Information about R. M. W. Dixon
Robert Malcolm Ward Dixon is a Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Research Centre for Linguistic Typology at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Professor Dixon has written on many areas of linguistic theory and fieldwork, being particularly noted for his work on the Aboriginal languages of Australia. He has published grammars of Dyirbal[1] and Yidiny[2] as well as non-Australian languages like Boumaa Fijian[3] and Jarawara[4].
Professor Dixon's work on Australian languages has led him to reject the standard "family-tree" model of linguistic change in favour of a "punctuated equilibrium" model, based on the theory of the same name in evolutionary biology. Dixon puts forth his theory in The Rise and Fall of Languages[5].
He is also the author of a number of other books including Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development Cambridge University Press[6] and Ergativity [7]
In addition to scholarly works, Professor Dixon also published, in 1983, a memoir of his early fieldwork in Australia titled Searching For Aboriginal Languages. The book provides a glimpse at linguistic fieldwork as it was done in that era as well as an interesting historical look at the appalling treatment of Aboriginal peoples of Australia that continued right into the 1960s.
Professor Dixon has written on many areas of linguistic theory and fieldwork, being particularly noted for his work on the Aboriginal languages of Australia. He has published grammars of Dyirbal[1] and Yidiny[2] as well as non-Australian languages like Boumaa Fijian[3] and Jarawara[4].
Professor Dixon's work on Australian languages has led him to reject the standard "family-tree" model of linguistic change in favour of a "punctuated equilibrium" model, based on the theory of the same name in evolutionary biology. Dixon puts forth his theory in The Rise and Fall of Languages[5].
He is also the author of a number of other books including Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development Cambridge University Press[6] and Ergativity [7]
In addition to scholarly works, Professor Dixon also published, in 1983, a memoir of his early fieldwork in Australia titled Searching For Aboriginal Languages. The book provides a glimpse at linguistic fieldwork as it was done in that era as well as an interesting historical look at the appalling treatment of Aboriginal peoples of Australia that continued right into the 1960s.
See also
References
(The list below is incomplete; for a full publication list, see R.M.W. Dixon's CV)1. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1972. The Dyirbal language of North Queensland ( Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 9). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1977. A grammar of Yidiny (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 19). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
3. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
4. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 2004. The Jarawara language of southern Amazonia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1997. The rise and fall of languages. Cambridge University Press.
6. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 2002. Australian languages: their nature and development. Cambridge University Press.
7. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1994. Ergativity (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 69). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1977. A grammar of Yidiny (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 19). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
3. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1988. A grammar of Boumaa Fijian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
4. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 2004. The Jarawara language of southern Amazonia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1997. The rise and fall of languages. Cambridge University Press.
6. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 2002. Australian languages: their nature and development. Cambridge University Press.
7. ^ Dixon, R.M.W. 1994. Ergativity (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 69). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
External links
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are located in the Victorian city of Bendigo and NSW-Victorian border centre of Albury-Wodonga.
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Melbourne
Victoria
Location of Melbourne in Australia
Population:
• Density: 3,744,373 (2006 estimate) (2nd)
479.
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Victoria
Location of Melbourne in Australia
Population:
• Density: 3,744,373 (2006 estimate) (2nd)
479.
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Anthem
Advance Australia Fair [1]
Capital Canberra
Largest city Sydney
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Advance Australia Fair [1]
Capital Canberra
Largest city Sydney
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Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. The term includes both the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal People, who together make up about 2.5% of Australia's population.
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Dyirbal (also Djirubal) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in northeast Queensland by about 5 speakers. It is a member of the small Dyirbalic branch of the Pama-Nyungan family.
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Yidiny (also spelled Yidinj, Yidiɲ, Yidinʸ) is a nearly extinct Australian Aboriginal language, spoken by the Yidindji tribe of northern Queensland.
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Jarawara (also Jaruara, Jaruára, Yarawara) is a dialect of Madi, an Arauan language spoken in Amazonas, Brazil. Jarawara is spoken by approximately 155 people.
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Punctuated equilibrium (sometimes referred to as punctuated equilibria) is a theory in evolutionary biology, which posits that evolution amongst sexually reproducing species takes place in rapid bursts, separated by long periods in which little change occurs.
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The taboo against naming the dead is a kind of taboo on the dead whereby the name of a recently deceased person, and any other words similar to it in sound, may not be uttered.
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