Research Plans: Projected Papers

Work in progress

• (Cöoauthored with George Baloglou and Tassos Karanastassis): Lexicological, Grammatological and Interpretative Comments on the mediaeval Greek bestiary Dhiighisis Pedhiofrastos ton Tetrapodhon (An Entertaining Tale of the Quadrupeds).
• (Cöoauthored with Paul Sidwell): Prolegomena to a Lexicostatistical study of Tsakonian.

Work that will become in progress

• (Cöauthored with Christina Eira and/or Kostas Siouthas): A paper on the sundry factors involved in determining ad-hoc romanisation of Modern Greek on the Internet
• A lexicostatistical investigation of Modern Greek dialects
• (Possibly cöauthored with Ivan Derzhanski): A paper on developments with relativisation in written Klingon, and/or more generally the differences between Klingon as prescribed by its creator and Klingon as currently used by Klingonists, with allusions to the phenomenon of 'folk functionalism'.
• The grammaticalisation of tha revisited: a look at complicating factors normally ignored in accounts of this textbook example of grammaticalisation, the Modern Greek future particle (including a closer look at Modern Greek dialects.) A fuller account of these factors within the framework of contemporary grammaticalisation theory.
• A paper looking at the competition of and contrast between Modern Greek realis complementisers oti and pos, normally held to differ only as to register.

Work that might become in progress

• (Cöoauthored with Dr Jean Mulder): A corpus-oriented look at the spread of complementiser how in Australian English.
• (Cöoauthored with Dr Lesley Stirling): A paper proposing an ontology for Rhetorical Structure Theory (delimiting what kinds of relations should be incorporated into RST, and what kinds of linguistic entities they should link), emerging from Chapter Two of my Master's thesis. This is intended to be an elaboration of my paper on RST Ontology in the Departmental Working Papers.
• (Cöoauthored with Dr Lesley Stirling): A paper proposing a taxonomy for Rhetorical Structure Theory, emerging from Chapter Three of my Master's thesis. This seems a good spot to include a link to Alistair Knott's (Edinburgh) home page; as far as this topic is concerned, we're both in the same neck of the woods. Small surprise really, given the nefarious influence on us both of one Dr Robert Dale...
• (Cöauthored with Rosie Jones): A paper on the reanalysis of another as a nother in Australian English.
• (Cöauthored with Rosie Jones): A paper on the occurence in spoken discourse of juxtapositions of yes and no, where the former acts as a discourse backchannel.
• (Cöauthored with John Bowden, Neile Kirk and Paul Sidwell) A refutation of Merritt Ruhlen and John Bengston's global etymologies. Ruhlen and Bengston are notorious for arguing, on underwhelming evidence, for Proto-World etymologies such as *TIK 'one; finger' and *PAL 'two'. They have thrown down the gauntlet for critics to disprove their etymologies by demonstrating obverse global etymologies. I have some rather good evidence for such etymologies in Klingon...
• (Much longer-term): A Reference Grammar of Middle and Early Modern Greek (500-1700).
• (Much longer-term): A corpus-based account of the influence of German on early Esperanto.