the minds and grammars of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages. The project will conduct the first Australia-wide survey of Indigenous spatial description correlated with landscape, and the first large-scale investigation of diversity in spatial behaviour among individuals within communities. The findings are expected to inform crucial debates on the formative role of landscape in language, and advance our knowledge of human spatial cognition. It will collect completely new experimental and natural data in six endangered languages, with significant benefits for the maintenance of Indigenous languages and cultures.Read moreRead less