| Centre Name: | 
Centre for Modern Languages and Literature (CMLL) (http://cmll.research.utar.edu.my/Intro/) |
| Chairperson: | Dr. Nadya Supian |
| Description of Centre: | Description of Centre:
The Centre for Modern Languages and Literature seeks to study and develop knowledge of the application of modern languages in society, media and discourse. It also aims to develop Malaysian literary works aimed at furthering our cultural and linguistic heritage.
Its mission is to:
|
| Research Area: |
|
| No. | Name | Faculty | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr Nadya Supian | FCI | Full Membership |
| 2 | Maxwell Sim Yik Seng | FCI | Full Membership |
| 3 | Azirah Binti Ibrahim | FCI | Full Membership |
| 4 | Dr Swagata Sinha Roy | FCI | Full Membership |
| 5 | Ms Angeline Wong Wei Wei | FCI | Associate Membership |
| 6 | Ms Asha a/p Vanugopal | FCI | Full Membership |
| 7 | Dr David Tneh Cheng Eng | FCI | Full Membership |
| 8 | Ms Gheeta a/p Chandran | FAS | Full Membership |
| 9 | Ms Joanna Tan Tjin Ai | FAS | Full Membership |
| 10 | Jamela Begam bt Oli Muhamad | FCI | Full Membership |
| 11 | Ms Josephine a/p Freni Affrin | FCI | Full Membership |
| 12 | Dr Kayatri a/p Vasu | FCI | Full Membership |
| 13 | Ms Krishnaveni a/p K.Subramaniam | FCI | Full Membership |
| 14 | Mohamad Azam Bin Samsudin | FCI | Full Membership |
| 15 | Muhamad Elyas Bin Mohd Nor | FCI | Full Membership |
| 16 | Pn Norhaniza bt Md Ismail | FCI | Full Membership |
| 17 | Mr Paul Gnanaselvam a/l Pakirnathan | FAS | Full Membership |
| 18 | Ms Thinusha a/p Selvaraj | FCI | Full Membership |
| 19 | Thian Pik Hang | FAS | Full Membership |
| 20 | Sharon Chong Yee Ling | FCI | Full Membership |
| 21 | Foong Soon Seng | FAS | Full Membership |
| 22 | Ms Yee Sook Fen | FCI | Full Membership |
| 23 | Ms Indira Malani a/p Munusamy | FAS | Full Membership |
| 24 | Mr Raphael Thoo Yi Xian | FAS | Full Membership |
| 25 | Yip Chan Ling | FCI | Full Membership |
| 26 | Shu Bo Yue | FCI | Full Membership |
| No. | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 June 2020 | Sign of the Times: Semiotics in the time of Covid-19 |
| 2 | 28 July 2020 | Managing Transdisciplinary Research on Multilingualism under the Challenges of the Pandemic”, |
| 3 | 29 September 2020 | Supporting linguistic diversity in Malaysia through research: A sharing of field work experience”, |
| No. | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sign of the Times: Semiotics in the time of Covid-19
24 June 2020 (12.00 – 2.00 pm)
On 24 June 2020, Professor William Ray Lagenbach from the Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) delivered a workshop webinar titled “Sign of the Times: Semiotics in the time of Covid-19”. This workshop, organised by the Centre for Modern Languages and Literature in collaboration with the Department of Modern Languages provided the participants with a basic working knowledge of semiotics and how to interpret some currently resonant signs associated with the Covid-19 epidemic here in Malaysia and abroad. The workshop began with Prof Ray tracing the beginnings of how semiotics developed and how signs can be interpreted in many different ways. The signs discussed include images, actions, performances, words, sounds, speeches, clothing, statistics, expressions, roles and mediation of COVID-19. A total of 50 participants attended the event, which was held online on Microsoft Teams for the first time. |
|
| 2 | Webinar on “Managing Transdisciplinary Research on Multilingualism
under the Challenges of the Pandemic”, 28 July 2020 (3.00 pm - 4.30 pm)
On 28 July 2020, the Centre for Modern Languages and Literature and the Department of Modern Languages hosted a webinar titled “Managing Transdisciplinary Research on Multilingualism under the Challenges of the Pandemic” on ZOOM. This webinar, organised by the Malaysian Association of Applied Linguistics (MAAL) in collaboration with the Centre for Modern Languages and Literature and the Department of Modern Languages was CMLL’s first collaboration event. The webinar addressed the challenges of transdisciplinary research and multilingualism, drawing on lessons from the experience of COVID-19 thus far. It also delved into the importance of pragmatic approaches and interactions among academics and practitioners in supporting multilingualism as an effective response to global challenges. Distinguished speakers with many years of research experience presented at this event. The first was Prof. Dr. Azirah Hashim from Universiti Malaya, who presented her research on “Language Policy and Multilingualism in ASEAN”. Prof. Dr. Richard Powell from Nihon University joined us from Japan, presenting his experiences and insights in presenting his topic “Clarity and accessibility in law and the challenges of multilingualism”. Prof. Dr. Khairul Anwar Mastor and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zarina Othman from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia rounded off the event with their presentation titled “Facing the Pandemic: Religiosity, Personality and Language”. COVID-19 has brought to the fore a lack of information on the disease and on public health in general for many people. The main takeaways from the webinar was that clear, accurate and accessible information about the disease and public health response to it is essential. Information must be presented in a language that is easily understood via a medium and in a format that can be trusted. The availability of accurate information is crucial not only for the public but also for health professionals and decision makers. However, much of the information available to date has been presented in English and in the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, while lesser-used languages have been neglected. At the same time, social media has swamped the public with misleading information creating widespread confusion. With regard to vocabulary, there has been an exponential rise in the use of a single word in a short time: Covid-19, or coronavirus, and of war-related analogies. New vocabulary encompassing specialist medical terms, new acronyms, and words and phrases to express the imperatives of isolation and distancing have become dominant. This phenomenon has implications for applied linguistics research. This panel addressed challenges of transdisciplinary research and multilingualism, drawing lessons from the experience of COVID-19 thus far. The importance of pragmatic approaches and interactions among academics and practitioners in supporting multilingualism as an effective response to global challenges were also highlighted. A total of 155 participants attended the webinar, with some joining from countries such as Pakistan and Indonesia. This was the second most highly attended event co-hosted by CMLL and DML for the year. |
|
| 3 | Webinar on “Supporting linguistic diversity in Malaysia through research: A sharing of field work experience”, 29 Sept 2020 (10.00 am – 12.00 pm) On 29 September 2020, the Centre for Modern Languages and Literature and the Department of Modern Languages hosted a webinar titled “Supporting linguistic diversity in Malaysia through research: A sharing of field work experience”. This webinar, organised by the Malaysian Association of Applied Linguistics (MAAL) in collaboration with the Centre for Modern Languages and Literature and the Department of Modern Languages was CMLL’s second collaboration event with MAAL. The webinar provided a platform for presenting fieldwork research and a state-of-the-art sharing on various initiatives to document and preserve the local languages in Malaysia using the tools and frameworks of modern applied linguistics. It also opened up more opportunities for UTAR researchers to remain up to date, enabling potential collaborations with the leading researchers in the field. The first speaker was Dr Jürgen Martin Burkhardt from Universiti Putra Malaysia, who presented his research on “Development of a usable orthography to localise language documentation”. The second speaker was Associate Professor Dr Su-Hie Ting from University Malaysia Sarawak, who gave an overview of “Linguistic diversity and language choice and identity”. Finally the third speaker, Dr Stephanie Samila Pillai from University Malaya delivered her presentation on “Linguistic diversity in Malaysia: from fieldwork to tangible outcomes”, thus concluding the event. Malaysia is a multicultural and multilingual country with more than forty living ethnic groups in total both on the western peninsula and the states on the Borneo island. While the largest ethnic groups have often been identified as the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans and Kadazans, a large number of minority groups exist with their distinct languages, some of which have been indicated as endangered due a dwindling number of speakers. Many of these minority languages have not been committed to the written form, and hence, the rich cultural knowledge associated with the speech communities are accessible only through the oral tradition. The diverse sociolinguistic character of Malaysian society offers a fertile ground for linguistic and applied linguistics research that can contribute to both development of linguistic theory and understanding of cultural and sociolinguistic practices of particular societies. In this webinar, we invite three active researchers who have made invaluable contributions towards supporting linguistic diversity in Malaysia through research on Malaysian languages. Dr Jurgen Bukhardt, Assoc. Prof. Dr Su-Hie Ting and Prof. Stefanie Pillai, who are noted for their work on ethnic languages and dialects shared their findings on some of their research conducted, and their experience in conducting field work, particularly for researchers interested to venture into this area of research. A total of 173 participants, including those who joined from overseas, attended the event, making this the most highly attended event co-hosted by CMLL and DML for the year. |
|