World renowned linguist to discuss survival of Maori and Pasifika languages

World renowned linguist Professor Bernard Spolsky will be keynote speaker at an upcoming symposium 'Building a multilingual society: creating habitats for language survival', focusing on the survival of Maori and Pasifika languages.

The symposium, which includes a panel discussion with leading Victoria University of Wellington academics as well as Dr Colin Tukuitonga, CEO Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, will consider how to ensure the survival of Maori and Pasifika languages and build a multilingual society.

Professor Spolsky’s extensive research over the last 40 years includes research on language policy, sociolinguistics, educational linguistics, language testing and its history, and language attitudes and identity.

Symposium details
When: Monday 28 November, 2-4pm
Where: Hunter Council Chamber, Level 2 Hunter Building, Gate 2 Kelburn Parade, Victoria University of Wellington
Cost: Free, but RSVP essential as seating is limited

About Professor Bernard Spolsky
Bernard Spolsky was born in New Zealand in 1932 and educated at Wellington College, Victoria University College of the University of New Zealand, and the University of Montreal. He taught at high schools in New Zealand, Australia and England. He taught English for two years at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and completed military service in the Israel Defense Forces. He was assistant professor of Education at McGill University (1962-4), and assistant professor of Linguistics at Indiana University (1964-8). At the University of New Mexico from 1968-1980, he was Professor of Linguistics, Elementary Education and Anthropology and for six years Dean of the Graduate School.

He was appointed Professor of English at Bar-Ilan University in Israel in 1980, serving as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities from 1992-4 and Chair of the Department of English from 1995-6. On retirement in 2000, he was appointed Professor Emeritus.

At Indiana University, he was director of the English as a Foreign Language Program and associate chair of the Research Center for the Language Sciences. At the University of New Mexico, he directed the Navajo Reading Study. At Bar-Ilan University, he founded and directed the Language Policy Research Center.

He has been a Senior Associate at the National Foreign Language Center and Senior Research Scientist at the Center for the Advanced Study of Language, both at the University of Maryland. He was Editor-in-Chief of the international academic journal Language Policy from 2002 until 2007 and is Publications Director of Asian TEFL (the Asian Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) and editor-in-chief of its academic journal.

He is currently writing a book on language management.