We are happy to announce that Pauline Welby, LPL member and research associate at the Interdisciplinary laboratory for research in education (Univ. of New Caledonia), has just been awarded funding as part of the Australia-France 2024 collaborative research program. This is a joint funding from the French Embassy in Australia and the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. The program aims to support interdisciplinary research that addresses contemporary societal challenges and strengthens links between Australia, France and the Pacific region.

The project “T is for Treu, but how do you pronounce that? Integrating pronunciation respellings into multimodal language learning resources” aims to help teachers and heritage learners of the Drehu language, spoken by the indigenous Kanak people of New Caledonia, to correctly pronounce words by addressing conflicts between written and spoken language. Specifically, the project focuses on the word ‘treu’, which means ‘moon’ in Drehu. The challenge is that the pronunciation of ‘treu’ may be influenced by the French language, leading to incorrect pronunciation.

To overcome this challenge, the research team will develop tools and resources that provide pronunciation respellings based on French orthography. These tools will be integrated into multimedia texts to assist learners in understanding and pronouncing Drehu words accurately. The project builds on previous research efforts and aims to preserve and promote the linguistic diversity of the region.

Partners: Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Laboratoire Parole et Langage ; University Paris 3/INALCO ; University of New Caledonia ; University of South Australia ; Flinders University (Australia)

More information: https://socialsciences.org.au/news/2024-australia-france-collaborative-research-program/

Link to an interactive alphabet book in Drehu: https://c-lara.unisa.edu.au/accounts/rendered_texts/17/normal/page_2.html

Contact: pauline.welby@cnrs.fr

Credits: P. Welby