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Fulbright scholarship for UNE student of Aboriginal languages

May 26, 2006

Sophie.thumb.JPGA postgraduate student of Aboriginal languages at The University of New England has won a scholarship that will enable her to spend a year in America working with linguists who are world leaders in the study of indigenous languages.

Sophie Nicholls (pictured here) was presented with a Fulbright Postgraduate Award at a ceremony in Brisbane last week. The award will take her to the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, in August, and then on to the University of California, Santa Barbara, in January.

Her study abroad will enable her to use the latest linguistic techniques in her research on two Aboriginal languages: Roper River Kriol (a hybrid language with English-influenced vocabulary) and Ritharrngu (an indigenous language still spoken in the Northern Territory). “My aim is to investigate the ‘discourse’ (or conversation) style of the Kriol language, and to compare it with that of the traditional indigenous language,” Ms Nicholls said. “I want to test my hypothesis that Kriol could have preserved some features of traditional discourse such as an emphasis on taking turns, the use of pauses, and a profound sensitivity to family relationships.”

“The Fulbright scholarship is a fantastic opportunity to work with experts in the linguistic techniques of ‘discourse analysis’,” she said. “They’re techniques that will be invaluable in my research.”

Ms Nicholls – just back from six weeks’ fieldwork in the Northern Territory – was among the 21 Australian recipients of Fulbright Awards (including 12 Postgraduate Awards) honoured at the presentation ceremony. During the ceremony, at Queensland University of Technology on Thursday 18 May, she – along with the other recipients – was presented to Queensland’s Deputy Premier, the Hon. Anna Bligh MP, Dr William Stanton, Charge d’Affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Canberra, and Dr Paul Kerin, President of the Australian Fulbright Alumni Association. Among the guests at the ceremony were the Vice-Chancellors of nine universities, including the Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Alan Pettigrew.

The Fulbright Program, created by US Senator J. W. Fulbright and the US Government in 1946, is the largest scholarship program of its kind. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through international educational exchange, it currently operates between the United States and 150 other countries. In Australia, the scholarships are administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, and funded by the Australian and US Governments and a group of corporate partners. In 2006 the Fulbright Commission is supporting 20 Americans studying at various institutions throughout Australia. Several of those American scholars attended last Thursday’s presentation ceremony in Brisbane.

After graduating from UNE in 2004 with First Class Honours in Linguistics (and a University Medal), Ms Nicholls spent a year working at the Katherine Regional Aboriginal Language Centre in the Northern Territory, facilitating the teaching of Aboriginal languages to schoolchildren and recording oral histories. “Making friends with the people I was working with was very rewarding,” she said.

She explained that her current research, which she hopes might lead to insights helpful for cross-cultural communication, had been inspired by her work – and friendships – in the Aboriginal community.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at May 26, 2006 02:12 PM