Comments on: In memoriam Michael Clyne

By: What is monolingual mindset and how does it dictate how we learn and live? [long read] | Suzanne Barry

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 05:46:52 +0000

[…] Ingrid Gogolin in 1997 and introduced to English discourse as ‘monolingual mindset’ by Michael Clyne in 2004. Naturally, most English speakers only know about the English translation…While the use of the […]

By: Sadami Konchi

Sadami Konchi — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 09:44:00 +0000

My super hero. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8f516a2dab1460c4724b3eb5095252d119ce6f480705ce693bf51653385b9612.jpg

By: Linguistic Diversity and Social Inclusion in Australia | Language on the Move

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:04:04 +0000

[…] fathers of the field, Joshua Fishman, John Gumperz, Dell Hymes, Bill Labov, and, in Australia, Michael Clyne. As these men passed away, retired or directed their efforts elsewhere, the field, in keeping with […]

By: Dr. Irene Donohoue Clyne

Dr. Irene Donohoue Clyne — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:30:08 +0000

Thank you to all of you for the very kind comments you made about my late husband Michael Clyne. I am spending this first day of 2011 decommissioning his computer and email address. First and foremost Michael was a teacher who loved to inspire others with his enthusiasm for an inclusive multi-lingual world. He was so proud of all his students and the great contributions you have made. Thank you for all the joy you gave him. irene donohoue clyne

By: Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 06:10:32 +0000

I was shocked to the core to read of Michaels passing in the obituary in The Age newspaper online this morning. As a secondary school teacher of English to immigrants and refugees, I very much appreciated Michaels work, his scholarship and practical application of it in research and projects, public advocacy and wisdom. Among all his roles, he was an ever-reliable member of our Victorian Association of TESOL and Multicultural Education, for whose activities and newsletter he and his work were the source of so many resources.

I was very fortunate to participate in his unit on Bilingualism, Language Ecology and Ethnic Groups at Monash in 1975. I will never forget how when he was admitted to hospital for serious emergency surgery, he made audiocassette tapes for our classes, so that with the assistance of George Saunders, it was almost as if he were there in person. On the cassette, he not only provided input, but conducted discussion.

A wonderful teacher and colleague.

By: Jillian Symons

Jillian Symons — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:01:45 +0000

Jillian Symons and the staff at Intext Book Company pass on our sympathies to Michaels family. He always would stop at the exhibit of resources for a few words. As is written above, Australia will be poorer for his loss. His achievements were many and great in our world of language learning and teaching.

By: Taryn La Brooy

Taryn La Brooy — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:57:55 +0000

Australia is poorer for the loss of Michael: a brilliant linguist, champion of multiculturalism, wonderful lecturer (always wore a smile!) and genuinely caring person. It was a privilege to be his student, but I will miss him more as a friend. Thank you for everything, Michael – you are an inspiration.

By: Ursula McGowan

Ursula McGowan — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 03:52:44 +0000

Michaels work in promoting Australias multiculturalism particularly through mother tongue maintenance and hence the development of our heritage languages was persistent and inspiring. We owe him a great debt and he will be much missed. I offer my sympathy to Michaels wife, Irene ODonohue and daughter Joanne.

By: Ivan Kolarik, OAM

Ivan Kolarik, OAM — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 10:47:18 +0000

I learned with a great deal of sadness about Micheal’s passing. He was not only a great scholar admired and respected by his students and colleagues, but in my view even more importantly, he was a wonderful, deeply caring, gentle and humble human being. He was one of the true pioneers on multiculturalism and as such he contributed in no small measure to the acceptance of the ideals of multicultural society by the general community. He will be sorely missed by many people. I honoured and privileged to know you Michael.

By: Michele de Courcy

Michele de Courcy — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 05:32:02 +0000

What words can express my grief? I would not have lived the life I lived as an academic, or chosen the path I chose to research, without Michael. He was my mentor, my adviser, my friend, my wise counsellor. Thank you Michael for letting me learn to ‘let go and let God’ and for all the other kind and wise things you said to me during our long friendship. Rest in peace, dear Michael.

By: Ho-Dac Tuc

Ho-Dac Tuc — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:29:11 +0000

In early 1994 I submitted my PhD thesis proposal for admission to Monash Faculty of Arts. My proposal was on the Vietnamese literature. At the time of my submission I didn’t know in which department the proposal would end up and was considered. Then one morning in early March 1994 Michael Clyne phoned me. He introduced himself and gave me a very brief on code-switching topic. He gave me an appointment with him to ‘further discuss’ the topic. He convinced me to change my research topic into language contacts through counsel and friendship. That was how I became Michael’s student. We met fortnightly since then until he agreed for me to submit my thesis to be examined by Oxford in September 1996.
I had the honour of knowing Michael for almost two decades. I learned a lot from the way he commented (orally and written) on my writing. He put questions such as ‘why do you put these words into quotation marks’, ‘why italics’, or ‘this is not academic writing, it’s a phrase often used in sho

By: Lachlan Jackson

Lachlan Jackson — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 03:45:34 +0000

In reply to Peter Austin. Thanks Ingrid for sharing your story and the sad news. I met Michael Clyne at the University of Queensland where he was visiting as an adjunct professor. I am another of the no doubt counless number of students who he generously shared his time and enthusiasm. At the time, I was just starting my doctoral work and couldnt see the wood for the trees. He kindly offered to have lunch with me and give me a chance to bounce some rough, uninformed ideas off him. Eating lunch on a bench in the UQ grounds that afternoon, I too was struck by his down-to-earth warmth, patience, and willingness to help a novice beginner such as myself. He will no doubt be missed by many.

By: Peter Austin

Peter Austin — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 11:26:44 +0000

Thanks Ingrid for sharing these thoughts — you have captured the spirit of Michael and why we will miss him.

By: Ingrid Piller

Ingrid Piller — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 08:26:42 +0000

See also Jane Simpson's obituary on Transient Languages & Cultures

By: Loy Lising

Loy Lising — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 23:55:21 +0000

What a terrible news! I feel really saddened with Michaels passing. Like many others, my connection to him has mostly been through his works – reading them and being encouraged by them. I only had one brief face-to-face encounter with Michael during the ALS conference in 2008. I was amazed by the generous attention he gave me as he asked about my work. I was deeply moved by his genuine interest – a man of such academic stature paying attention to someone so insignificant – and yet I left that conversation so encouraged and so hopeful. Michael, may all the good things you have done on earth echo in eternity. You will be missed.
Thank you, Ingrid, for sharing the news and your story.
Loy

By: Emi Otsuji

Emi Otsuji — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 02:34:17 +0000

I am very shocked and sad to hear the news. I only met him once at the Ipra conference in 2009 when Ingrid kindly introduced him to me. He gave me very warm and encouraging words and listened to my work very carefully. I admired his genuine contribution not only to academia but also to the multilingual world at the grassroot level. I heard that he lived his last days as he did the rest of his life ―by passionately engaging in promoting the importance of multilingualism. I feel very honoured to be the Michael Clyne award recipient and I would like to spread his spirit to make our society more linguistically inclusive. Thank you so much Ingrid for sharing your wonderful story with us. I will miss him greatly.