prof. dr. L.J. (Lourens) de Vries

Office hours: By appointment via e-mail lj.de.vries@let.vu.nl

Research interests

The study of Papuan and Austronesian languages in typological, cognitive and anthropological frameworks.

History and theory of Bible translation in the broader context of translation studies.

Linguistic aspects of (Bible) translation processes, skopos theory and effective communication in Bible translations.

Bible translations in languages of Asia and Oceania.

Teaching

Research Design 1 (MA, MPhil, RM)

Anthropological Linguistics (MA, RM)

Introduction to Translation Studies (MA)

Language Typology (BA)

Introduction to General Linguistics (BA)

Working Sessions in Bible Translation (MA)

Research projects funded by NWO

On-going research projects funded by Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO):

• Project leader: The Awyu-Dumut family of Papuan languages in its linguistic and cultural context
• Project leader: Proto morphology and internal morphological diversification of the Awyu-Dumut family carried out by RuthWester MA (http://www.let.vu.nl/en/staff/r.wester)
• Project leader: The Awyu-Dumut family in its linguistic context: boundaries and linguistic affiliation

Publications:

Books:

• 1989 Studies in Wambon and Kombai.Aspects of two Papuan Languages of Irian Jaya. PhD dissertation. Universiteit van Amsterdam.
• 1992 An Outline of the Morphology of Wambon of the Irian Jaya Upper-Digul Area. Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology. Leiden: KITLV Press. 
• 1993 Forms and Functions in Kombai, an Awyu language of Irian Jaya. Canberra: Australian National University Press. 
• 1997 The Korowai of Irian Jaya. Their language in its cultural context. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. 
• 2004 A short grammar of Inanwatan, an endangered language of the Bird's head of Papua, Indonesia. Canberra: Australian National University Press.

Some Recent articles 

• (2010). From clause conjoining to clause chaining in Dumut languages of New Guinea. Studies in Language, 34(2), 327-349.
• (2010). Direct Speech, Fictive Interaction and Bible Translation. The Bible Translator, 61(1), 31-41.
• (2011). Runny icky material moved into liquid from the wind blowing on it: linguistics as translation. Translation, 1(1), 79-82.
• (2012). Speaking of clans: language in Awyu-Ndumut communities of Indonesian West Papua. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2012(214), 5-26.
  

Link to METIS

Supervised Doctoral Dissertations

• Dick Kroneman, The LORD is my shepherd. An exploration into the theory and practice of translating biblical metaphors. 22 November 2004.
• Gilles Gravelle, Meyah: an east Bird’s Head Language of Papua, Indonesia. Co-promotor dr. Ger Reesink (RUL). 9 December 2004.
• Theo van der Louw, Transformations in the Septuagint. Dissertation Leiden University, 30 January 2006. First promotor prof. dr. Arie van der Kooij; second promotor prof. dr. L.J. de Vries
• Claertje Frieke-Kappers, The Creative use of genre features in Budu. Continuity and Change in Patterns of Language Use in Budu, a Bantu Language of Congo (Kinshasa). Co-promotors: dr. Evert Wattel (Mathematics, VU), dr. Gerard Steen (English, VU), 6 November 2007.
• Wilco van den Heuvel, co-promotoren dr. Ger Reesink (Radboud Universiteit), prof. dr. Hein Steinhauer (Universiteit Leiden), Biak. Description of an Austronesian language of Papua. 9 October 2006. Published by LOT, Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics
• Ji-Youn Cho, Politeness and Addressee Honorifics in Bible translation. 22 September 2008. Published in New York by UBS, UBS Monograph Series, no. 11, 2009.
• Nicholas Bailey, Thetic Constructions in Koine Greek. 7 December 2009. Co-promotor dr. Rutger Allan (VU, Classical languages).
• Gloria Gravelle-Karns, A Grammar of Moskona, an East Bird’s Head language of West Papua, Indonesia. 11 March 2010.