Researching language to make society better: A chat with Dr Howie Manns Language Chats

In this episode, we’re chatting with Dr Howard (Howie) Manns, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at Monash University.
We were so excited to have the chance to speak with Howie, because we are fascinated by his language story and his academic work - from growing up in a monolingual environment and then (unexpectedly) becoming a linguist through joining the US Navy, to working as a researcher who now studies Australian English, Indonesian, tactile (deafblind) Auslan and intercultural communication.
We hope you enjoy this great Language Chat - we could have spoken with Howie for hours (but have made sure that we didn’t take up more than an hour of his precious time)!
Have any questions for Howie or for us? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with us and other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.
Episode Links
Howie has kindly provided us with an excellent set of notes and additional links for those interested in finding out more! We have included these below in addition to any relevant links/work referenced in the episode.

US Defense Language Institute, Monterey, Ca


Howie’s plane in the US Navy (ES-3A Shadow)


Howie discusses language and idioms and how they impact our view of the world on Episode 1 of the SBS Audio podcast The Idiom, hosted by Rune Pedersen


Our interview with Rune Pedersen: Language Chats Ep #098 - Hit the nail on the head: A chat with Rune Pedersen, host of The Idiom podcast


An open-access book Howie co-wrote about language in post-Suharto Indonesia: Style and Intersubjectivity in Youth Interaction by Dwi Noverini Djenar , Michael C. Ewing and Howard Manns


Some downloadable papers Howie has written on language in Indonesia: https://monash.academia.edu/HowieManns


Howie and colleagues reviews the decline of Indonesian, what Australia gets wrong about language and what we can do about it: https://theconversation.com/the-number-of-australian-students-learning-indonesian-keeps-dropping-how-do-we-fix-this-worrying-decline-216348


Howie and colleagues report on discussions with Victorian Indonesian educators and argues for more collaboration in the second language space. He also points to successful second language efforts in other parts of the world and how these might hold some answers for Australia: https://www.melbourneasiareview.edu.au/invigorating-indonesian-studies-in-australia-through-collaborative-online-education-practices/


Howie promotes multilingualism and community language-learning on ABC Radio National with Hoang Tran Nguyen, project manager, community advocate, co-founder, ViệtSpeak: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/languages-of-our-community/103163890


ViệtSpeak - a community-based, non-profit advocacy organisation situated in Melbourne's west


An Auslan-interpreted introduction to Howie’s Deafblind communication project (led by Louisa Willoughby): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIu7ltZ51R4


Here’s a written introduction to Australian Deafblind communication (behind a paywall but get in touch with Howie for a pre-print version): https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-6430-7_15


This is a 30-minute lifestyle documentary about the amazing Heather Lawson, who Howie mentions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjFOtIqjmxg


These are a pair Auslan signs Howie referenced, which sometimes cause confusion for Heather:

“pub” https://auslan.org.au/dictionary/words/pub-1.html


“know” https://auslan.org.au/dictionary/words/know-1.html *Errata: in the podcast, Howie said it was “pub” and “think”. This is incorrect. It is “pub” and “know” that cause confusion. “Pub” and “know” are clearly differentiated in visual Auslan, but this distinction is not always clear in tactile Auslan.



Howie presenting on the hidden power of language and misconceptions about English “errors”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjC39sfgbrY&t=376s


Howie