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
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
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.
Developing a language and literacy Needs Analysis model for Indigenous vocational education students who speak English as a second language/dialect. This project aims to develop a Literacy Needs Analysis Model for use by educators targeting rural and remote Indigenous vocational education students who speak Standard Australian English as a second language/dialect. Addressing their significant learning needs will enhance their transition into further education/training and/or the workforce.
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.
Evolution Of Knowledge: Transformations And Universals. This project has two principal benefits: A basic scientific outcome concerning the evolution of language and an applied outcome that can inform the design of graphical communication tools. The evolution of language is one of the most hotly debated issues in contemporary science, but to date it has escaped experimental examination. This project develops an experimental methodology that permits examination of the processes by which human know ....Evolution Of Knowledge: Transformations And Universals. This project has two principal benefits: A basic scientific outcome concerning the evolution of language and an applied outcome that can inform the design of graphical communication tools. The evolution of language is one of the most hotly debated issues in contemporary science, but to date it has escaped experimental examination. This project develops an experimental methodology that permits examination of the processes by which human knowledge evolves across generations of teachers and learners. In addition, by also examining the final content of evolution, and by determining what type of graphical symbols emerge out of communal evolution, the project can inform the future design of graphical communication tools (e.g., road signs).Read moreRead less
Medieval Irish law texts: scholarly, legal and social development. This interdisciplinary project focuses on a vast collection of Irish law texts. Those texts reflect developments in the Gaelic culture of Ireland over the entire medieval period. This project will bring a clearer understanding of the development of Celtic culture, which has been a strong factor in the creation of an Australian cultural identity.
ARC Research Network for Enabling Human Communication. The Human Communication Network promotes interdisciplinary research in speech, language, and sound by and between humans and machines. The network connects leading and emerging researchers across disciplines, exploits previously unrecognised intersections, supports interdisciplinary graduate training and exchanges, provides database storage infrastructure, and consults with industry and government to set, not follow, research agendas. By ge ....ARC Research Network for Enabling Human Communication. The Human Communication Network promotes interdisciplinary research in speech, language, and sound by and between humans and machines. The network connects leading and emerging researchers across disciplines, exploits previously unrecognised intersections, supports interdisciplinary graduate training and exchanges, provides database storage infrastructure, and consults with industry and government to set, not follow, research agendas. By generating an explosion of new approaches and knowledge, the network will build Australia's reputation as a leader in communication science and technology via advances in automatic speech recognition, distress call monitoring, hearing prostheses, web interfaces, and data retrieval and data mining systems.Read moreRead less
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