Holly Drayton
Doctoral Student in Literature - Holly’s thesis is entitled ‘Western Austronesian voice in three Lower Baram languages of northern Borneo: Description, Usage and Formal Syntactic Account’.
Research project title
Western Austronesian voice in three Lower Baram languages of northern Borneo: Description, Usage and Formal Syntactic Account
Supervisors
Prof Michelle Sheehan + Dr Emma Nguyen
Contact details
Email: h.drayton2@newcastle.ac.uk
Research interests
- Linguistic Typology
- Language Documentation and Description
- Theoretical Syntax
- Minimalist Syntax
- Experimental Methods
- Austronesian languages
A brief outline of my research project
This research has three key aims. First, I will investigate the voice systems of three Indonesian-type Western Austronesian languages spoken in north Borneo. This will increase our understanding of the cross-linguistic typology of syntactic voice, and address the controversial areas of grammatical relations, syntactic alignment and voice choice. Second, I will document the endangered and previously undescribed Narum language, by recording a range of multipurpose texts to be archived in an open-access online language depository. Finally, this project will make a substantial theoretical contribution by developing an analysis of Symmetrical Voice within the Minimalist syntax framework.
Research activities
Publications
(To appear) Translating Language Documentation Texts: A survey of macro-level translation methods used in the translation of endangered language texts in a digital language archive. Language Documentation & Conservation.
(Under review) The Belait language: attitudes, beliefs and vitality.
Placements and Funding
(2023 – 2027) Northern Bridge DTP PhD Studentship
(April 2022) ELDP Small Grant SG0715. A Documentation of Belait, and Austronesian language of north Borneo. Value: EUR 4,400.
Awards
(July 2022) Banco Espiritu Santo Prize for the best Postgraduate Dissertation or Major Project in the Field of Translation 2022. Value: GBP 100
Conferences
October 2022, LD&A 2022, Berlin. Translation in Language Documentation Archives.
Research Groups
Syntax Reading Group
Memberships
Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL)