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LINGLINE is a departmental newsletter specific to the interests and concerns of postgraduate students and departmental staff within the Linguistics Department of Macquarie University. LINGLINE aims to help students and staff feel that they are in touch with the Department and its news, as well as with one another, whether one is currently in Sydney or elsewhere in Australia, New Zealand or any of 25 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. LINGLINE welcomes contributions from all students and staff in the Linguistics Department. Please submit notices by email to the editor Tessa Green tessa.green@ling.mq.edu.au  Any ideas or comments re this newsletter will also be gratefully received and can be directed by email to this site.

Congratulations and celebrations

Colleagues in the Department of Linguistics warmly congratulate Professor Anne Burns who has recently been elected to the Macquarie University Council.

We also wish to congratulate our linguistics PhD candidates whose degrees were recently approved by Senate. Congratulations to the following students and their supervisors:

Congratulations also go to Yasser Al Ahmed and his supervisor Verna Rieschild. Yasser has been awarded an MA (Hons) in Linguistics for his thesis entitled: "Arabic Legal Writing and Translation Issues: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives"

[CLICK HERE] for a recent photograph of research students Jooha Shin, Ursula Ibaraki, Vera Tetteh Williams, Saeed Al-Surf, Mahesh Radhakrishnan (begins PhD in June), Greg Flannery, Yasser Al-Ahmad, and Gerard O'Neill, with Dr Verna Rieschild (supervisor), and Associate Professor Casule, as they celebrate the successes of Ursula and Yasser's submissions of their final theses.

Linguistics research seminar series (2007)

For further information about the Linguistics Research Seminar Series for 2007, go to http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/research/researchseminars2006.htm

From our research students

Alec Benson, a student in the Professional Doctorate in Applied Linguistics, presented a paper entitled "Finding a Voice Online: helping ESL students develop communication skills" to the Blackboard Europe Conference in Nice, France. This stems directly from research done as a consequence of Linguistics 968, Computer Mediated Communication in Second Language Acquisition. Alec showed qualitative research based on the use of synchronous communication (chat) in WebCT to develop Arab women's speaking and writing skills. [CLICK HERE] for some photographs of Alec Benson including one taken while giving his presentation..

Staff Conference Reports

Dr. Rosalind Thornton
In January, I attended the LSA (Linguistic Society of America) Annual Meeting (easily confused with the ALS, the Australian Linguistic Society). The LSA is an important organization in the US, embracing all theories of linguistics. The neutral stance of the organization is easily seen by glancing at the papers in the LSA's journal Language, which is available in eJournals on the Macquarie library site. The LSA is a very big conference, that is held together with a number of other groups, including the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics. The conference itself tends to have more generative papers than functional ones, but there are two-and-a-half days of papers, in which about 6 sessions run concurrently, so there is plenty to hear. I gave two co-authored papers with Dr. Graciela Tesan, from MACCS, one on negation in child language, and the other how parameters are set in child language.

The conference is an excellent forum for postgraduate students to give papers. It is also known as the meat-market for PhD students just graduating -many departments hold job interviews here.

The 2007 conference was held in Anaheim, California. For those who don't know, Anaheim is the home of Disneyland, so I was treated to the screams of people on the ferris wheel from my hotel room. Next year, the conference will be in Chicago, a much chillier venue.

The conference is a good one to experience. The book exhibit is great, with 20% discount offered by most publishers. The downside is that it is held in very early January, and the airfares are high at that time of year.

For research students

The primary goal of the Macquarie University Postgraduate Research Fund (PGRF) is to provide the University’s postgraduate students with the means to enhance their postgraduate experience and add value to their thesis. The Scheme is run biannually (March and August) and applications are considered on a competitive basis taking into account individual merit and need. The maximum value of a PGRF award is $4,000. Full details at http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/internal/pgrf2

Funding Rules and application material are available from the Research Office website at http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/internal/pgrf2

The closing date for receipt of hardcopy applications in the Research Office is Friday 13 April 2007 at 5.00pm. Electronic copies of applications must also be received by the closing date, emailed to grants@mq.edu.au. Important points to note:

Any queries relating to this scheme should be directed to Ellen Young, ext 4462 or email Ellen.Young@vc.mq.edu.au

If you are a linguistics research student and intend to apply, please contact Colm Halbert (our Divisional Research & HDR Manager) Colm.Halbert@vc.mq.edu.au immediately as he plans to run a workshop to go through the application. External applicants can email him for workshop notes. The workshop - "Postgraduate Research Fund - Information Session" will be held in C3A 501 on 29 March from 12 - 1.30 pm.

News from NCELTR's Resource Centre

New publications

Academic culture: a student’s guide to studying at university, by Jean Brick. Sydney: NCELTR: 2006. 263p. NCELTR LB2395. B75 2006.This book examines issues that face students who are new to studying at university. It explains to students what lectures will expect of them. Using practical tasks, authentic texts and clear explanations, topics such as academic culture, being an independent learner, plagiarism, academic reading, argument and writing are dealt with.

Teacher cognition and language education: research and practice, by Simon Borg. London: Continuum: 2006. 314p. NCELTR LB1028.B58 2006. The author provides a timely discussion of the research which now exists on language teacher cognition, evaluates a range of research methods used in the study of it, and provides a framework for continuing research.

Useful websites for TESOL students

Websites for ESL teachers and researchers - http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/eslsites.html

DELTAA database (ESL and applied linguistics in Australasia) - http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/deltaa.htm

Thesis list (Macquarie University Linguistics Dept. theses) - http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/thesislist.html

NCELTR bibliographies and research guides- http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/bibliog.htm

Electronic journals list - http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/rcejournals.htm

For more information email rescentr@nceltr.mq.edu.au. Phone +61 2 98509653 9am - 5pm weekdays

From the Macquarie Library

The Library now has online access to the Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Formerly only available in print, the online version is available on ScienceDirect database and can be accessed via the Library catalogue.

Students please note that generic EndNote training will be available at the Library until early May for postgraduate students and Staff. See the Library training page for online bookings: http://www.library.mq.edu.au/training/courses.php. If you are unable to attend any of the scheduled sessions, please contact Mary Simons (mary.simons@library.mq.edu.au) or Karen Marks (karen.marks@library.mq.edu.au) to arrange an individual session. External students can do an online EndNote tutorial and download a copy (PC or Mac) from the Library website:http://www.library.mq.edu.au/endnote/index.html

For assistance with library resources and training you can contact Mary Simons (mary.simons@library.mq.edu.au phone: 9850-7536) or Karen Marks (karen.marks@library.mq.edu.au phone: 9850-9009) the Liaison Librarians for Linguistics.

Sad loss for linguistics

It is with great sadness that we hear of the of linguist John Sinclair. John was a prime mover in the development of discourse analysis before he became even better known for corpus work and Cobuild. He is one of the major applied lingusitics figures of the last forty years. Many of our Macquarie linguists knew and worked with John Sinclair and our condolences are sent to his family, friends and colleagues.

The following obituary was posted by Dr. Ute Römer from the English Department at Leibniz University of Hanover to various linguistics discussion lists and it provides an insightful account of John Sinclair's contribution to linguistics.

On behalf of Elena Tognini Bonelli
Obituary: John Sinclair (1933 - 2007)

13 March 2007 was a very sad day for the world of linguistics. John Sinclair (b. 14 June 1933) died at his home in Florence, aged 73. He will be deeply missed by his family, his colleagues and his many friends. His death is a terrible loss to everyone who knew him. Friends and colleagues are welcome to the interment of the urn which will be at the Cimitero degli Inglesi in Florence on 28 March at 3.30pm.

John was an outstanding scholar, a first-generation modern corpus linguist and clearly one of the most open-minded and original thinkers in the field. He was Professor of Modern English Language at the University of Birmingham for most of his career and founder of the ground-breaking COBUILD project in lexical computing which revolutionised lexicography in the 1980s and resulted in a new generation of corpus-driven dictionaries and reference materials for English language learners. After his retirement from Birmingham John moved to Italy where he became President of the Tuscan Word Centre, an association devoted to promoting the scientific study of language. On the short intensive courses that the Tuscan Word Centre offered, John very generously shared his original ideas about language and linguistics with generations of younger scholars, introduced numerous students to the fascinating world of corpora and inspired many new ideas for future research in linguistics. He was an Honorary Life Member of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain and a member of the Academia Europaea. John held an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Gothenburg, and Honorary Professorships in the Universities of Jiao Tong, Shanghai and Glasgow.

He is gone now and it will be very hard to get used to it. John's last email to me just a couple of days ago ended ''Very brief note tonight; more to follow.'' I will miss him.

Communicate like a professional - Sourced from the Macquarie Globe (Edition 11 - 15 March 2007) - http://www.international.mq.edu.au/globe/default.aspx?id=240&EditionID=139

Even when speaking the same language, misunderstandings still occur in the work environment. Macquarie's Department of Linguistics has developed specialised postgraduate programs in Communication in Professions and Organisations to combat this issue.

These communication programs are unique in their practical and real applications in the workplace. The programs also provide a pathway to research for interested students, with a professional doctorate program on offer.

This is how PhD student Janet Brady started on her academic career. Janet enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Communication in Professions and Organisations, then articulated into the Masters program and has now commenced her Doctorate. Janet enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma in Communication in Professions and Organisations, then articulated into the Masters program and has now commenced her Doctorate.

“The more I learnt, the more questions arose for me. There is no set formula for communication because everyone is unique," believes Janet.

"I would like to create workplace learning interventions that move beyond the generic ‘I statements’ that are currently practiced.”

Janet worked in a small IT company in which she liaised with clients frequently. “There were often problems in explaining problems from a client’s perspective to the IT specialists and vice versa.”

“I decided to enrol in this program due to my frustrations with certain work colleagues whom I perceived to be poor communicators. The program has exceeded my expectations. It has not only provided me with an understanding but also the expertise to develop strategies to adjust my communication style to others.”

The courses are taught by leading experts in the field, including Professor Chris Candlin. “It is a joy to be involved in the program, which is delivered by stimulating and inspirational experts,” says Janet.

The Department of Linguistics at Macquarie is the largest department of its kind in Australia. Within it, six research centres of international standing and several clinical groups operate collaboratively to foster a dynamic, inter-disciplinary teaching and research environment.

To learn more about Communication in Professions and Organisations courses, visit the website - http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/postgraduate/coursework/cpop/

Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards

Commonwealth Health Minister's Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research

The Hon Tony Abbott MP has called for nominations for the Commonwealth Health Minister's Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research, 2007. The Award is open to researchers who have completed their first PhD or MD within the last fifteen years. The annual Award, made in recognition of outstanding individual achievement in health and medical research in Australia, is now in its eighth year and consists of $50,000 and a presentation medal. The announcement of this year's winner will be in June 2007. Nominations for the year 2007 Award close 5pm Friday, 30 March 2007. Nominations are to come from the Head of Department, School, Division, Institute or equivalent level and must contain:

An original plus one (1) copy plus an electronic copy, are to be submitted to: Stefanie Lisewycz, Secretary to Advisory Panel, Centre for Research Management and Policy, National Health and Medical Research Council, GPO Box 1421, Canberra ACT 2601. stefanie.lisewycz@nhmrc.gov.au Please note that incomplete nominations will not proceed to the advisory panel for short listing and recommendation to the Minister. Late nominations will NOT be accepted.

Frederick Watson Fellowship - http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/external_schemes/#fwf
Have you already made your mark as a scholar? Are you interested in furthering your already substantial scholarly career using the collections at the National Archives of Australia? If so, you should consider applying for the Frederick Watson Fellowship. The fellowship provides a range of benefits for researchers that extend well beyond financial support. Applicants may be authors, academics, senior public servants, former politicians or scholars and should have either a postgraduate degree or a demonstrated record of published work. The internal closing date is 15 June 2007. The application closes on 29 June 2007 externally.

Margaret George Fellowship - http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/external_schemes/#mgf
Are you beginning a brilliant career? The Margaret George Award is for those who are establishing a Professorial in their chosen field of research and are interested in conducting further research at the National Archives. Applicants should have a demonstrable record of achievement and the potential to excel further. They could be demonstrable historians, independent researchers or journalists with a talent for research. The internal closing date is 15 June 2007. The application closes on 29 June 2007 externally.

Research news and information can be found at:
Research Office Bulletin Board: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/news/bulletin_board
Research Ethics Information and Application Forms: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/ethics
External Funding Schemes page: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/external_schemes
ARC Schemes: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/arc_schemes
NHMRC Schemes: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/nhmrc_schemes
Internal Funding Schemes dates: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/internal
Internal Grants Outcomes page: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/researchers/funding/internal/announcements
Research Reports: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/data_and_reporting
RESNET [Research Administrators Network]: http://www.research.mq.edu.au/structure_staff/resnet

The Sydney Chinese Lions Humanitarian Scholarship for 2007 is now open for application.
This scholarship was first established by the Lions Club of Sydney Chinese Inc (the Club) in 2003, and its purpose is to encourage and recognize humanitarian services undertaken by university students. This year, the award is $1,500 for one award winner. The eligible applicant must be studying at one of the universities in Sydney, with good character, who has undertaken and/or is planning to undertake humanitarian services. Selection is based on the nature and commendability of services rendered and/or to be rendered by the applicants. The Club has full discretion in selecting the award winner. No further correspondence will be entered into once the winner has been selected. Applicants are required to submit a report including (1) Name and contact details including address, email address and phone number. (2) University attended, year of study, and degree program pursued. (3) Record of humanitarian services performed. (4) Humanitarian services planned for the next 12 months. Submissions must reach the Lions Club of Sydney Chinese Inc, PO Box 850, Chatswood NSW 2057, by 31 March 2007. Applicants may be invited to a brief presentation of their services at a meeting of the Club. Results will be announced in May/June 2007. For further information on the scholarship, or activities of the Club, please contact Rita Kwan (phone: 0409 576 848, email: akwan1@bigpond.net.au) and/or visit our website at www.sydchineselions.org.au

University of Sydney International Visiting Research Fellowships - Round 2, 2007
These fellowships are offered to overseas postdoctoral researchers of high standing at any stage in their career to share and disseminate new and original ideas and/or techniques, initiate and undertake collaborative research and facilitate interaction and training of University staff and students. Visiting fellows are expected to make a substantial contribution to the academic life of the University. Returning expatriate Australians are encouraged to apply. Up to 20 fellowships are available for visits of between 2-12 weeks in the period August 2007 – August 2008. Closing date for full applications to the Research Office is 25 May 2007. Applicants must contact the nominated Faculty representative or Head of the host Dept/School prior to 20 April 2007. Full details are now available at: http://www.usyd.edu.au/research/fellowships/visiting.shtml

Grants

TOEFL COE 2008 Research program

Preliminary applications described below should be submitted via e-mail to Toeflresearchcoordination@ets.org by July 1, 2007. TOEFL Committee of Examiners (COE) research grants are intended to support research on topics related to TOEFL as identified by the Committee of Examiners and Educational Testing Service. Awards will be up to $75,000 USD, inclusive of institutional overhead.

Research Topics
1. Teaching, Learning, and Assessment of English for Academic Purposes
1.1 Design, administer, and evaluate innovative, theoretically principled tasks for language learning (e.g. integrated tasks, multistage tasks) to inform the development of teaching and assessment materials. Proposals should include an explicit plan that directly addresses how the effectiveness of the tasks will be determined.
1.2 Investigate the ways in which TOEFL results are used to inform language teaching and learning goals and objectives.
1.3* Determine threshold levels of language proficiency required for effective performance on TOEFL iBT integrated tasks and identify instructional supports to enable learners to achieve these levels.
2. Test use
2.1. Document current practices for using TOEFL iBT scores in academic or other contexts for (a) policy (admissions, financial support, licensing accountability), (b) program (placement and promotion) or (c) pedagogical purposes.
2.2 Investigate the interpretation and use of TOEFL iBT score reports by individual test takers.
2.3 Investigate users* (ESL teachers, faculty, administrators, and test takers) perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes towards TOEFL iBT as a measure of academic language ability in different contexts (e.g. country, program).
3. Validation
3.1* Compare performance on TOEFL iBT speaking with performance on direct measures (interview, peer /group interactions) of speaking.
3.2* Investigate the effect of test taker characteristics (e.g. anxiety, attitudes and beliefs) on the performance of TOEFL iBT speaking and/or writing tasks.
3.3* Compare English language performance on actual academic tasks and on TOEFL iBT tasks.
*Examples of TOEFL iBT speaking and/or writing tasks from 2 forms and scoring rubrics will be provided for use in data collection.

Applications are invited from individuals at not-for-profit organizations and institutions (e.g., universities) with expertise in English Language Learning and Assessment research. Proposals from unaffiliated individuals or for-profit organizations are not eligible. Principal Investigators must be faculty or staff members with the authority to represent their institution in negotiated contracts. Each awardee will be required to submit interim and final reports and to appropriately acknowledge the support of the TOEFL program when disseminating the results of his or her work. Interested applicants are required to submit an application as described below. Applications should not be longer than 4 pages. Invitations to submit a full proposal will be issued to selected applicants based on the quality and cost effectiveness of the initial application. Application must include:

(1) cover page, title of proposed study, your name and contact information including address, e-mail, telephone,date of submission.
(2) a 500-600 word précis describing the topic you plan to address, a brief rationale, a short statement about the research questions and design, a time line, and a one- line estimate of the cost. The cost estimate should include institutional overhead. (A full budget is not required at the précis stage).
(3) A one page description of the Principal Investigator's qualifications (in short c.v. format) and the names of two references.

Invitations to submit a full proposal will be issued to selected applicants based on the quality of the précis. Précis will be evaluated in terms of the relevance to the identified topics, the feasibility of the proposed research, the qualifications of the Principal Investigator, organizational capacity to conduct the research, and cost effectiveness. Evaluative comments on précis will be sent only to applicants who receive an invitation to submit a full proposal. July 1, 2007 - Deadline for submission of application and précis. Schedule: August 1, 2007 - Response to précis. October 19, 2007 - Deadline for submission of full proposal. December 21, 2007 - Response to proposal.

Writing website for postgraduate students

Linguistics postgraduate students can access LINGPWS The Linguistics Postgraduate Writing-Skills website. This is a resource designed to assist Linguistics students with academic writing. The Unit Content section for the website has six parts:

Part 1. Approaching the Assignment Question
Part 2. Planning Your Assignment
Part 3. Structuring Your Assignment
Part 4. Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism
Part 5. Critical Review Writing
Part 6. Common Questions about Linguistics Assignments

All Linguistics students enrolled in a postgraduate unit (on-campus, external) can access the site by using their MQ ID and password which every student is given at enrolment. To logon to the website please go to: http://online.mq.edu.au/pub/LINGPWS/ Any staff who don't already have a WebCT account but would like to access this site can request an application form by emailing muotf@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au For further enquiries about the Writing Skills Website, contact Tessa Green tessa.green@ling.mq.edu.au

Invitation to Participate in our NEW Journal Ranking Website

Andrew Lim from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management invites researchers to participate in a web service for journal ranking at www.journal-ranking.com The service provides a brand new paradigm to ranking more than 7,000 journals from all disciplines and introduces two new indicators relevant to journal quality by considering both the journal influence index and the paper influence index. Most importantly, there exists no such model that will fit all needs, so this web service is an attempt to facilitate universal access and broad based consultation with all academicians. The service is established to allow all users to validate various scenarios and parameters to rank journals. It has a forum for feedback from the audience and a set of web surveys are currently being designed. The intent of this service is to garner valuable insight from your participation to continually refine the journal ranking model. Journal ranking is critically important to research and to the academia, hence doing it right is worthwhile. This web service is a passionate commitment to this endeavor. Please contact: Andrew Lim, Associate Professor Dept of Industrial Engineering & Logistics Mgmt, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)- iealim@ust.hk for more information.

Journal calls

* Les techniques ou approches d¹enseignement de la prononciation
* Les enjeux théoriques ou pratiques reliés à l¹enseignement de la prononciation
* L¹acquisition d¹un nouveau système phonologique
* Les outils disponibles ou nécessaires pour l¹enseignement de la prononciation
* Le développement des compétences linguistiques et technologiques chez les enseignants en matière d¹enseignement de la prononciation
* Les enjeux théoriques et pratiques reliés à l¹enseignement d¹une ou de plusieurs normes à l¹oral
* Les représentations linguistiques et sociales des apprenants ou des enseignants en contexte d¹acquisition d¹une langue seconde ou étrangère

Les auteurs désirant soumettre une proposition d¹article devront le faire avant le 30 avril 2007 et la soumettre par courriel électronique. La proposition, de 1000 mots au maximum, indiquera clairement le but de l¹article, la méthodologie et les résultats obtenus ou anticipés, suivi par leur portée dans leur champ d¹étude. Les auteurs dont l¹article aura été retenu auront jusqu¹au 15 août 2007 pour soumettre un texte complet d¹une quinzaine de pages à interligne. Les auteurs pourront consulter le protocole de rédaction disponible sur le site web pour la rédaction des articles. Pour de plus amples renseignements, s¹adresser à : Christian Guilbault - guilbaul@sfu.ca Département de français, Université Simon Fraser 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Bureau: (604) 268-6783 Télécopieur: (604) 291-5932. Calendrier des soumissionsz; Date limite de réception des propositions d¹articles : 30 avril 2007 Notification aux auteurs: 15 mai 2007. Date limite de réception des articles : 15 août 2007 Révisions finales : Octobre 2007. Parution : Janvier 2008.

Upcoming conferences, symposia and workshops

For enquiries: Esther Ho, Tel: (852) 2766 4364, Fax: 2333 6569, Email: egconf@polyu.edu.hk - Website: www.talkingacrosstheworld.com

New Publications

From Cambridge University Press - http://www.cambridge.org/us/

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): An introduction to sign language linguistics. Trevor Johnston - Macquarie University, Sydney and Adam Schembri- Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre, University College London.

This is first comprehensive introduction to the linguistics of Auslan, the sign language of Australia. Assuming no prior background in language study, it explores each key aspect of the structure of Auslan, providing an accessible overview of its grammar (how sentences are structured), phonology (the building blocks of signs), morphology (the structure of signs), lexicon (vocabulary), semantics (how meaning is created), and discourse (how Auslan is used in context). The authors also discuss a range of myths and misunderstandings about sign languages, provide an insight into the history and development of Auslan, and show how Auslan is related to other sign languages, such as those used in Britain, the USA and New Zealand. Complete with clear illustrations of the signs in use and useful further reading lists, this is an ideal resource for anyone interested in Auslan, as well as those seeking a clear, general introduction to sign language linguistics.

Contents: 1. Signed languages and linguistics; 2. Auslan in social context; 3. Auslan and other signed languages; 4. Phonetics and phonology: the building blocks of signs; 5. Morphology: sign formation and modification; 6. Lexicon: the structure of Auslan vocabulary; 7. Syntax: the structure of sentences in Auslan; 8. Semantics and pragmatics: sign meaning and sentence meaning; 9. Discourse: structure and use above the sentence; 10. Issues in the study of signed languages.

For further details go to: http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521540568

From Peter Lang AG - http://www.peterlang.com

Transitivity in Translating: The interdependence of texture and context. Author: María Calzada Pérez. Series Title: Travaux Interdisciplinaires et Plurilingues en Langues Etrangères Appliquées. Vol. 8. Publication Year: 2007. Book URL: http://www.peterlang.com/Index.cfm?vLang=E&vSiteID=4&vSiteName=BookDetail%2Ecfm&VID=11190

This book proposes an overall framework of communication (including translation) that follows CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis)/CL (Critical Linguistics) principles; it devises an analytic tool for the study of transitivity in translation along Hallidayan-functionalist lines; and it incorporates a contrastive corpus of 52 speeches made before the European Parliament in English and Spanish on 9th March 1993 together with their corresponding translations. Both sentence and textual levels become units of analysis. Also, quantitative and qualitative methods are applied. The author analyses the various types of transitivity shifts at sentence level. She also shows that these shifts have contextual effects. Another focus of this study is to present how certain transitivity shifts group together.

From Multilingual Matters - http://www.multilingual-matters.com/

Backhaus, Peter. A comparative study of urban multilingualism in Tokyo. Multilingual Matters, 2007
http://www.multilingual-matters.com/multi/display.asp?isb=1853599468

Linguistic Landscapes is the first comprehensive approach to a largely under-explored sociolinguistic phenomenon: language on signs. Based on an up-to-date review of previous research from various places around the world, the book develops an analytical framework for the systematic analysis of linguistic landscape data. This framework is applied to a sample of 2,444 signs collected in 28 survey areas in central Tokyo. Analytical categories include the languages contained and their combinations, differences between official and nonofficial signs, geographic distribution, availability of translation or transliteration, linguistic idiosyncrasies, and the comparison of older and newer signs, among others. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, the analysis yields some unique insights about the writers of multilingual signs, their readers, and the languages and scripts in contact. Linguistic Landscapes thus demonstrates that the study of language on signs has much to contribute to research into urban multilingualism, as well as the study of language and society as a whole.

From Sage Publications

Discourse & Communication is a new interdisciplinary journal that publishes papers that pay specific attention to the qualitative, discourse analytical approach to issues in communication research. Register at: https://online.sagepub.com/cgi/register?registration=FT6608

The first issue is now published and includes:

Revista Virtual de Estudos da Linguagem - ReVEL - (Virtual Journal of Language Studies)

The lastest issue (year 5, number 8) on Semantics, Pragmatics and Philosophy of Language is now available at http://paginas.terra.com.br/educacao/revel/ver_in_eng/index.htm

In this edition of the Linguistics journal you will find articles, bookreviews and interviews with Jerry Fodor, John Searle and Heronides Moura. For more information go to http://paginas.terra.com.br/educacao/revel/ver_in_eng/index.htm

Positions Vacant

Casual Web Designer - NCELTR
The National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research (NCELTR) is looking for a Web Designer for a casual appointment over the next 2 months. Applicants need to have advanced Dreamweaver skills and experience with Javascript and style sheets. They must also have good interpersonal skills, be a good team player and be able to show examples of their work demonstrating their design skills, consistency and accuracy. This is a Casual HEW level 5 appointment for approx 14 hours per week for 8 weeks. The exact hours and days can be negotiated. There is also the possibility of the role being extended after the initial two month period. If you know anyone who would be interested in this position and would be available to start asap, please ask them to contact Peter Vitez on 9850 9978 or peter.vitez@mq.edu.au

Three positions (Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer/Lecturer) are currently being adevertised at the University of New England in English/Literacy education. These positions would suit people who have a strong background/interest in Systemic Functional Linguistics. Further details are available on the UNE website http://www.une.edu.au/recruit/academic.htm

Lecturer B, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney, 2nd Semester 2007 (July 1 2007- Jan 1 2008)
The Department is seeking to appoint on nomination someone capable of teaching courses in the following areas: Cross-cultural communication, Translation and Sociolinguistics (undergraduate and/or postgraduate coursework). A PhD is desirable. Applicants should send a letter of application outlining what courses they could teach, CV and names of two referees to Prof W Foley (Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia) by March 31, 2007. Enquiries to: Professor William Foley, phone: +61 2 93514569, fax: +61 2 9351 7572, email: William.Foley@arts.usyd.edu.au location: Room 217, address: F12 - Transient, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia.

Post Doctoral Fellow - Diagnostic language assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
Applications are invited for appointment as Post-doctoral Fellow (PDF) in Diagnostic Language Assessment in the Faculty of Education, to take up post on or before January 31, 2008. The appointment will be made for a period of 2 years, with the possibility of renewal. Applicants should be recent Ph.D. graduates with the potential for rapid advancement. The appointee will be expected to develop his/her own research proposal in a specific area of language assessment, and make a substantial contribution to the collection, synthesis and publication of existing research findings in the area of spoken language assessment in Chinese and English as well as in the assessment of language disorders. He/She will work closely with existing researchers in the area, and be involved in the preparation of research publications as well as grant applications. In addition, he/she will help to co-ordinate and liaise with local and international collaborators. Further particulars and application forms (272/302 amended) can be obtained at https://extranet.hku.hk/apptunit/; by fax (2540 6735 or 2559 2058); e-mail (apptunit@hkucc.hku.hk); directly from the Appointments Unit, Room 1001, Knowles Building; or by writing to the Appointments Unit (Senior), Human Resource Section, Registry, The University of Hong Kong, enclosing a self-addressed envelope. Interested applicants are recommended to contact Dr. Chris Davison (E-mail: cdavison@hku.hk) in the first instance and prior to making an application to obtain further information. Closes April 30, 2007. Candidates who are not contacted within 3 months of the closing date may consider their applications unsuccessful.

Un poste de Maître de Conférences en anglais (enseignement pour non-spécialistes) -- N° d'emploi : 0833 - sera vacant à la rentrée prochaine à Polytech'Orléans, l'école d'ingénieurs de l'université d'Orléans. Les détails se trouvent sur le site de l'université à l'adresse suivante: http://www.univ-orleans.fr/recrutement

PhD research position - English Department, Ghent University

A PhD-research position (doctoraatsbursaal) is available at the English Department of Ghent University for a period of 2 years with possible extension to 4 years in case of a positive evaluation. The postholder will be expected to write a PhD on an aspect of the syntax-semantics interface in the English language in the field of verb complementation patterns. The position is to be situated within the framework of a larger contrastive research project on the syntax/semantics interface and the meaning in between structure and the lexicon in Dutch, French and English. In addition to writing a PhD on a specific subtopic in English, the postholder is also expected to present project-related output in contrastive linguistics and/or engage in more general theoretical discussions of the syntax/semantic interface in general.

The main objective of the project is to provide an empirically grounded account of the respective contributions of the lexical and structural components to the overall meaning of Dutch, French and English clauses, thus contributing to the development of a typological theory of the relationship between meaning, structure and the lexicon in the world's languages.

Profile - Candidates must hold a university degree (or equivalent) in English and have written their M.A. thesis (in English) on a subject in English linguistics. The candidate should have a (near-)native competence in English and should also be a fluent speaker of at least one other language, preferably French and/or Dutch. Send a curriculum vitae to Prof. Dr. Anne-Marie Vandenbergen, English Department, Ghent University, Rozier 44, 9000 Ghent or email your cv to: anne-marie.vandenbergen@ugent.be

Further queries and details about the study can be sent to the same email address. Applications will be considered until the post is filled.

Lingline can be accessed via the "News" link on the Linguistics Department website at:

http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/

 
 

All items for inclusion to be submitted by email to the editor Tessa Green:
tessa.green@ling.mq.edu.au
 

Enquiries by phone: (02) 9850-6875

This is not an official publication of Macquarie University. While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information included in this newsletter, no responsibility is assumed for same.

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