Ever considered how Cootamundra's accents and colloquialisms came to be? If so, you're in luck!
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A team of linguists and academics from the Australian National University have selected Cootamundra for a seminal case study on low-level changes to regional dialect and linguistic dynamism.
For those of us who can't process those fancy terms, project leader Nick Evans has a simpler explanation.
"We're a group of linguistic experts who want to look at how language changes over time," he said.
"We've got projects in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Arnhem Land, South America and now we want an Australian case study."
Professor Evans confessed Cootamundra's selection was initially based on convenience but the idea had grown over time.
"One of our PHD students (Alex Marley) started telling us about Cootamundra and we realised it would be perfect for our studies," he said.
"It's close to Canberra which suits us but it's still a reasonably traditional Aussie town.”
It's the perfect place to look at accents, particular words, grammatical constructions and little things like colloqualisms.
- Dr Nick Evans
Project officer Bianca Hennessy said the study was still in developmental stages but researchers would be visiting Cootamundra regularly over the summer season and conduct follow-up visits throughout next year.
"Summer is the big research period for us though," she said.
Ms Hennessy encouraged people to consider participating in the study and gave assurances of a relaxed and informal process.
"The way our team's been doing interviews is very casual; usually they'll chat with participants over a meal or coffee or down at the pub," she said.
"The idea is to capture natural speech so we're keen to just have a yarn and talk about things that are important to those participating.
"We want people to just be themselves."
Professor Evans said interviews would typically run for around an hour.
“These interviews will be recorded and archived and the resultant material will be of interest not just for its linguistic characteristics but as a snapshot of a wide range of Cootamundra residents and what they have to say about life.”
Professor Evans also encouraged residents to get in touch and express interest in the study which will begin next week.
An initial get-to-know-you meeting to explain the project and make contact with interested people will be held at the Central Hotel 5pm next Wednesday, October 11, and will be followed by a shared pub meal courtesy of the project. If you’re interested in coming please let Bianca Hennessy know on bianca.hennessy@anu.edu.au or call or message 0402612676 before Monday, October 9, so that numbers can be planned.
