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STAFF PROFILE

Dr Bill Palmer

Lecturer

Faculty: Education and Arts
School: Humanities and Social Science

Phone: + 61 2 4348 4050

Fax: + 61 2 4348 4075
Email: Bill.Palmer@newcastle.edu.au

Location: Humanities Office, H01.64
Campus: Ourimbah Campus, Central Coast

Qualifications

1999 Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics, University of Sydney.
1992 Master of Arts in Linguistics (awarded ‘With Merit’), University of Sydney.
1984 Bachelor of Arts, University of Canberra.

Academic Appointments

2008 continuing Lecturer, School of Humanities & Social Science, University of Newcastle.
2005-2008 Research Fellow, Surrey Morphology Group, University of Surrey.
2004 Lecturer, Department of English Language & Linguistics, University of Sheffield.
2003-2004 Lecturer, Department of Linguistics & Phonetics, University of Leeds.
2002 Research Fellow/Lecturer, Department of Linguistics, University of NSW.
2001 Research Fellow/Lecturer, Department of Linguistics & Applied Linguistics, University of Melbourne.
2000 Lecturer, Division of Languages & Linguistics, University of Western Sydney.
1997-1999 Lecturer, Pacific Languages Unit, University of the South Pacific, Vanuatu.
1993-1997 Lecturer, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney.

Additional appointments

2002 Lecturer, School of Language & Media, University of Newcastle
2001 Lecturer, Department of Linguistics, La Trobe University.
2001 Lecturer, Department of Linguistics, Monash University.
1995-1997 Lecturer, Division of Languages & Linguistics, University of Western Sydney.
1995-1996 Lecturer, Centre for Continuing Education, University of Sydney.
1994-1996 Lecturer, National Institute for Dramatic Arts, University of New South Wales.

Teaching interests

Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
Phonetics
Psycholinguistics
Language in the Pacific
Field methods
Language analysis
Introductory linguistics

Other areas taught

Indigenous languages of Australia
Language and culture
Historical linguistics
Semantics, pragmatics and discourse
Sociolinguistics
Lexicography
History of English
English linguistics
Linguistics of literacy
Intercultural communication

Current postgraduate supervision

External PhD supervisor, Claire Turner, Verb Classes in SENĆOŦEN (Saanich, North Straits Salish). (University of Surrey)
External PhD supervisor, Mary Raymond, Documentation and description of Kubokota (Austronesian, Solomon Islands). (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)
External PhD supervisor, Rados Voica, Documentation and description of Blablanga (Austronesian, Solomon Islands). (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)

Research interests

Austronesian and non-Austronesian Pacific languages, particularly the Oceanic languages of the western Solomon Islands and Bougainville.
Linguistic typology, particularly the functional and formal characteristics of possession.
Morphosyntax, particularly argument coding.
Linguistic and nonlinguistic spatial behaviour and spatial cognition, and the relationship between language and thought.
Phonology, particularly reduplication and stress assignment.
Pidgin and creole languages.

Research Grants

2005-2008 Turning owners into actors: Possessive morphology as subject-indexing in languages of the Bougainville region. (£238,569 (A$574,000) Arts & Humanities Research Council (UK))
2006-2007 Essential documentation in seven highly endangered Oceanic languages. (£7,357 (A$17,700) British Academy)
1999 Linguistic spatial reference on and off conceptual atolls - evidence of migrations in Micronesia. (F$15,830 (A$12,822) Research Committee, School of Humanities, University of the South Pacific).
1998 Describing the grammar of the Kokota language, Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands. (F$7,031 (A$5,484) Research Committee, School of Humanities, University of the South Pacific).

Prizes, Honours & Awards

1994 Frank Coaldrake Scholarship (University of Sydney)
1993 Peter Lawrence Memorial Scholarship (University of Sydney)
1992 Peter Lawrence Memorial Scholarship (University of Sydney)
1992-95 Australian Postgraduate Award

Research Publications

Books

2008 Kokota grammar. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
2001 Syntax and typology. Suva: University of the South Pacific.

Book chapters

2007 ‘Pointing at the lagoon: directional terms in Oceanic atoll-based languages.’ In J. Siegel, J. Lynch & D. Eades (eds) Language description, history and development: linguistic indulgence in memory of Terry Crowley. London: Benjamins. pp101-117.
2003 ‘Linguistic Frame of Reference reconsidered.’ In P. Collins & M. Amberber (eds) Proceedings of the 2002 Conference of the Australian Linguistics Society. www.als.asn.au
2002 ‘Absolute spatial reference and the grammaticalisation of perceptually salient phenomena.’ In G. Bennardo (ed) Representing space in Oceania: culture in language and mind. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
2002 ‘Kokota.’ In J. Lynch, M.D. Ross & T. Crowley (eds) The Oceanic languages. London: Curzon Press.
1997 ‘Notes on mood and aspect in Simbo (Mandeghusu, Solomon Islands).’ In J. Lynch & F. Pat (eds) Proceedings of First International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics

Edited volumes

2000 SICOL Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics: vol.2, Historical and descriptive studies. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. (eds with Paul Geraghty)

Refereed journal articles

forthcoming ‘Information structure and the pragmatic function of clause order variation in Cheke Holo.’ Studies in Language [View draft here ]
forthcoming ‘Linguistic systems of absolute spatial reference in atoll-based languages.’ Linguistics
forthcoming ‘Semantically non-canonical possessive marking and hierarchies of possession.’ Language [View draft here ]
forthcoming ‘Subject-indexing and possessive morphology in Northwest Solomonic.’ Linguistics
2008 ‘Passive and characteristic possession in Oceanic.’ Studies in Philippine languages & cultures 18.
2007 ‘Heads in Oceanic indirect possession.’ (With Dunstan Brown) Oceanic Linguistics 46/1:154-164.
2007 ‘Imperfective aspect and the interplay of aspect, tense and modality in Torau.’ Oceanic Linguistics 46/2
1999 ‘Voiceless sonorants - phonemes or underlying clusters?’ Australian Journal of Linguistics 19/1:77-88.

Internet publications

2007 Hakö dictionary
2007 Kokota dictionary
2007 Northwest Solomonic materials
2007 Papapana draft dictionary
2007 Simbo dictionary
2007 Solos dictionary
2007 Torau dictionary
2007 Uruava (Poraka) dictionary
2006 An annotated bibliography of Northwest Solomonic

Selected other publications

2006 ‘Kiribati - language situation.’ In K. Brown (ed) Encyclopedia of language and linguistics. London: Elsevier.
2006 ‘Marshall Islands - language situation.’ In K. Brown (ed) Encyclopedia of language and linguistics. London: Elsevier.
2006 ‘Nauru - language situation.’ In K. Brown (ed) Encyclopedia of language and linguistics. London: Elsevier.
2006 ‘Papua New Guinea - language situation.’ In K. Brown (ed) Encyclopedia of language and linguistics. London: Elsevier.
2006 ‘Solomon Islands - language situation.’ In K. Brown (ed) Encyclopedia of language and linguistics. London: Elsevier.
1999 A grammar of the Kokota language, Santa Isabel, Solomon Islands. PhD thesis, University of Sydney.
1991 Commonality and distinctiveness: towards a theory of morphemics. MA thesis, University of Sydney.

Institute courses

2002 Talking about space - thinking about space. Linguistic spatial reference and the relationship between language and cognition. 6th Australian Linguistics Institute, Macquarie University.

Conference papers

2008 Drinkable skirts, edible spears and inalienable bathwater: hierarchies of non-canonical possession. Australian Linguistics Society conference (ALS), University of Sydney.
2008 Imperfective aspect and the interplay of aspect, tense and modality in Torau. Linguistics Association of Great Britain conference (LAGB), University of Essex.
2008 Morphological defaults and the Kokota noun phrase. 15th Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association conference, University of Sydney. (with Dunstan Brown)
2007 Clitics and the Oceanic verb complex. Linguistics Association of Great Britain conference (LAGB), King’s College London.
2007 Clitics and the verb complex in two Northwest Solomonic languages. 3rd Conference on Austronesian Languages & Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
2007 A fresh look at subordinate and passive possession. 7th Conference on Oceanic Linguistics, University of New Caledonia, Noumea, New Caledonia.
2007 Semantically non-canonical possessive marking. 14th Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association conference, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
2007 Semantically non-canonical possessive marking and hierarchies of possession. 7th Association for Linguistic Typology conference, Ministère de la Recherche, Paris, France.
2006 Heads in Oceanic indirect possession. 13th Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association conference, National Tsing Hua University, Hinschu, Taiwan. (with Dunstan Brown)
2006 Intimate, characteristic and passive possession in Oceanic. LAGB, University of Newcastle (UK).
2006 On the syntactic status of Oceanic possessive ‘classifiers’. 2nd Conference on Austronesian Languages & Linguistics, St Catherine’s College, Oxford.
2006 Passive possession in Oceanic. 10th International Conference on Austronesian Languages, Puerta Princesa City, Philippines. (presented in absentia)
2005 Direct characteristic possession and the dominant/subordinate distinction in Oceanic. 1st Conference on Austronesian Languages & Linguistics, St Catherine’s College, Oxford.
2005 Dominant and subordinate possession in Oceanic. Inaugural UK Austronesian Research Group meeting, University of Surrey.
2005 MAX-BR and feature copying in Malagasy reduplication. 13th Manchester Phonology Meeting. Hulme Hall, Manchester.
2005 Nominalised clauses in Proto Northwest Solomonic and Northwest Solomonic subject agreement. LAGB, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
2005 Topography and Frame of Reference: conceptualizing space in Oceania. 104th American Anthropological Association conference, Washington DC. (invited panellist)
2005 The typology of ‘possessive’ subject-indexing in Oceanic. 6th Association for Linguistic Typology conference, Padang, Indonesia.
2004 Standing Whorf on his head: evidence from spatial reference on the relationship between language and thought. International Conference on Language, Culture and Mind, University of Portsmouth.
2004 A unified OT account of stress and reduplication in Malagasy. LAGB, University of Surrey Roehampton.
2003 Owners into actors: How possessive morphology became subject agreement in the languages of Bougainville. LAGB, Somerville College, Oxford.
2003 Shifting stress: synchronic variation as a manifestation of diachronic change in Kokota (Oceanic) prosody. LAGB, University of Sheffield.
2002 Directional terminology in Kiribati and Marshallese. 9th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, Australian National University.
2002 Linguistic Frame of Reference reconsidered. Australian Linguistics Society conference (ALS), Macquarie University.
2002 ‘Possessive’ marked verbal constructions in eastern Bougainville. 9th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, Australian National University.
2002 Possessive morphology as subject agreement in the languages of eastern Bougainville. Guest lecture, Surrey Morphology Group, University of Surrey
2002 Rethinking spatial Frame of Reference. LAGB, University of Manchester Institute for Science and Technology.
2001 From mora to syllable. A case study in prosodic change. 15th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, La Trobe.
2001 The semantic basis of possessive marking in Kokota. 4th Conference of the Victorian Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, Melbourne.
2001 Three participant clauses in Kokota. Third International Workshop on Three Place Predicates and Three Participant Events, Melbourne.
2000 When thought determines language: the view from space. ALS, University of Melbourne.
1999 Absolute frame of reference in atoll-based languages. Guest lecture, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen.
1999 Virtual atoll: some conceptual evidence on the place of Nauru in the settlement patterns of Micronesia. 19th Pacific Science Congress, University of NSW.
1998 Grappling with the chameleon: the assignment of stress in Kokota. Vila Occasional Forum on Linguistics, University of the South Pacific (USP), Port Vila.
1998 Voiceless sonorants - phonemes or underlying clusters? ALS, University of Queensland.
1997 Finding your way on both sides of an island. Local reinterpretations of spatial reference in Austronesian languages. Third International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics, University of Waikato.
1997 The structure and form of dictionaries. National Dictionary Workshop, Vanuatu Cultural Centre.
1995 Semantically driven agreement in Kokota (Solomon Islands). ALS, Australian National University.
1995 Topic and focus in Cheke Holo (Maringe). 2nd International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics, USP, Suva.
1993 Notes on mood and aspect in the language of Mandeghusu, western Solomon Islands. First International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics, USP, Port Vila.
1992 Selecting a field language: the Solomon Islands. ALS, University of Sydney
1991 Commonality and distinctiveness. ALS, University of Queensland.

Selected public lectures

2006 Ruined city, living village: fieldwork in post-conflict Bougainville. London Goodenough Trust.
2005 ‘Saving’ endangered languages. Why bother? London Goodenough Trust.

Selected other presentations since 2001

2008 Drinkable skirts and edible spears: semantically non-canonical possession in languages of the Pacific. Seminar series, Central Coast Campus, University of Newcastle.
2008 Subject-indexing and possessive morphology in Northwest Solomonic: some findings. Seminar series, Surrey Linguistics Circle, University of Surrey.
2004 Mora, syllables, and the shadow of lost morphological complexity: a case study in phonological change. Invited seminar, University of Edinburgh.
2003 Linguistic relativity and innate determinism: the view from space. Seminar series, Leeds.
2003 Metrical Stress Theory and stress in Kokota (Oceanic). Seminar series, Leeds.
2003 ‘Possessive’ marking of subject and aspect in the Solomon Islands and Bougainville. Invited seminar, School of Oriental and African Studies/University of Durham.
2002 Aspectual possessive marking of verbs in the Bougainville region. Seminar series, NSW.
2002 Lagoons, backs, and the bottom of Heaven. Directions in Kiribati and Marshallese. Invited seminar, Sydney.
2002 Pointing at the Lagoon. Directional terminology in Kiribati and Marshallese. Invited seminar, Leeds.
2001 Reverbalised nominalizations: the strange case of possessive marking for tense, aspect and mood in North West Solomonic languages. Seminar series, Melbourne.
2001 The space between Pinker and Boas. What absolute spatial reference tells us about relativism and innate determinism. Seminar series, La Trobe University; Invited seminar, Monash.
2001 Spatial reference in atoll-based languages. Seminar series, Melbourne.

Memberships of Networks & Professional Associations

Australian Linguistics Society
Linguistics Association of Great Britain
Linguistics Society of America
The Philological Society

Other current professional activities

Member of editorial board, Language and Linguistics in Melanesia
Member of committee, UK Austronesian Research Group
Peer review referee for the journals Language, Oceanic Linguistics, and Linguistic Discovery, and for AFLAXIV proceedings volume.

Consultancies

2000 - 2002 Consultant on Australian English, Lionbridge Technologies Inc, San Francisco.
2001 - 2002 Forensic linguistics consultant, various Australian law firms and police forces.
2000 - 2001 On-line content and website mapping, Powerhouse Museum & NSW Dep’t of Education.
1999 - 2000 Instructional design consultant, University Extension, University of the South Pacific.