Dr Rob Pensalfini received his PhD in theoretical linguistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997, with research based on his fieldwork in the Barkly Tableland of Australia's Northern Territory. He then worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago for two years prior to commencing as a Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Queensland in 1999. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Drama in 2003, and to Associate Professor in 2016. He has published several books and numerous articles in both linguistics and drama, including ground-breaking work on the performance of Shakespeare in prisons. He leads Australia's only ongoing Prison Shakespeare program and is the Artistic Director of the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Book: Prison Shakespeare: For these deep shames and great indignities
Pensalfini, Rob (2015). Prison Shakespeare: For these deep shames and great indignities. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9781137450210
Journal Article: Not in our own voices: Accent and identity in contemporary Australian Shakespeare Performance
Pensalfini, Rob (2009). Not in our own voices: Accent and identity in contemporary Australian Shakespeare Performance. Australasian Drama Studies, 54, 142-158.
Journal Article: Towards a Typology of Nonconfigurationality
Pensalfini, Robert (2004). Towards a Typology of Nonconfigurationality. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 22 (2), 359-408. doi: 10.1023/B:NALA.0000015794.02583.00
Book: A Grammar of Jingulu, an Aboriginal Language of the Northern Territory
Pensalfini, Rob (2003). A Grammar of Jingulu, an Aboriginal Language of the Northern Territory. The Australian National University, Canberra ACT: Pacific Linguistics.
Journal Article: Arrernte: A language with no syllable onsets
Breen, Gavan and Pensalfini, Rob (1999). Arrernte: A language with no syllable onsets. Linguistic Inquiry, 30 (1), 1-25. doi: 10.1162/002438999553940
The blood votes: a historical drama
(2018) Queensland Anzac Centenary Grants Program
"Conscription!?" The debates of 1916-17 as historical theatre
(2016–2017) Queensland Anzac Centenary Grants Program
Trilingual language contact in an Indigenous community
(2015–2019) ARC Discovery Projects
A Grammatical Description of Mujawirun Arabic
Doctor Philosophy
(2019) Master Philosophy
(2018) Master Philosophy
Prison Shakespeare: For these deep shames and great indignities
Pensalfini, Rob (2015). Prison Shakespeare: For these deep shames and great indignities. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9781137450210
Not in our own voices: Accent and identity in contemporary Australian Shakespeare Performance
Pensalfini, Rob (2009). Not in our own voices: Accent and identity in contemporary Australian Shakespeare Performance. Australasian Drama Studies, 54, 142-158.
Towards a Typology of Nonconfigurationality
Pensalfini, Robert (2004). Towards a Typology of Nonconfigurationality. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 22 (2), 359-408. doi: 10.1023/B:NALA.0000015794.02583.00
A Grammar of Jingulu, an Aboriginal Language of the Northern Territory
Pensalfini, Rob (2003). A Grammar of Jingulu, an Aboriginal Language of the Northern Territory. The Australian National University, Canberra ACT: Pacific Linguistics.
Arrernte: A language with no syllable onsets
Breen, Gavan and Pensalfini, Rob (1999). Arrernte: A language with no syllable onsets. Linguistic Inquiry, 30 (1), 1-25. doi: 10.1162/002438999553940
Birrka marnini: making things Mudburra
Dixon, Shannon Kulngankarri, Hughes, Wendy, Dixon, Janey Walanyku Lunjabirni, Dixon, Raymond Dimakarri, Bill, Maureen, Bill, Sarah, Bill, Raylene, Kingston, Susan, Nangkurrunyungu, Johnny Devlin, Hamilton-Hollaway, Amanda, Osgarby, David, Pensalfini, Rob and Meakins, Felicity (2019). Birrka marnini: making things Mudburra. Batchelor, NT, Australia: Batchelor Press.
Mudburra to English Dictionary
Green, Rebecca, Green, Jennifer, Hamilton-Hollaway, Amanda, Meakins, Felicity, Osgarby, David and Pensalfini, Rob (2019). Mudburra to English Dictionary. Canberra, Australia: Aboriginal Studies Press.
Raymond, Pompey, Dixon, Pharlap, Dixon, Sue, Dixon, Shannon, Dixon, Ray, Dixon, Jeffrey, Dixon, Janey, Dixon, Elizabeth, Raymond, Mark, Dalywaters, Harold, Collins, Jumbo, Woods, Robin, Peterson-Cooper, Eileen, Meakins, Felicity, Pensalfini, Rob and Wightman, Glenn (2018). Jingulu and Mudburra plants and animals: biocultural knowledge of the Jingili and Mudburra people of Murranji, Marlinja, Warranganku (Beetaloo) and Kulumindini (Elliott), Northern Territory, Australia. Batchelor, NT, Australia: Batchelor Institute.
Prison Shakespeare: For these deep shames and great indignities
Pensalfini, Rob (2015). Prison Shakespeare: For these deep shames and great indignities. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9781137450210
Language description informed by theory
Rob Pensalfini, Myfany Turpin and Diana Guillemin eds. (2014). Language description informed by theory. Studies in Language Companion Series, Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing. doi: 10.1075/slcs.147
Jingulu texts and dictionary: An Aboriginal language of the Northern Territory
Pensalfini, Rob (2011). Jingulu texts and dictionary: An Aboriginal language of the Northern Territory. Canberra, A.C.T., Australia: Pacific Linguistics.
A Grammar of Jingulu, an Aboriginal Language of the Northern Territory
Pensalfini, Rob (2003). A Grammar of Jingulu, an Aboriginal Language of the Northern Territory. The Australian National University, Canberra ACT: Pacific Linguistics.
'All corners else o’th’Earth let liberty make use of’: the Shakespeare Prison Project
Dunne, Steven and Pensalfini, Rob (2023). 'All corners else o’th’Earth let liberty make use of’: the Shakespeare Prison Project. Reimagining Shakespeare education: teaching and learning through collaboration. (pp. 295-306) edited by Liam E. Semler, Claire Hansen and Jacqueline Manuel. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108778510.030
The play's the thing: performance in Prison Shakespeare
Pensalfini, Rob (2019). The play's the thing: performance in Prison Shakespeare. Performing arts in prisons: creative perspectives. (pp. 151-168) edited by Michael Balfour, Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Linda Davey, John Rynne and Huib Schippers. Bristol, United Kingdom: Intellect.
Gender bender: Disagreement in Jingulu noun class marking
Meakins, Felicity and Pensalfini, Rob (2016). Gender bender: Disagreement in Jingulu noun class marking. Loss and Renewal: Australian Languages Since Colonisation. (pp. 425-450) edited by Felicity Meakins and Carmel O'Shannessy. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter Mouton.
Pensalfini, R. (2015). Jingulu. Edinburgh Handbook of Evaluative Morphology. (pp. 416-422) edited by Nicola Grandi and Livia Kortvelyessy. London, United Kingdom: Edinburgh University Press.
Pensalfini, Rob, Guillemin, Diana and Turpin, Myfany (2014). Editors' introduction. Language description informed by theory. (pp. 1-13) edited by Rob Pensalfini, Myfany Turpin and Diana Guillemin. Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing.
Verbs as spatial deixis markers in Jingulu
Pensalfini, Rob (2014). Verbs as spatial deixis markers in Jingulu. Language description informed by theory. (pp. 123-152) edited by Rob Pensalfini, Myfany Turpin and Diana Guillemin. Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing. doi: 10.1075/slcs.147.07pen
Pensalfini, Rob (2013). Shakespeare of the oppressed. Teaching Shakespeare Beyond the Centre: Australasian Perspectives. (pp. 225-236) edited by Kate Flaherty, Penny Gay and L. E. Semler. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9781137275073.0025
Pensalfini, R. J. (2006). Configurationality. Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics. (pp. 23-27) edited by K. Brown. UK: Elsevier Ltd. doi: 10.1016/b0-08-044854-2/01959-3
Accounting for verb-initial order in an Australian language
Laughren, Mary, Pensalfini, Rob and Mylne, Tom (2005). Accounting for verb-initial order in an Australian language. Verb First: On the syntax of verb-initial languages. (pp. 367-401) edited by Carnie, Andrew, Harley, Heidi and Dooley, Sheila Ann. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Pensalfini, R. J. (2005). Kriol (Roper River Creole). Encyclopedia of Linguistics. (pp. 585-587) edited by P Stranzny. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn.
On the Typological and Genetic Affiliation of Jingulu
Pensalfini, Robert (2001). On the Typological and Genetic Affiliation of Jingulu. Forty Years on: Ken Hale and Australian languages. (pp. 385-399) edited by Simpson, Jane, Nash, David, Laughren, Mary, Austin, Peter and Alpher, Barry. Australian National University, Canberra: Pacific Lingustics.
Encyclopedia-lexicon distinctions in Jingulu grammar
Pensalfini, R. J. (2000). Encyclopedia-lexicon distinctions in Jingulu grammar. The Lexicon-encyclopedia interface. (pp. 393-431) edited by Bert Peeters. Oxford: Elsevier.
Lend me your verbs: verb borrowing between Jingulu and Mudburra
Meakins, Felicity, Pensalfini, Rob, Zipf, Caitlin and Hamilton-Hollaway, Amanda (2020). Lend me your verbs: verb borrowing between Jingulu and Mudburra. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 40 (3), 1-23. doi: 10.1080/07268602.2020.1804830
Holding the mirror up to converted languages: two grammars, one lexicon
Meakins, Felicity and Pensalfini, Rob (2020). Holding the mirror up to converted languages: two grammars, one lexicon. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25 (2), 136700692092246-457. doi: 10.1177/1367006920922461
Gender lender: noun borrowings between Jingulu and Mudburra in northern Australia
Pensalfini, Rob and Meakins, Felicity (2019). Gender lender: noun borrowings between Jingulu and Mudburra in northern Australia. Journal of Language Contact, 12 (2), 440-478. doi: 10.1163/19552629-01202007
Shakespeare in prison: affecting health and wellbeing
Heard, Emma Marie, Mutch, Allyson, Fitzgerald, Lisa and Pensalfini, Rob (2013). Shakespeare in prison: affecting health and wellbeing. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 9 (3), 111-123. doi: 10.1108/IJPH-03-2013-0013
Not in our own voices: Accent and identity in contemporary Australian Shakespeare Performance
Pensalfini, Rob (2009). Not in our own voices: Accent and identity in contemporary Australian Shakespeare Performance. Australasian Drama Studies, 54, 142-158.
'Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say' - Shakespeare and the capacity to sustain complexity
Pensalfini, Robert (2008). 'Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say' - Shakespeare and the capacity to sustain complexity. Words' Worth, 41 (1), 16-29.
Prosodic transfer in Vietnamese acquisition of English contrastive stress patterns
Nguyen, T. Anh-Thu, Ingram, John C. L. and Pensalfini, Rob J. (2008). Prosodic transfer in Vietnamese acquisition of English contrastive stress patterns. Journal of Phonetics, 36 (1), 158-190. doi: 10.1016/j.wocn.2007.09.001
Fotheringham, Richard and Pensalfini, Rob (2007). Anti-colonial Voices? Non-British Accents and the National Authentication of Shakespeare in Australia in the 1970s. Australasian Drama Studies, 50 (50), 49-65.
Pensalfini, R. (2006). How the Voice Works. Drama Queensland Journal
Theatre, Therapy, Theology, and the Dis-integration of the Human
Pensalfini, R. (2006). Theatre, Therapy, Theology, and the Dis-integration of the Human. Ignite journal
Towards a Typology of Nonconfigurationality
Pensalfini, Robert (2004). Towards a Typology of Nonconfigurationality. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 22 (2), 359-408. doi: 10.1023/B:NALA.0000015794.02583.00
Eulogizing a language: The Ngarnka experience
Pensalfini, Rob (2004). Eulogizing a language: The Ngarnka experience. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 168 (168), 141-156. doi: 10.1515/ijsl.2004.029
Part of Speech Mismatches in Modular Grammar: New Evidence from Jingulu
Pensalfini, R. J. (2003). Part of Speech Mismatches in Modular Grammar: New Evidence from Jingulu. Linguistic Variation Yearbook, 1, 209-227.
Pensalfini, Rob (2002). Vowel Harmony in Jingulu. Lingua, 112 (7), 561-586. doi: 10.1016/S0024-3841(01)00061-4
Part of Speech Mismatches in Modular Grammar
Pensalfini, R. (2001). Part of Speech Mismatches in Modular Grammar. Linguistic Variation Yearbook, 1, 209-227. doi: 10.1075/livy.1.09pen
Hyperventilation in actor training and the myth of 'Oxygenation'
Pensalfini, R. J. (2000). Hyperventilation in actor training and the myth of 'Oxygenation'. Australian Voice, 6, 37-40.
Pineapple as voice remedy: alternative or mainstream?
Winkworth, A., Pensalfini, R. J. and Baldock, P. (2000). Pineapple as voice remedy: alternative or mainstream?. Australian Voice, 6, 16-18.
Arrernte: A language with no syllable onsets
Breen, Gavan and Pensalfini, Rob (1999). Arrernte: A language with no syllable onsets. Linguistic Inquiry, 30 (1), 1-25. doi: 10.1162/002438999553940
Pensalfini, R. J. (1999). The rise of case suffixes as discourse markers in Jingulu -- a case study of innovation in an obsolcent language. Australian journal of linguistics, 19 (2), 225-240.
Integrating the Linklater and Suzuki methods
Loth, Jo and Pensalfini, Rob (2021). Integrating the Linklater and Suzuki methods. Voice and Speech Teachers Association Annual Conference, Online, June 2021.
Creative negotiations: combining Suzuki and Linklater actor training techniques
Jo Loth and Pensalfini, Rob (2020). Creative negotiations: combining Suzuki and Linklater actor training techniques. Australasian Drama Studies Association Annual Conference, Online, December 2020.
Bidirectional verb borrowing between Jingulu and Mudburra
Pensalfini, Rob , Meakins, Felicity , Zipf, Caitlin and Hamilton-Holloway, Amanda (2019). Bidirectional verb borrowing between Jingulu and Mudburra. Australian Linguistics Society Annual Conference, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia, December 2019.
Re-imagining the actor’s quartet
Pensalfini, Rob (2011). Re-imagining the actor’s quartet. Winnipeg, Canada: University of Manitoba.
Optional disagreement and the case for feature hierarchies
Pensalfini, R. J. (2000). Optional disagreement and the case for feature hierarchies. The Chicago Linguistics Society's 35th Meeting, Chicago, University of Chicago, 22-24 April, 1999. Chicago Linguistics Society.
Suffix Coherence and Stress in Australian Languages
Pensalfini, R. J. (1999). Suffix Coherence and Stress in Australian Languages. 1999 Annual Confernce of the Australian Lingiustics Society, University of Western Australia, Perth, 28th September - 2nd October, 1999. Perth, WA: Australian Linguistics Society.
The Development of (Apparently) Onsetless Syllabification: A Constraint-Based Approach
Pensalfini, Rob (1998). The Development of (Apparently) Onsetless Syllabification: A Constraint-Based Approach. Chicago Linguistics Society Annual Meeting 1998, Chicago, 1998.
University of Queensland Working Papers in Linguistics
University of Queensland Working Papers in Linguistics. (2007). 1
Pensalfini, Rob (2021). Bogga. Brisbane, Qld, Australia: Playlab Theatre.
Pensalfini, Rob (2018). The Blood Votes. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Pensalfini, Rob (2017). Bogga. The University of Queensland: Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Pensalfini, Rob (2017). Bogga. The University of Queensland, Queensland: Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Pensalfini, Rob (2016). Music and Madness. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland: Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble and UQ.
Pensalfini, Rob (2016). Twelfth Night. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare Prison Project
Pensalfini, Rob, Sanderson, Leah, Franklin, Jo and Dekker, Kat (2014). A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare Prison Project. Southern Queensland Correctional Centre: Gatton, QLD, Australia.
Pensalfini, Rob, Kosch, Angel, Franklin, Jo and Sanderson, Leah (2013). The Comedy of Errors. Gatton, QLD, Australia: Southern Queensland Correctional Centre.
Pensalfini, Rob (2013). A Midsummer Night's Dream. Brisbane, Queensland: Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Pensalfini, Rob (2012). The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Brisbane, Queensland: Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Pensalfini, Rob, Edwards, Gavin, Tofteland, Curt, Heard, Emma, Trnka, Irma and Pensalfini, Anne (2011). Shakespeare in prison. Ironbark, QLD, Australia: Borallon Correctional Centre.
Barry, Jane, Hoey, Aisling, Pensalfini, Anne, Pensalfini, Rob and Verbraak, Liz (2010). Macbeth. Ironbark, QLD, Australia: Borallon Correctional Centre.
Carne, Andrea, Kosch, Angel, Pensalfini, Anne, Pensalfini, Rob and Small, Belinda (2009). Julius Caesar. Ironbark, QLD, Australia: Borallon Correctional Centre.
Jäger, Andreas and Pensalfini, Rob (2007). Introduction. School of English, Media Studies and Art History, The University of Queensland.
Verbs as Spatial Deixis markers in Jingulu
Pensalfini, Rob (2007). Verbs as Spatial Deixis markers in Jingulu. School of English, Media Studies and Art History, The University of Queensland.
Shakespeare Prison Project (formerly known as Arts in Community Enhancement - ACE)
Pensalfini, Robert J. (2006). Shakespeare Prison Project (formerly known as Arts in Community Enhancement - ACE). Borallon Correctional Centre: Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble.
Part Of Speech Mismatches in Modular Grammar: New Evidence from Jingulu
Pensalfini, Rob (2003). Part Of Speech Mismatches in Modular Grammar: New Evidence from Jingulu.
Towards a Typology of Configurationality
Pensalfini, Rob (2003). Towards a Typology of Configurationality.
Verbs as Spatial Deixis Markers in Jingulu
Pensalfini, Rob (2003). Verbs as Spatial Deixis Markers in Jingulu.
Case Suffixes as Discourse Markers in Jingulu
Pensalfini, Rob (1999). Case Suffixes as Discourse Markers in Jingulu.
The blood votes: a historical drama
(2018) Queensland Anzac Centenary Grants Program
"Conscription!?" The debates of 1916-17 as historical theatre
(2016–2017) Queensland Anzac Centenary Grants Program
Trilingual language contact in an Indigenous community
(2015–2019) ARC Discovery Projects
Reconstructing the Prehistory of the Verbal System of the Mindi Languages of Northern Australia
(2005) University of Queensland Research Development Grants Scheme
(2004–2007) ARC Linkage Projects
(2002–2003) UQ FirstLink Scheme
(2002) University of Queensland Research Development Grants Scheme
Unravelling the Linguistic Prehistory of the Gulf of Carpentaria Region.
(2000) ARC Australian Research Council (Small grants)
Linguistic and Artistic perspectives on the human voice
(1999) UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
A Grammatical Description of Mujawirun Arabic
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
The Productivity of Polish Yers: An Experimental Investigation Informed by the Lexicon
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Paradigm Shift: A Theoretical and Descriptive Study of Mudburra-Kriol Contact
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
(2019) Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
(2018) Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Noun Phrases in Urban Hijazi Arabic: A Distributed Morphology Approach
(2014) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
(2010) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
SUZUKI AND BEYOND: ADAPTING THE SUZUKI ACTOR TRAINING METHOD
(2006) Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
TYPOLOGY OF PERIPHRASTIC 'DO'- CONSTRUCTIONS
(2005) Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Morphosyntactic and Semantic Properties of Hijazi Arabic Modals
(2013) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Arabic emphatics and gutturals: a phonetic and phonological study
(2012) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
A hubterranean view of syntax: An analysis of linguistic form through network theory
(2010) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
The Mauritian Creole noun phrase: Its form and function
(2009) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
THE TONAL CONSTRAINTS ON VIETNAMESE LEARNERS' PERCEPTION AND PRODUCTION OF ENGLISH STRESS
(2004) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor