Australian Languages Today

Dear Colleagues,

The goal of this Special Issue is to highlight works that add new perspectives to research on Australian languages, on a range of topics.

Current research on Australian languages includes theoretically informed in-depth analyses on essential topics ranging across structures of traditional and newer languages and varieties, multiple modalities of communication, contact languages, language ecologies, language-in-interaction, language variation and change, languages in education, language renewal, language acquisition and more. Emerging research brings exciting new perspectives to each area.

This Special Issue aims to collate a range of these new works, creating a timely locus of information for international and national audiences. With the UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages beginning in 2022, this Special Issue of Languages also aims to be an excellent forum for bringing together cutting-edge works on Australian languages for an international audience. Papers by Indigenous and emerging researchers, including collaborative papers, are strongly encouraged.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors or to the Languages editorial office (languages@mdpi.com) by the deadline 31 August 2020.

Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors to ensure proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review. Note that an advantage of publication in the journal is that papers are published online as they are ready, even if other papers in the collection are not yet ready.

Tentative completion schedule:

• Abstract submission deadline: 31 August 2020
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 20 September 2020
• Full manuscript deadline: 31 January 2021

References

Bowern, Claire, and Koch, Harold. Eds. 2004. Australian languages: classification and the comparative method. Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 249.  Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Bowern, Claire. Ed. In prep. Oxford Handbook of Australian languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Koch, Harold, and Nordlinger, Rachel. Eds. 2014. The languages and linguistics of Australia: a comprehensive guide:  The world of linguistics. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

Leitner, Gerhard, and Malcolm, Ian G. Eds. 2007. The habitat of Australia's Aboriginal languages: past, present and future. Trends in linguistics, Studies and Monographs 179.  Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Meakins, Felicity, and Carmel O'Shannessy. Eds. 2016. Loss and renewal: Australian languages since colonisation. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter

Dr. Elisabeth Mayer
Dr Carmel O’Shannessy
Prof. Dr. Jane Simpson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.