The New Zealand Centre - Peking University

20/05/2019 - Professor John Macalister visited Peking University on May 17th, delivering two lectures related to sociolinguistics, entitled “English in New Zealand and New Zealand English” and “Linguistic Landscapes,” for the 537th assembly of the PKU School of Foreign Languages Linguistic Circle.

At the invitation of Professor Gao Yihong, Director of the Institute of Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, School of Foreign Languages, PKU, Professor John Macalister visited PKU and delivered two talks on 17th May 2019. John Macalister is Professor in Applied Linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His May 17th lectures reflect the broad range of areas of his research, including language teaching methodology and language curriculum design, New Zealand English, linguistic landscapes, and language policy. He is also Associate Dean (International) of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
In his first talk, Professor Macalister presented an investigation of language change in “English in New Zealand and New Zealand English.” Beginning with a vivid description of the English language as a linguistic omnivore, he proceeded to outline, explain, and expand upon the impact Maori language and culture has had on the development of New Zealand English from 1769 to the present, in relation to historical events and social factors. He broadened his analysis by discussing New Zealand’s periods of colonization and identifying five stages of Post-colonial Englishes. The lecture suggested the future research area of the focus on the development of new English varieties.

In his second lecture “Linguistic Landscapes,” Professor Macalister illustrated the theoretical development and research methodology of the concept of linguistic landscapes through examples of his own research. He explained that the linguistic landscape (LL), initially a term covering the visual representation of culture in a defined space, has evolved to include anything that conveys a semiotic message. His findings from a LL study on multilingualism in Timor-Leste revealed a case of interesting disparity between language policy and linguistic landscape reality. Through other analysis examples of New Zealand monuments and Malaysian art installations, he pointed to further fruitful implementations of LL research.

Professor Macalister’s talks were met with enthusiasm by the group of faculty, students, and visiting scholars in attendance, and inspired lively discussion in the question-and-answer sessions following each lecture.

Previously, Professor Macalister visited PKU in October 2018 in the capacity of the Associate Dean (International) of Victoria’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, for a meeting with the New Zealand Centre of Peking University regarding cooperation between the two universities. His latest visit has built upon this cooperation. (Co-authored by Yi Fan and Xiaolei Shi)

Professor John Macalister of Victoria University of Wellington Lectures at PKU