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Dr Antonia Rubino

PhD, MA, Dip.Ed., BA (Florence)
Chair of Department
Room 719, MacCallum Brennan Building (A18)

+61 2 9351 4608

Antonia Rubino has research interests in Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics and Linguistics. She has conducted extensive research in the Italo-Australian community, focussing on the changes occurring in the Italian language and dialects in the transition from the first to subsequent generations. She has published extensively in this area, and has presented seminars at a number of Universities (Australia, Italy, USA). She has co-authored a junior course of Italian in use in Australian secondary schools.

She is a member of the Language and Identity Research Network at the University of Sydney and was the Editor of the Australian Review of Applied Linguistics from 2004 to 2006 and one of the Vice-Presidents of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia from 2006 to 2008.

Research Areas

  • Contact linguistics
  • Bilingualism
  • Language and identity
  • Cross cultural studies
  • Language teaching

Current Projects

  • Linguistic practices of different migration waves.
  • Issues of language and identity amongst Italian migrants.
  • Language maintenance and shift in migration contexts.

Selected Publications

Books

  • Lingua, identità e comunicazione in contesti anglofoni e italiani (ed) (Special issue of Studi Italiani di Linguistica Teorica e Applicata). Pisa, 2007.
  • Using and learning Italian in Australia (ed) (Special issue of the Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, S18). Melbourne, 2004.
  • Emigrazione e comportamento linguistico. Un’indagine sul trilinguismo dei siciliani e dei veneti in Australia [with C. Bettoni]. Galatina, 1996.

Book Chapters and Other Contributions

  • Language maintenance strategies and language attitudes of new migrants from Italy. In A. Mahbood and C. Lipovsky (eds), Studies in Applied Linguistics and Language Learning. Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars, 2009, pp. 203-223.
  • Il dialetto tra la vecchia e la nuova emigrazione italiana in Australia. In L. Amenta and G. Paternostro (eds), I parlanti e le loro storie. Competenze linguistiche, strategie comunicative, livelli di analisi. Palermo, Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici Siciliani, 2009, pp. 209-220.
  • Immigrant minorities: Australia. In M. Hellinger and A. Pauwels (eds) Language and communication: Diversity and change (Handbooks of Applied Linguistics). Berlin, Mouton de Gruyter, 2007, pp.87-122.
  • From the image of language to language politics: Italian in Australia. In Krase, J. et al (Eds) Italian American politics: Local, global/cultural, personal. Selected essays – the 31st Annual Conference American Italian Historical Association. Chicago Heights, American Italian Historical Association, 2005, pp. 185-207.
  • Trilinguismo e monolinguismo tra gli italo-australiani: due famiglie a confronto. In A. De Fina and F. Bizzoni (eds) Italiano e italiani fuori d’Italia. Perugia, Guerra, 2003, pp. 145-174.
  • Prospettive di mantenimento linguistico: fase di vita e di comunità come fattori di variabilità tra gli italiani in Australia. In A. Valentini et als (eds) Ecologia linguistica. Rome, Bulzoni, 2003, pp. 309-329.
  • Italian in Australia: past and new trends. In C. Kennedy (ed) Proceedings of the Innovations in Italian Teaching Workshop. Visit the Proceedings of the Innovations in Italian Teaching Workshop website, 2002.
  • Comportamento linguistico e variabilità regionale nell’emigrazione italiana. [with C. Bettoni] In S. Vanvolsem et als (eds) L’italiano oltre frontiera. Leuven and Florence, Franco Cesati, 2000, pp. 131-151.
  • Dialects, Dialect usage, Language attitudes, Italian and emigration, Sectorial languages. In G. Moliterno (ed) The Routledge Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture. London and New York, Routledge, 2000.

Articles

  • Changes in the speech act of complaint in a migration context: Italo-Australians vs Italians and Anglo-Australians. Italica, 88 (1), 2011, pp. 115-139..
  • L’italiano dell’emigrazione: temi, approcci teorici e metodologie d’indagine. [with C. Bettoni] Studi Italiani di Linguistica Teorica e Applicata, 39 (3), 2010, pp. 457-489.
  • Multilingualism in Australia: Reflections on current and future research trends. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 33(2), 2010. pp. 17.1-17.21.
  • Reacting to complaints: Italians vs Anglo-Australians [with C. Bettoni] Studi Italiani di Linguistica Teorica e Applicata, 36 (3), 2007. pp.483-498.
  • Istruzione bilingue e rivitalizzazione dell'italiano: il caso della scuola elementare bilingue di Sydney. ITALS: Didattica e linguistica dell'Italiano come lingua straniera, V, 14, 2007.
  • Handling complaints cross-culturally: Italians vs Anglo-Australians. [with C. Bettoni] Studi Italiani di Linguistica Teorica e Applicata, 35 (2), 2006, pp. 339-358
  • Linguistic practices and language attitudes of second-generation Italo-Australians. In S. Kipp and C. Norrby (eds) Community languages in practice: the case of Australia. Special Issue of the International Journal of the Sociology of Language 180, 2006, pp. 71-88.
  • Trilingual women as language mediators in the family: A Sicilian-Australian case-study. In A. Rubino (ed) Using and learning Italian in Australia. (ed) Melbourne, 2004, pp. 25-49.
  • Teaching mixed-ability groups at tertiary level: the case of Italian. FULGOR 2(1), 2004.
  • Due famiglie fra tre lingue. Italiano Oltre 1, 2002, pp. 47-52.
  • Cosa succede all’italiano in Australia? Italiano e Scuola 1(4), 2001, pp. 5-8.
  • Playing with languages: language alternation in Sicilian-Australians children’s conversation. Rassegna Italiana di Linguistica Applicata 2, 2000, pp. 89-108.
  • Le strategie per comunicare. Italiano Oltre 13, 1998, pp. 272-281.
  • Language maintenance and language shift: Dialect vs Italian among Italo-Australians. [with C. Bettoni] Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 21(1), 1998, pp. 21-39.
  • Italiano e dialetto fuori d’Italia. Un bilancio degli studi recenti fuori d’italia. Rivista Italiana di Dialettologia 22, 1998, pp. 393-403.
  • Connecting language students through email. [with V. Tudini] Babel 33(10), 1998, pp. 18-21; 32-33.

Other

  • Pronti, via! 1, 2, and 3. Student Book, Workbook, CD and Teachers Notes. [with M. Minelle Katis] Melbourne, 2000-2004.

Areas of Teaching and Research Supervision

Teaching and Supervision

  • Italian Sociolinguistics
  • Language and migration
  • Language use through different mediums
  • Italian language

In 2005 Dr Rubino was the recipient of one of a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching Award.

Recently Completed Theses

PhD

  • F. Ricatti: Embodying Italian Migrants: Impossible dialogues, spectral fantasies and the body. Letters to Mamma Lena (La Fiamma, Australia, 1956-1964).
  • A. Strambi: The impact of Web-enhanced interaction and collaboration on the language learner. A longitudinal study of beginning learners of Italian at tertiary level.
  • M. Zanoletti: Brett Whiteley's words and images. A translation studies approach.

Conference Activity

  • Convenor of the 27th conference of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia, July 12-14, 2002.
  • Convenor of the sessions on Language and Linguistics at the Conferences organised by the Australian Centre for Italian Studies (ACIS): the Australian National University, September 2001; Treviso (Italy), June-July 2005.
  • Member of the Program panel for the 32nd Conference of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia, Wollongong University, 2007.
  • Member of the Organizing Committee of LingFest 2008, University of Sydney
  • Member of the Organizing Committee of the Symposium on Language and Identity Across Modes of Communication, University of Sydney, 2011.
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Other Professional Contributions

  • Vice President of the Applied Linguistics and member of the Executive Committee of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (2006-2010).
  • Member of the Editorial Board of the Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, Rivista Italiana di Dialettologia and Studi Italiani di Linguistica Teorica e Applicata (SILTA), Pisa.
  • Member of the Management Committee of ACIS (Australian Centre for Italian Studies)
  • Elected member of Comites (Comitati degli Italian all'estero) of New South Wales
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