Jakelin Fleur Troy (born 1960) is an Australian linguist and sociologist, and academic, Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
. She is known for her 1994 work, ''The Sydney Language''.
Early life and education
Jakelin Fleur Troy
was born in 1960 and grew up mainly in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
's
Northern Beaches
The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the ...
, around
Narrabeen, but also travelled around Australia. As a young child she spent a year in
Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...
in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
with her father. Her origins are in the
Ngarigu people of the
Snowy Mountains in southern
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, and her mother, who founded a ski club in
Thredbo, took her to the mountains regularly, especially
Tumut. She loved horses and continues to ride.
She received a first-class honours BA degree from the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
, and then did a
GradDipEducation at the
University of Canberra
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...
.
[
In 1994 she wrote her doctoral thesis about the origin and development " New South Wales Pidgin", the first pidgin English language in Australia. It was titled "Melaleuka: a history and description of New South Wales pidgin" at the ]Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
.[
]
Career
Troy's work has focused on documenting and reviving Aboriginal Australian languages
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
, but she also works with other indigenous language
An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by its indigenous peoples. Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages but they can be; for example, Aymara is both an indigen ...
s and cultures.[ In 1994 she published ''The Sydney Language'', about the language spoken by the ]Dharug people
The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects of ...
of the Sydney area before colonisation. It includes word lists of Dharug / Darug words with their English equivalents.
She worked for the New South Wales Board of Studies
The Board of Studies was the state government education board in New South Wales, Australia from 1990 to 2013. It provided educational leadership by developing the curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12 and awarding the secondary school credent ...
, where she began writing what later became the Aboriginal Languages Syllabus K-10, which was implemented in 2005, "the first schools syllabus in Australia to support the teaching of all the languages of a state or territory". She later helped to write, along with Michael Walsh and Doug Marmion, the ''Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages'', which was to become part of the languages national curriculum. She is passionate about language revival
Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community group ...
.
She authored an essay in and co-edited the volume ''Everywhen: Australia and the Language of Deep History'' (University of Nebraska, 2023),[ with Ann McGrath and Laura Rademaker.
she is director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research and a professor of linguistics at the University of Sydney. Recent research interests include Indigenous languages of Pakistan, including Saraiki and Torwali. She is involved with Australian Research Council Discovery Projects: one with John Maynard on the history of Aboriginal missions and reserves in eastern Australia, and about Aboriginal people who were not institutionalised; and the other about the practice of " corroboree" by Aboriginal people in the mid-20th century.]
Other activities
Troy was editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
of '' Ab-Original: Journal of Indigenous Studies and First Nations and First Peoples' Cultures'', published by Penn State University Press
The Penn State University Press, also known as The Pennsylvania State University Press, is a non-profit publisher of scholarly books and journals. Established in 1956, it is the independent publishing branch of the Pennsylvania State University ...
in the United States. The first issue was published in 2017, but as of 2023 appears to be archived.
She is part of a team working to revise the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'' to include Indigenous biographies at the National Centre for Biography at the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences.[
She is also a member of the Charles Perkins Centre, the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, and the Sydney Environment Institute, based at Sydney University.][
She has frequently been published or quoted in major newspapers and websites such as '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' ''The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'', SBS News
''SBS World News'' is the news service of the Special Broadcasting Service in Australia. Its flagship nightly bulletin is broadcast at on SBS with additional weeknight late bulletins from on SBS. ''SBS News'' is the name of the news app and ...
, The Conversation
''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...
, and ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
, as well as featuring on ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
and Radio National
ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
...
.[
]
Recognition and awards
In 2019,Troy was named as one of ''Australian Financial Review
The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...
s 100 Women of Influence.
She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Aus ...
in 2022.
Selected works
* ''The Sydney Language'' (1994)
*''Music, Dance and the Archive'' (Co-editor, with Amanda Harris and Linda Barwick; Sydney University Press, 2022)
*''Everywhen: Australia and the Language of Deep History'' (Co-editor, with Ann McGrath and Laura Rademaker; University of Nebraska, 2023)
Personal life
Jakelin has an adult daughter. As of 2023, she was living in the house where her grandmother used to live.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troy, Jakelin
Living people
1960 births
Australian National University alumni
Academic staff of the Australian National University
Australian women linguists
21st-century Australian women writers
Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
Indigenous Australian linguists
Indigenous Australian women academics