Dr Felicity Meakins
Research Associate in Linguistics
School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures,
University of Manchester,
Oxford Road,
Manchester
M13 9PL
Office: Samuel Alexander Building, S1.21
Phone: +44 (0) 161 275 3149
Email: felicity.meakins@manchester.ac.uk
Research specialisation
My research interests lie in the following areas:
- Language contact, particularly mixed languages, creole languages, code-switching and language convergence
- Australian languages, including Gurindji, Gurindji Kriol, Bilinarra, Ngarinyman and Kriol
- Morphology, particularly inflectional morphology in contact
- Sociolinguistics, e.g. language ecologies, endangerment and shift, variationalist approaches
- Language documentation, including fieldwork methodology, annotation of corpus data and the structure of reference grammars
Publications
(under revision). The development of asymmetrical serial verb constructions in an Australian mixed language. Linguistic Typology
(in prep). Gurindji Kriol. In S. Michaelis, P. Maurer, M. Haspelmath and M. Huber (Eds). Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Structures, vol II: The language surveys. Oxford: OUP.
(in prep). with E. Schultze-Berndt. Kriol. In S. Michaelis, P. Maurer, M. Haspelmath and M. Huber (Eds). Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Structures, vol II: The language surveys. Oxford: OUP.
(in prep). Gurindji Kriol language structure subdatabase. In S. Michaelis, P. Maurer, M. Haspelmath and M. Huber (Eds). Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Structures Online. Munich: Max Planck Digital Library.
(in prep). Mixed languages. In Y. Matras and P. Bakker. Contact languages. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyer.
(in prep). The importance of understanding language ecologies for language revitalisation. In J. Hobson and S. Poetch (Eds.), Reawakening languages: Theory and practice in the revitalisation of Australia's Indigenous languages. Sydney: Sydney University Press.
(in press). with C. O'Shannessy. Ordering arguments about: Word order and discourse motivations in the development and use of the ergative marker in two Australian mixed languages . [pdf]. In W. McGregor & J-C. Verstraete (Eds.), Lingua (Special Issue on Optional Ergativity).
2009. The case of the shifty ergative marker: A pragmatic shift in the ergative marker in one Australian mixed language [pdf]. In J. Barddal & S. Chelliah (Eds.), The Role of Semantics and Pragmatics in the Development of Case. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
2008. Land, language and identity: The socio-political origins of Gurindji Kriol [pdf]. In M. Meyerhoff and N. Nagy. Social Lives in Language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
2008. Unraveling languages: Multilingualism and language contact in Kalkaringi [pdf]. In J. Simpson & G. Wigglesworth (Eds.), Children's language and multilingualism: Indigenous language use at home and school. New York: Continuum. pp. 247-64.
2005. with C. O'Shannessy. "Possessing Variation: Inalienability and age-related factors in the possessive constructions of two Australian mixed languages." Monash University Linguistics Papers. 4.2: 43-63.
2005. with McConvell, Patrick. Gurindji Kriol: A Mixed Language Emerges from Code- Switching [pdf]. Australian Journal of Linguistics. 25.1.
(under review). Which mix? - code-switching or a mixed language - Gurindji Kriol.
Dissertations
2007. Case marking in contact: The development and function of case morphology in Gurindji Kriol, an Australian mixed language. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of Melbourne, Melbourne.
2001. Lashings of Tongue: A Relevance Theoretic Account of Impoliteness [pdf]. Unpublished MA Dissertation, University of Queensland, Brisbane.
1998. Matters end: A speech act account of epideictic rhetoric, the funeral eulogy. Honours Dissertation, University of Queensland, Brisbane.
Reviews
2004. Review of 'The Mixed Language Debate: Theoretical and Empirical Advances' Ed. Yaron Matras and Peter Bakker. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Linguist List 15.2736.
2007. Review of 'Computerised Language Analysis (CLAN)'. Journal of Language Documentation and Conservation 1.1: 107-12.
2009. Review of 'Final Cut Pro'. Journal of Language Documentation and Conservation 3.1: 125-30.
2009. Review of 'Deconstructing Creole'. Ed. Umberto Ansaldo, Stephen Matthews and Lisa Lim. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Linguist List 20.2373
Dictionaries and grammars
in prep. A grammar of Gurindji Kriol, a north Australian mixed language.
in prep. A first dictionary of Gurindji Kriol.
in prep. with Patrick McConvell, Helen and Norm McNair, Erika Charola and Lauren Campbell. A first dictionary of Gurindji.
in prep. with Lauren Campbell, Justin Spence, Rachel Nordlinger, Caroline Jones and Erika Charola. A first dictionary of Bilinarra.
Community Resources
in production. Ochres: Yatu, Kalnga, Karntawarra, Ngunyjungunyju. DVD and booklet in Gurindji and English. with Violet Donald, Biddy Wavehill, Topsy Dodd, Teresa Yupuny and Kathleen Sambo.
in production. Artefacts (Kuturu, Kilkilpkaji, Yukurrukurru, Kawarla). DVD and booklet in Gurindji and English. with Violet Donald, Biddy Wavehill, Topsy Dodd, Jimmy Wavehill.
2008. Kawarla (Coolamon) Production. DVD and booklet in Gurindji and English. with Violet Donald, Biddy Wavehill, Peggy Wavehill, Jimmy Wavehill, Teresa Yupuny, and Kitty Mintawurr. 33mins.
2008. Kajangarna (Bush Medicine). DVD and booklet in Gurindji and English. with Violet Donald, Biddy Wavehill, Topsy Dodd and Peggy Wavehill. 21mins.
2008. Kajangarna Mangarri (Bush Bananas, Ashes, Bush Onions, Yams). DVD and 4 booklets with Violet Donald, Biddy Wavehill, Topsy Dodd, Teresa Yupuny and Kathleen Sambo. 33:30mins
2008. Ngarlu (Bush Honey). DVD and booklet in Gurindji and English. with Violet Donald, Biddy Wavehill, and Topsy Dodd. 11mins
2008. Wirriji (Hair String) Production. DVD and booklet in Gurindji and English with violet Donald 22:30mins
2004. Children's Bush Medicine. DVD and booklet in Bilinarra and English. with Ivy Hector, Mildred Hector and Barbara Bobby.
2004. Nangangari, Barrjirda and Lardaj Dreaming. 3 DVDs and booklets in Bilinarra and English. with Ivy Hector, Mildred Hector and Barbara Bobby.
Projects
2008-2010 The Documentation of Gurindji Kriol, an Australian Mixed Language. funded by the Endangered Languages Documentation Project (ELDP) IPF0134. (P.I.: Felicity Meakins)
2009- Phonological development in child speakers of mixed language. funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) DP0985395 (P.I. Caroline Jones, University of Wollongong)
2007- Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures (APiCS) project. funded by MPI (Leipzig). (P.I. Susanne Michaelis, Philippe Maurer, Magnus Huber, and Martin Haspelmath)
2007-2008 Jaminjungan and Eastern Ngumpin Documentation project funded by Dokumentation Bedrohter Sprachen (DOBES). (P.I. Eva Schultze-Berndt, University of Manchester)
2004-2007 Aboriginal Child Language Acquisition (ACLA) project. funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC). (P.I. Gillian Wigglesworth, Jane Simpson and Patrick McConvell, University of Melbourne)
2003-2004 Bilinarra Dreaming Lines project. funded by Aboriginal Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). (P.I. Felicity Meakins)
Professional biography
I did my undergraduate, honours and masters degree at the University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia) between 1995-2001. From 2001-04 I worked as a community linguist at Diwurruwurru-jaru Aboriginal Corporation (Katherine Regional Aboriginal Language Centre), producing language resources and facilitating revitalisation programs for Gurindji, Bilinarra and Ngarinyman. During this time I became interested new Australian languages, particularly Gurindji Kriol and Kriol. I joined the Aboriginal Child Language project (University of Melbourne) in 2004 as a PhD student. I completed my PhD in 2007 and continued documenting Gurindji, Bilinarra and Gurindji Kriol as a part of the Victoria River District DOBES project (University of Manchester). I currently hold an ELDP grant to work on Gurindji Kriol.