Offered By	ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Areas of Interest	Asian Languages

The core tenet of the Bachelor of Asia-Pacific Studies is that the Asia-Pacific Region cannot be fully understood without an understanding to an advanced degree of a language of the region. The exciting and innovative Pacific Languages program has been developed in response to the urgent and growing demand for students of Pacific Studies throughout Australia and the region. Australia is fully engaged in the contemporary Pacific through aid, policy-making, the federal police, business, education, tourism, trade, and cultural exchanges. An understanding of Pacific Languages will provide graduates with an advantage in these diverse areas.

There are over 1,000 distinct languages in the Pacific region, including over 800 in Papua New Guinea alone. The Pacific Languages major responds to this incredible linguistic diversity by providing students with a solid grounding in one or more of the lingua franca or regional languages, such as French, Indonesian, and Melanesian pidgins. In addition, the two core courses each introduce students to multiple languages and encourage critical reflection on linguistic diversity.

The Pacific Languages major usefully complements majors in International Relations, Asian Studies, Development Studies, Politics, International Business, Strategic Studies, Human Ecology, French, Hindi Language, Japanese Language and Japanese Studies. It also provides a specific regional focus to more general fields of study such as Politics, Anthropology, and Geography.

Prerequisites

No previous knowledge of a regional language is required or expected. Students with some language background may be placed into a higher level. Native speakers are excluded from specialising in their native language.

Requirements

The Pacific Language major consists of 8 courses:

1.       Students are required to complete the two core Pacific Languages courses:

PASI1010 Introduction to Melanesian Pidgins and Creoles

PASI2020 Introduction to Pacific Languages

2.       Students then complete two courses of a major regional language. At this stage, French is the only major regional language available.

 

3.       Students also complete two additional courses of any language spoken in the region: French, Hindi, Japanese, Indonesian, and Tetum.

 

4.       Finally, students complete two other relevant courses taught within the College or elsewhere at the ANU. Relevant courses, while broadly understood, must be confirmed by the convenor of the Pacific Studies Program (Dr Katerina Teaiwa) and the convenor of the primary language program.

 

The information published on the Study at ANU 2010 website applies to the 2010 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2009 website.