THE CALA
The Annual Conference on Asian Linguistic Anthropology seeks to redefine the way we view Asian Language and Society. The CALA holds its annual conference in selected universities globally, and publishes its journal, the JALA, the Journal of Asian Linguistic Anthropology. The JALA is a quarterly, peer reviewed, free to publish, journal. The official partner for the CALA is Taylor and Francis Global Publishers, together with a global network of universities and academics.
CALA 2020 registrationGeoffrey Benjamin
After studying Social anthropology and Linguistics at Cambridge, Geoffrey Benjamin taught Linguistic Anthropology and Sociology at Australian National Unviersity, and in Universities in Singapore. He focuses on Southeast Asia, with ethnic groups such as the Orang Asli, and Singapore and Indonesia’s Riau Islands. His publications extend on languages, societies, cultures and musics of the Malay World. He now develops Sociocultural theory.
ABOUT THIS SESSION
In the LIAISE 2-5 interview by CALA, Geoffrey Benjamin refutes the correlation between language shifts and population movements. He discusses his publications on Negrito social and historical dynamics, and relates this to genetics, kinship, and ethnic mixing. He then moves to discuss the mapping of Austronesian language vis-à-vis genetic patterns, and expresses his objection with fusing Malay with Austronesian ethnicity, despite large consensus to do otherwise.