Linguistic analysis of Ngarrindjeri texts. The Ngarrindjeri language of the Lower Murray of South Australia was richly documented in the nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. The largest body of texts (163 texts in Berndt and Berndt, 1993) is a treasure-trove of language and cultural knowledge from the 1940s, but has received little linguistic attention, because of difficulties in interpreting writing conventions and because of the inadequate translations provided. Through systematic linguisti ....Linguistic analysis of Ngarrindjeri texts. The Ngarrindjeri language of the Lower Murray of South Australia was richly documented in the nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. The largest body of texts (163 texts in Berndt and Berndt, 1993) is a treasure-trove of language and cultural knowledge from the 1940s, but has received little linguistic attention, because of difficulties in interpreting writing conventions and because of the inadequate translations provided. Through systematic linguistic analysis and reconstructions, this project aims to shed light on how Ngarrindjeri changed over the 100 years since first documentation, how clan languages differed, and how Ngarrindjeri texts and sentences were structured. It is expected to provide important insight into the variation expected in language contact situations.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100013
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
Nyingarn: a platform for primary sources in Australian Indigenous languages. This project aims to build Nyingarn, an online platform of digital text versions of early Australian Indigenous language manuscripts with images of the original documents. There are over a thousand such documents that are foundational to understanding Australia's languages, and Nyingarn makes textual versions, accessions, and navigates such documents, with a means for adding more in future. Expected outcomes of this pro ....Nyingarn: a platform for primary sources in Australian Indigenous languages. This project aims to build Nyingarn, an online platform of digital text versions of early Australian Indigenous language manuscripts with images of the original documents. There are over a thousand such documents that are foundational to understanding Australia's languages, and Nyingarn makes textual versions, accessions, and navigates such documents, with a means for adding more in future. Expected outcomes of this project are accessible sources useful for educational materials, and for understanding the local language, its history, and its relationship to other languages. Nyingarn will provide cutting-edge methods for ingesting, analysing, and presenting these historical materials, both for research and for the general public.Read moreRead less
The building blocks of language: Words in Central Australian languages. This project seeks to model the structure of words and phrases in three indigenous languages of of central Australia: Anmatyerr, Kaytetye, and Warumungu. The project will advance our understanding of the different ways that words and phrases function as the building blocks of language: how words vary in complexity, and the different ways that they combine to generate higher levels of linguistc structure. The project will pre ....The building blocks of language: Words in Central Australian languages. This project seeks to model the structure of words and phrases in three indigenous languages of of central Australia: Anmatyerr, Kaytetye, and Warumungu. The project will advance our understanding of the different ways that words and phrases function as the building blocks of language: how words vary in complexity, and the different ways that they combine to generate higher levels of linguistc structure. The project will preserve Indigenous language heritage and contribute to Indigenous cultural maintenance, a significant factor in advancing Indigenous well-being. The project will generate new insights into language structure that will advance linguistic theory, and inform language teaching and speech processing technologies.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200646
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$280,510.00
Summary
Understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language ecologies. The project aims to advance understandings of Indigenous languages across Australia by investigating which languages are used where (‘language ecologies’), and how they impact on people's lives. With Indigenous co-researchers, the project plans to illuminate present and historical features of language ecologies. Its significance is in bridging a chasm between Indigenous people's understandings of languages, and a lack of goo ....Understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language ecologies. The project aims to advance understandings of Indigenous languages across Australia by investigating which languages are used where (‘language ecologies’), and how they impact on people's lives. With Indigenous co-researchers, the project plans to illuminate present and historical features of language ecologies. Its significance is in bridging a chasm between Indigenous people's understandings of languages, and a lack of good data on this for policy-makers. Expected outcomes are better empirical data on language use and new methods for identifying language ecologies. Intended benefits include increased appreciation of the rich history of Indigenous language use, leading to new capacity for policy-makers to distinguish language ecologies.Read moreRead less
Skin and kin in Aboriginal Australia: linguistic and historical perspectives on the dynamics of social categories. Indigenous Australians have unique ways of talking about social relations, linking them over wide regions as family. This project will trace the history of these terminologies and the evolution of these relations. The results will reveal the dynamics of Indigenous societies and resolve long-standing questions about human society generally.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100063
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$539,000.00
Summary
A Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages - Stage II. A living archive of Aboriginal languages - Stage 2: A living archive of 16 Australian Indigenous languages was created with funding from an ARC 2012 LIEF grant. This project for Stage 2 aims to involve more partner organisations to radically expand the number of languages and document types included, to develop bespoke interfaces and technical configurations at the remote community level, and to engage local language authorities, community mem ....A Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages - Stage II. A living archive of Aboriginal languages - Stage 2: A living archive of 16 Australian Indigenous languages was created with funding from an ARC 2012 LIEF grant. This project for Stage 2 aims to involve more partner organisations to radically expand the number of languages and document types included, to develop bespoke interfaces and technical configurations at the remote community level, and to engage local language authorities, community members and school students to work with researchers around the world in refining and extending the archive. Read moreRead less
Western Desert speech styles and verbal arts. Verbal arts are central to social interaction. In the Western Desert Ngaanyatjarra and Ngaatjatjarra people use special speech styles to mark particular occasions and life transitions. Led by Ngaatjatjarra linguist, researcher and educator Elizabeth Marrkilyi Ellis, the research team aims to build on a corpus of these endangered oral traditions. Following in-depth linguistics analysis the project aims to implement strategies to revitalise these endan ....Western Desert speech styles and verbal arts. Verbal arts are central to social interaction. In the Western Desert Ngaanyatjarra and Ngaatjatjarra people use special speech styles to mark particular occasions and life transitions. Led by Ngaatjatjarra linguist, researcher and educator Elizabeth Marrkilyi Ellis, the research team aims to build on a corpus of these endangered oral traditions. Following in-depth linguistics analysis the project aims to implement strategies to revitalise these endangered styles through dynamic contemporary applications thus reintegrating them into the language socialisation framework of youth. The project aims to assist Aboriginal people to safeguard their heritage and contribute to a wider public appreciation of Aboriginal languages and cultures.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100016
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,000.00
Summary
A living archive of Australian Indigenous languages. A digital archive of endangered literature in more than 16 Australian Indigenous languages will be built in collaboration with the communities which own the languages, thereby enabling researchers to engage with texts (and related audiovisual files) as well as the Indigenous knowledge authorities for the languages.