School of Languages and Linguistics - Research Publications
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ItemIt's a word isn't it? Language affection as an outcome of language programmes.(School of Languages and Linguistics, 2000)Structural linguistics has a particular view of the integrity of language which may be detrimental to the construction of appropriate language maintenance programmes for small indigenous languages. In this paper I outline ways in which ‘affective’ use of language may be the most useful target of language programmes in some situations, based on my experience with Australian indigenous languages. Fluency in a language may not be the achievable outcome of a language course for a number of reasons, not least among them being the enormity of the task perceived by learners of the language. For languages with few or no speakers we should be able to construct language programmes in which the use of a small number of terms in the target language, for purposes of identity, is a sufficient and realistic outcome.
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ItemTranslation Studies Should Help Solve Social Problems(Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 2003)It is proposed that the main tasks of Translation Studies should be to help solve certain social problems. This may provide a model of interdisciplinarity where the definition of problems precedes and orients the many disciplines that may be used to solve them. It is suggested that suitable problems may be recognized in terms of three ethical criteria: 1) the possible solutions should concern linguistic mediation, 2) the aim should be to promote cooperation between cultures, and 3) the problems should proceed from social disagreements. It is hoped that application of these criteria will protect the interdiscipline from excessive instrumentalization.
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ItemAlternatives to Borders in Translation Theory(BRILL, 2003-01-01)
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ItemInnovation and E-learning in Translator Training Reports on Online Symposia(Intercultural Studies Group, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2003)
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ItemMissing the point! Misprints, mistranslations, & transformations(University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association, 2003)The translation of literary works necessitates a process of linguistic and cultural transfer. This paper analyzes French translations of twentieth century Australian children’s fiction and highlights the variety of translational tendencies and interpretive choices at work in moving texts from one culture to another. While ‘mistakes’ in translation represent an undesirable yet inevitable side effect of the translation process, they offer choice moments of insight into constraints of culture and language. These constraints account for the important distinction between simple error, reinterpretation, and the appropriation of cultural content to reflect a preferred set of images.
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ItemExotisme et couleur locale – essai d’une analyse constrastive des champs sémantiques respectifs( 2003)La terminologie littéraire et le discours critique contemporains dans le domaine français semblent reléguer d’une façon presque unanime et irrévocable le syntagme couleur locale parmi les expressions désuètes appartenant au discours littéraire « pré-théorique ». En revanche, les deux décennies passées ont témoigné d’un renouveau d’intérêt pour l’exotisme littéraire, devenu l’objet de nombreux travaux d’érudition, thèses universitaires et colloques. S’agirait-it d’une simple expansion du champ de l’exotisme au détriment du terme évincé, jugé trop démodé ?Cet article, présentant les résultats d’une thèse toujours en chantier, se propose d’établir le rapport et le degré de parenté entre ces deux termes voisins en démontrant que le transfert sémantique en question est loin de s’arrêter à une simple question d’appellation.En analysant les définitions lexicographiques et celles proposées par des ouvrages d’érudition importants ainsi que les différentes occurrences des deux termes, nous tenterons de démontrer les différences existant entre leurs acceptions originales respectives et d’esquisser dans une perspective diachronique les voies d’évolution sémantique qui ont pu favoriser leur contamination mutuelle, aboutissant à l’élimination d’un des termes jugé superflu du système terminologique actuel. Ce faisant nous essaierons d’expliquer les raisons pour lesquelles le terme couleur locale était souvent doté d’une connotation péjorative au cours de sa longue évolution sémantique en examinant son pertinence dans un système terminologique contemporain.Finalement, nous examinerons les problèmes que la définition de la couleur locale pose, surtout sur le plan international, en raison des contaminations des champs sémantiques de ses équivalents linguistiques par ceux des termes dénotant les courants apparentés des traditions nationales dans plus d’une aire linguistique (loca
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ItemYaakov Shabtai and Tel Aviv: "The Terrible Transformation"(Australian Association of Jewish Studies, 2002)
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ItemRaddoppiamento sintattico and glottalization phenomena in Italian: a first phonetic excursus( 2002)This study is a preliminary phonetic exploration of aspects of the well-known Italian sandhi phenomenon of Raddoppiamento sintattico (henceforth RS), which involves the gemination of word-initial consonants under certain conditions, eg dei [k]ani ‘some dogs’ but tre [kk]ani ‘three dogs’. It is often assumed that RS C-gemination is regular, but there is increasing evidence that it competes with other phenomena such as vowel lengthening. This study first discusses results of our auditory study of RS contexts, which show that RS is far less frequent in spontaneous speech than is theoretically predicted. This paper then looks specifically at glottal stop insertion and creak in RS contexts, based on the results of an initial small-scale acoustic investigation. The first has controversially been reported as occurring in RS environments where it serves to block RS (Absalom & Hajek, 1997). In addition, glottal stops have also been claimed to provide a coda to short word-final stressed vowels outside of RS environments (Vayra, 1994). We discuss our unexpected finding that glottalization characterizes phrase boundaries in our spontaneous speech data, and the implications that this evidence may have for the phonetic and phonological description of Italian and for our understanding of RS.
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ItemLanguages and culture in Australia in the 21st century: riding the multilingual tiger(Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training, 2001)The rise of English as the world's dominant world language is seen by many as inevitable and permanent. While it might seem to bestow great advantage on native English-speakers, such an outcome is not guaranteed today or over time. It also runs the risk of disadvantaging English-speakers who are less inclined to see and grasp the benefits of multilingualism. History shows linguisitc predominance not to be permanent and there are compelling reasons - economic amongst them - in ensuring Australians are fluent in more than just English.
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ItemNatrausuen nig Efat/Stories from South Efate,Vanuatu(Ms, 2000-02)A collection of some 65 stories in South Efate language and English, divided into Kastom (Custom), Life stories, and General stories.