24/07/2026

2026 Barb Kelly and Michael Clyne Prizes announced

In honour of the late Barb Kelly, the annual Barb Kelly Prize recognises the most outstanding postgraduate research thesis in any area of linguistics, complementing the more specific focus of the Michael Clyne Prize.

The winner of the 2025 Barb Kelly Prize is:
‘“our own familiar English”: A historical sociolinguistic study of the shaping of Australian English through the lens of Western Australia’ by Madeleine Clews (UWA). Supervisors: Assoc Prof Celeste Rodríguez-Louro, Dr Luisa Miceli & Prof Kate Burridge (Monash). 
Congratulations to Madeleine!

The Michael Clyne Prize, awarded jointly by the Australian Linguistic Society and the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia, recognises the most outstanding graduate research thesis in immigrant bilingualism and language contact.

The winner of the 2025 Michael Clyne Prize is:
‘Communication using Digital Media among Bengali Transnational Families in Australia: Exploring Networked Family Language Policy and Understanding Language Practice’ by Priyanka Bose (UNSW). Supervisors: Prof Emeritus Sue Starfield, Prof Xuesong Gao & External supervisor: Dr Nirukshi (Niru) Perera. 
Congratulations to Priyanka!

Congratulations to both winners, and commiserations to the many other excellent applicants we had this year.