Dr Catriona Malau
Senior Lecturer
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci (Linguistics)
- Email:catriona.malau@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 4921 6687
A matter of record
Research locations don't come much more attractive than Vanuatu. But it is not the crystal waters and palm-fringed beaches that continue to draw Dr Catriona Malau back to the archipelagic nation in the South Pacific.
Malau, a researcher with the Endangered Languages Documentation, Theory and Application Group within the Faculty of Education and Arts, is a linguist with a special interest in island languages spoken in Vanuatu. For her, the allure of the country is its linguistic diversity - with approximately 100 languages spoken by a population of about 255,000 - and the challenge presented by learning, understanding and deciphering those languages.
"It is the excitement of discovering how a language works, and being the first to document and grammatically analyse it," Malau says. "The island languages of Vanuatu are all related but there is surprising variation between each of them, which makes them quite fascinating to study."
For her PhD studies, undertaken through the Australian National University, Malau wrote and published a grammatical description of the North-east Ambae language, spoken on the island of Ambae in the north of Vanuatu. For the past 10 years she has been systematically documenting another of the country's languages, Vurës, which is spoken by about 1,500 people on the island of Vanua Lava.
Since 2006, her research has been supported by Germany's Volkswagen Foundation, which funds studies of minority languages through a philanthropic program called DoBeS (an acronym for Dokumentation Bedrohter Sprachen or Documentation of Endangered Languages).
Malau deposits her data and translations in a publicly available digital archive on the DoBeS website and is progressively writing a web-based multimedia dictionary of the language. The multidisciplinary research project has also involved a marine biologist, botanist, anthropologist and ethnomusicologist, who have contributed their expertise to identifying and describing aspects of the island environment and culture. A German researcher works in partnership with Malau, documenting Vera'a, another language spoken by a smaller collective of people on the same island.
To learn and understand a language in its cultural context, linguists must immerse themselves in the communities they study.
"Most of the data from field trips comes from recordings of people telling traditional stories or speaking in different situations," Malau says. "To hear the language as they use it you need to be an active observer by participating in village activities, going to their ceremonies, working alongside them and generally living as they do."
Malau met her husband on Vanua Lava, so her field trips these days have a personal as well as academic purpose, but she says the people on the island have always welcomed her and supported her work.
"While English and French are the languages of education in Vanuatu, the Indigenous languages are a vital part of their cultural identity and research of this nature gives credibility to the language and lifts its status," she says.
"Linguists can make a real contribution to communities by encouraging maintenance of their language and helping to ensure its longevity."
A matter of record
Documenting small, regional languages can help them to not only survive, but thrive.
Career Summary
Biography
Research Expertise
Language description and documentation of Oceanic languages, specialising in Vanuatu languages
Administrative Expertise
Deputy Head of School (Research Training) Semester 1 2020, 2022 - present
Head of Discipline, Linguistics: July 2013 - December 2017
Director of Student Experience, School of Humanities and Social Science: 2012 - 2017
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University
- Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Australian National University
Keywords
- Grammatical description and documentation
- Introductory Linguistics
- Language Typology
- Language Typology
- Lexicography
- Linguistics
- Linguistics for Education
- Oceanic Languages
- Vanuatu Languages
Languages
- Bislama (Fluent)
Fields of Research
Code | Description | Percentage |
---|---|---|
451310 | Pacific Peoples linguistics and languages | 50 |
470407 | Language documentation and description | 50 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
Title | Organisation / Department |
---|---|
Senior Lecturer | University of Newcastle School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci Australia |
Academic appointment
Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
---|---|---|
1/2/2009 - | Lecturer | University of Newcastle School of Humanities and Social Science Australia |
1/6/2006 - 1/1/2009 | Lecturer | University of the South Pacific Pacific Languages Unit Vanuatu |
1/2/2002 - 1/6/2006 | Postdoctoral Fellow | La Trobe University Research Centre for Linguistic Typology Australia |
1/1/1994 - 1/6/1994 | Research Assistant | Australian National University Department of Linguistics Australia |
Professional appointment
Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
---|---|---|
1/1/1998 - 1/1/2002 | Project Manager | Vanuatu Cultural Centre Oral Traditions Project Vanuatu |
Awards
Recipient
Year | Award |
---|---|
2012 |
Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning Office for Learning and Teaching |
2011 |
Vice-Chancellor's Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning University of Newcastle |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Book (4 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 |
Malau C, A Dictionary of Vurës, Vanuatu, ANU Press (2021)
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2016 | Malau CL, A Grammar of Vurës, Vanuatu, De Gruyter Mouton, Berlin, 779 (2016) [A1] | Nova | |||
2012 | Malau CL, Malau A, Malau EF, Leo J, Holmes K, The Language and Life of Vanua Lava, Catriona Malau, Vanuatu, 139 (2012) [A2] | ||||
Show 1 more book |
Chapter (6 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 |
Malau C, 'Indigenous Languages of the Pacific', The SAGE Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders, Sage Publications, Inc, Thousand Oaks 887-889 (2019)
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2011 |
Malau CL, 'Sustaining vures: Making products of language documentation accessible to multiple audiences', Documenting Endangered Languages: Achievements and Perspectives, De Gruyter Mouton, Berlin 305-320 (2011) [B1]
|
Nova | |||
2006 |
Hyslop C, 'Bislama', Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Elsevier, Oxford 53-54 (2006)
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Show 3 more chapters |
Journal article (3 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Malau C, 'Nominalized Predicates in Vures, Vanuatu', OCEANIC LINGUISTICS, 57 410-432 (2018) [C1] | Nova | |
2007 | Malau C, 'Review of 'A grammar of South Efate: an Oceanic language of Vanuatu', Oceanic Linguistics, 46 613-617 (2007) [C3] | ||
1999 | Hyslop C, 'The Linguistics of Inhabiting Space: Spatial Reference in the North-East Ambae Language', Oceania, 70 25-42 (1999) |
Conference (3 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 |
Krausse D, Palmer B, Malau C, 'A non-serializing Resultative Construction in Vurës (Vanuatu)', Noumea (2019)
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2018 |
Krausse D, Malau C, 'Typologically rare cause-effect constructions in Vurës', Adelaide (2018)
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2015 | Malau CL, 'The common article o and nonverbal predicates in Vurës, Vanuatu', The Thirteenth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics: Abstracts, Taipei, Taiwan (2015) [E3] |
Creative Work (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Malau C, Dewar A, Documentation of Ifira-Mele, a Polynesian Outlier of Vanuatu, Berlin, DE (2018) [N1] | |||
2010 |
Malau CL, Le Kal Vurës: Sustaining Vurës, -, Hannover, Germany (2010) [J1]
|
Grants and Funding
Summary
Number of grants | 7 |
---|---|
Total funding | $390,613 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20171 grants / $80,907
Documentation of Ifira-Mele and Emae, two Polynesian languages of Vanuatu$80,907
Funding body: The Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project
Funding body | The Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Catriona Malau |
Scheme | Major Documentation Project (MDP) |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2017 |
Funding Finish | 2024 |
GNo | G1700020 |
Type Of Funding | C3500 – International Not-for profit |
Category | 3500 |
UON | Y |
20142 grants / $108,241
Endangered Languages Documentation, Theory and Application$90,000
Funding body: University of Newcastle - Faculty of Education and Arts
Funding body | University of Newcastle - Faculty of Education and Arts |
---|---|
Project Team | Professor Bill Palmer, Associate Professor Mark Harvey, Associate Professor Aashild Naess, Doctor Catriona Malau |
Scheme | Research Programme 2014 |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2014 |
Funding Finish | 2016 |
GNo | G1400925 |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | Y |
Documenting the Utupua languages$18,241
Funding body: The Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project
Funding body | The Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project |
---|---|
Project Team | Mr Aslak Vaag Olesen, Doctor Catriona Malau |
Scheme | Small Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2014 |
Funding Finish | 2015 |
GNo | G1301372 |
Type Of Funding | International - Competitive |
Category | 3IFA |
UON | Y |
20121 grants / $14,369
Documentation of Matavat (Nese): A highly endangered Northern Vanuatu language$14,369
Funding body: The Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project
Funding body | The Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Catriona Malau, Ms Lana Takau |
Scheme | Small Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2012 |
Funding Finish | 2012 |
GNo | G1100489 |
Type Of Funding | International - Competitive |
Category | 3IFA |
UON | Y |
20102 grants / $43,750
Documenting biocultural diversity in the languages of Vures and Vera'a$40,000
Funding body: VolkswagenStiftung
Funding body | VolkswagenStiftung |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Catriona Malau |
Scheme | Research Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2010 |
Funding Finish | 2013 |
GNo | G1000480 |
Type Of Funding | International - Non Competitive |
Category | 3IFB |
UON | Y |
A grammatical description of the Vures language, Vanua Lava, Vanuatu$3,750
Funding body: University of Newcastle
Funding body | University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Catriona Malau |
Scheme | New Staff Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2010 |
Funding Finish | 2011 |
GNo | G1000336 |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | Y |
20091 grants / $143,346
Documentation of Vures and Ver'a, the two surviving endangered languages of Vanua Lava, Vanatu$143,346
Funding body: VolkswagenStiftung
Funding body | VolkswagenStiftung |
---|---|
Project Team | Doctor Catriona Malau |
Scheme | Research Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2009 |
Funding Finish | 2012 |
GNo | G0190440 |
Type Of Funding | International - Non Competitive |
Category | 3IFB |
UON | Y |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Current Supervision
Commenced | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | PhD | Landscape, Cognition, and Language: A Fieldwork-Based Investigation of Inter- and Intracommunity Variation | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2021 | PhD | An Investigation of Language Change and Contact Effects on Tense, Aspect and Mood in Languages of New Guinea | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
Past Supervision
Year | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | PhD | Towards a Theory of Complex Predicates in Australian and Oceanic Languages | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2022 | PhD | A grammar of Fakamae, a Polynesian Outlier of Vanuatu, with a study of Fakamae multilingualism | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
2021 | PhD | Naming Practices, Identity, Power, and Communication in Bindura, Zimbabwe | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2020 | PhD | Topics in the Grammar of Mono-Alu (Oceanic) | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2020 | PhD | English-medium Instruction in Vietnamese Higher Education: Ideologies, Management, and Practices | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2020 | Masters | A Grammar of the Manihiki Language | M Philosophy (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
2019 | PhD | Atolls, Islands, and Endless Suburbia: Spatial Reference in Marshallese | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2019 | PhD | Object Verbs: Link from Timor-Alor- Pantar to Trans-New-Guinea | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2016 | PhD | A Grammar of Nese | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
2015 | PhD | A Grammar of Papapana with an Investigation Into Language Contact and Endangerment | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2012 | PhD | Social Factors Affecting the Acculturation of Young Saudi Children in the Australian Context | PhD (Linguistics), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
Dr Catriona Malau
Position
Senior Lecturer
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci
College of Human and Social Futures
Focus area
Linguistics
Contact Details
catriona.malau@newcastle.edu.au | |
Phone | (02) 4921 6687 |
Fax | (02) 4921 6933 |
Office
Room | SR.143 |
---|---|
Building | SR: Social Sciences Building |
Location | Callaghan University Drive Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia |