Mark W. Post

Mark W. Post is a Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Linguistics within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, where he also serves as Deputy Head of School (Humanities) and Honours Coordinator. He is a member of the China Studies Centre, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, and The Vere Gordon Childe Centre.

Dr. Post's research focuses on the typologies and relationships among Greater Mainland Southeast Asian and Himalayan languages, with special emphasis on the Tani branch of Trans-Himalayan (Tibeto-Burman) languages. His fieldwork-based research encompasses languages of Eastern Arunachal Pradesh, India, particularly Galo and other Tani languages. His theoretical approach combines functional-diachronic perspectives with anthropological linguistics, viewing language as a dynamic process whose structures emerge from patterns of discourse and interaction.

His recent publications reveal significant trends in Eastern Himalayan linguistics, with particular focus on classifier systems, topographical deixis, applicative constructions, and ethnolinguistic prehistory. His work demonstrates the exceptional linguistic diversity of the Eastern Himalayan region and its importance for understanding broader patterns in language evolution and cultural adaptation.

• 2011 Recipient of the Association for Linguistic Typology's Pāṇini Award

Dr. Post supervises research on phonological and grammatical descriptions of Asian minority languages, particularly of Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, and on functional and diachronic analyses of grammatical phenomena. His current projects include 'Grammar and prehistory in the Eastern Himalaya' and 'A grammar and online/app-based dictionary of the Galo language.' He has received multiple research grants, including ARC Discovery Projects and funding from the Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research.

His laboratory work centers on the Centre for Cultural-Linguistic Diversity (Eastern Himalaya), where he coordinates documentation efforts for endangered languages of the region, working closely with local language communities like the Galo Language Development Committee of Arunachal Pradesh.