Languages and cultural expression research team

Dr Doug Marmion

Doug taught for three years at Yirara College in Alice Springs, followed by three years as Adult Educator at Walungurru (also known as Kintore), in the Gibson Desert west of Alice Springs. While in Central Australia he began learning the Western Desert Language and studying linguistics, eventually taking up the position of Senior Linguist at the Yamaji Language Centre in Geraldton, WA. In his eight years in this position he worked with speakers of various languages of the Murchison-Gascoyne region (including Wajarri, Badimaya, Nhanda, Malgana, Warriyangka, Ngarlawangka and Wanmala) to...

Dr Michael Walsh

Michael Walsh's research has focused on the 'Top End' of the Northern Territory over the last forty years. This research includes descriptive and typological studies of Aboriginal languages as well as investigations into language use among Indigenous Australians. An interest in lexical semantics has given rise to such studies as one on body part metaphors and another on nominal classification. In these and other studies he is interested in testing general assumptions about how languages are supposed to work against data collected in the field.

Outside of strictly linguistic...

Mr Jason Lee

Jason joined AIATSIS in 2018 as the Senior Project Manager, Linguistics, of the National Indigenous Languages Report (NILR) 2019. Jason is a linguist who was previously in Research at AIATSIS from 2007 to 2010. He was the Senior Linguist at Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre from 2013 to 2018, and also worked as a community linguist at Diwurruwurru-jaru, the Katherine Regional Aboriginal Language Centre between 2000 and 2004.

He has a First Class Honours in Linguistics from the University of Western Australia (1996) and has also done research and fieldwork on Agusan...

Ash Pollock-Harris

Ash Pollock-Harris joined the Indigenous Culture and Heritage Unit in 2018 as a Project Manager. Ash is a Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal man. Ash is currently studying a Diploma of Project Management which will contribute to the completion of his Bachelor of Business. He has worked in the Collections group at AIATSIS for over 5 years and has experience in client services and the facilitation of access to collection material. Ash’s interests lie in the return of material to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the benefit this has to cultural reinvigoration. 

Jacqueline Battin

Jacqui is a research officer in the Indigenous Culture and Heritage unit at AIATSIS. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts at the Australian National University.

Her research interests include the description and revitalisation of Australian Indigenous languages, Indigenous intangible cultural heritage, research impact evaluation, and social and cultural anthropology.