Laura Arnold

Laura Arnold is a Research Fellow at the Australian National University's School of Culture, History & Language, specializing in documentary, descriptive, and historical linguistics of endangered Austronesian languages in West New Guinea. Her interdisciplinary research integrates linguistics, anthropology, and history to analyze language evolution in the Raja Ampat archipelago.

Education

• PhD in Linguistics, University of Edinburgh (2018): Thesis on the grammar of Ambel, an Austronesian language of Raja Ampat
• Master's in Linguistics, University of Edinburgh (2012): Research on item stability in comparative linguistics
• Honours in Language Variation and Change, University of Edinburgh (2009)

Research Focus

Her work examines phonetics/phonology of word prosody, morphosyntactic expression of possession and spatial deixis, and language contact dynamics. She employs field documentation to address theoretical questions about language diversification and change in endangered language communities.

Publication Trends

Recent works (2023-2025) demonstrate a strong focus on Austronesian language documentation in Raja Ampat, with interdisciplinary approaches bridging linguistics, archaeology, and anthropology. Publications feature lexical databases, historical reconstructions, and analyses of settlement patterns, emphasizing language as a cultural artifact.

Awards

• British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019-2024)

Academic Activities

Registered to supervise students at ANU and maintains research collaborations across historical linguistics and anthropology. Formerly affiliated with the University of Edinburgh as a postdoctoral fellow.