I am a critical sociolinguist at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. My research investigates:
- language policy and planning in New Zealand, Scandinavia and Malaysia,
- ontologies and epistemologies of language
- multilingualism and linguistic discrimination,
- folk linguistics and metalinguistic awareness,
- language ideology and language attitudes.
I have also held several policy positions in the immigration, prime minister and cabinet and tertiary education portfolios in Australia and New Zealand.
Experience
2014–present
Research Fellow, University of Oslo
2016–2017
Visiting Fellow, University of Pennsylvania
2004–2013
Policy Advisor, Australian and New Zealand Governments
Education
2017
University of Oslo, PhD in Sociolinguistics
2013
University of New England, MA (Linguistics)
2002
Griffith University, BA in Languages and Applied Linguistics
Publications
2017
A typology of arguments for and against bilingual place naming in Aotearoa New Zealand, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
2017
Mother tongues and languaging in Malaysia: Critical linguistics under critical examination, Language in Society
2017
The widening gap between Malaysia’s international tourism brand and domestic multicultural policy, Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events
2016
Malaysia's national language policy in international theoretical context, Journal of Nusantara Studies
2016
Defining Māori language revitalisation: A project in folk linguistics, Journal of Sociolinguistics
2016
Holding them at arm's length: A critical review of Norway's policy on Sámi language maintenance, Journal of Home Language Research
2016
The power of folk linguistic knowledge in language policy, Language Policy
2016
An old problem with new directions: Māori language revitalisation and the policy ideas of youth, Current Issues in Language Planning
2015
National language policy theory: exploring Spolsky’s model in the case of Iceland, Language Policy
2015
Collective (white) memories of Maori language loss (or not), Language Awareness
2015
Objectives at the crossroads: Critical theory and Indigenous self-determination in language revitalisation, Critical Inquiry In Language Studies
2014
Your language or ours? Inclusion and exclusion of non-indigenous majorities in Māori and Sámi language revitalization policy, Current Issues in Language Planning
2014
Fearing the Known: English and the Linguistic Ramifications of Globalizing Iceland, Journal of Globalization Studies
2014
Introducing the folk linguistics of language policy, International Journal of Language Studies
Professional Memberships
International Association for Applied Linguistics, Research Network on Social and Affective Factors in Home Language Maintenance and Development
International Association for Applied Linguistics, Research Network on Language Policy