Alexandra Aikhenvald: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Russian-Australian linguist (born 1957)}}

|citizenship=RussianAustralian, AustralianBrazilian<ref name="cv2" />

'''Alexandra Yurievna "Sasha" Aikhenvald''' (''Eichenwald'') {{post-nominals|country=AUS|FAHA}} is aan [[Russian AustralianAustralia]]n-[[Brazil]]ian<ref name="cv2" /> [[Linguistics|linguist]] specialising in [[linguistic typology]] and the [[Arawakan languages|Arawak language family]] (including [[Tariana language|Tariana]]) of the Brazilian [[Amazon basin]]. She is a professorprofessorial atresearch thefellow at [[JamesCentral CookQueensland University]]<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Professor Alexandra Aikhenvald |url=https://staff-profiles.cqu.edu.au/home/view/25682 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2024-05-26|website=CQ University |language=en-AU}}</ref>

Alexandra Aikhenvald was born to a grandson of [[Yuly Aykhenvald]]; [[Natalia Shvedova]] was her paternal aunt. She was fascinated by languages from early childhood, picking up some Spanish from her parents' Spanish flatmate, and dreaming of majoring in [[Latin language|Latin]] and [[Classical studies]] in university.<ref name="lf>[http://www.abc.net.au/rn/linguafranca/stories/2008/2157586.htm "Me and other languages"] - A.Y. Aikhenvald's interview with ABC Radio National, 9 February 2008</ref> A friend taught her [[German language|German]] during her high school years, and she also mastered [[French language|French]].

Aikhenvald earned her undergraduate degree from [[Moscow State University]], with a thesis on [[Anatolian languages]]<ref name="cv>[http://www.jcu.edu.au/sass/idc/groups/public/documents/research_strengths/jcuprd_052588.pdf" Dr. Aikhenvald's CV] (at JCU site; accessed 20 December 2009){{dead link|date=September 2018}}</ref> ([[Hittite language|Hittite]]<ref name="lf" />). She also studied [[Sanskrit]], [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Arabic]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Ancient Greek]]. Outside of her classes, she learned [[Estonian language|Estonian]] and [[Hebrew]].<ref name="lf" /> After graduation, she joined the research staff of the [[Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences]], where she earned her [[Candidate of Sciences|Cand. Sc.]] degree (Soviet equivalent of Ph.D.) in 1984 with a thesis on the "Structural and Typological Classification of [[Berber people|Berber]] Languages" (1984).<ref name="cv" /> She published the first Russian grammar of modern Hebrew in 1985. She also mastered [[Yiddish]], the language of her grandparents, which was, however, never spoken at home.

In 1989–1992, Aikhenvald did research work in [[Brazil]], where she mastered [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], learnt five Brazilian Indian languages, and wrote a grammar of the [[Tariana language]]. In 1993 she started her work in Australia, first at [[Australian National University]], later at [[La Trobe University]].<ref name="cv" />

In 1996, the expert on Australian aboriginal languages [[R. M. W. Dixon]] and Aikhenvald established the [[Research Centre for Linguistic Typology]] at [[Australian National University]] in [[Canberra]]. On January 1, 2000, the center relocated to [[La Trobe University]] in [[Melbourne]].<ref name="anniv>[http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rclt/Publications/Anniversary%20publication%202.pdf" Research Centre for Linguistic Typology: Ten Years' Achievements] (2006)</ref> Dixon and Aikhenvald both resigned in May 2008.<ref>[http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rclt/Newsletters/Newsletter%202009%20-%20with%20Errata.pdf RCLT Newsletter], 2009</ref> In January 2009, she became a professor at the [[James Cook University]],<ref>{{Citecite web|url=https://secure.jcu.edu.au/app/contact/index.cfm?fuseaction=home|title=Contact Us - JCU Australia|website=secure.jcu.edu.au|accessdateaccess-date=Feb 26, 2019}}</ref> where she and [[R. M. W. Dixon]] founded The Language and Culture Research Group.<ref>{{Citecite web|url=https://linguistlist.org/issues/20/20-138.html/|title=LINGUIST List 20.138: Language and culture research group at James Cook University|date=Jan 15, 2009|website=The LINGUIST List|accessdateaccess-date=Feb 26, 2019}}</ref>

She has worked on language contact, with reference to the multilingual area of the [[Vaupés River]] Basin.<ref>''Language contact and language change in Amazonia''. By Alexandra Aikhenvald, [[Oxford University Press]], 2002, {{ISBN|0-19-925785-X}}</ref> She has established a typology of classifiers<ref>Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald,''Classifiers: A Typology of Noun Categorization Devices'', [[Oxford University Press]], 2000, pb. 2003, {{ISBN|0-19-926466-X}}</ref> and worked out parameters for the typology of [[evidentials]] as grammatical markers of information sources.<ref>Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, ''Evidentiality'' [[Oxford University Press]] 2004, pd. 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-926388-4}}</ref> In addition, she authored a comprehensive grammar of [[Warekena language|Warekena]] and of Tariana, both [[Arawak languages]], in addition to a Tariana–[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] dictionary (available online).

Aikhenvald was elected Fellow of the [[Australian Academy of the Humanities]] in 1999.<ref>{{Citecite web |last= |first= |date= |title=FellowsFellow Profile: Alexandra Aikhenvald |url=https://www.humanities.org.au/fellows/fellowsfellow-profile/?find_contact_idfellow_id=2827|url-status=live268 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=20202024-1005-2401 |website=Australian Academy of the Humanities |language=en-AU}}</ref> In 2012, she was awarded an [[Australian Laureate Fellowship]].<ref name="laureate>{{cite" news |url=https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2012/july/jcu-two-join-elite-of-researchers |title=JCU two join elite of researchers |date=30 July 2012 |access-date=30 January 2018 |work=[[James Cook University]] }}</ref>

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190407071010/https://research.jcu.edu.au/lcrc/people/director A.Y. Aikhenvald's page at JCU]; includes CV

[[Category:Academic staff of La Trobe University faculty]]

[[Category:Academic staff of James Cook University faculty]]

[[Category:Academic staff of the Australian National University faculty]]

[[Category:PaleolinguistsHistorical linguists]]

[[Category:WomenAustralian women linguists]]