Preface and Acknowledgements

Summary

This volume emerges from collaborative research during the global pandemic by members of the Language Dynamics in the Asia-Pacific Research Cluster, Asia Institute, University of Melbourne. As borders closed and movement was restricted, even from our relatively privileged positions and being able to work from home during lockdowns, we struggled like many of our colleagues to find a balance between the expectations of teaching and research. Our monthly meetings were a source of support and collegiality that sustained us during difficult times, and we acknowledge the support of the Language Dynamics in the Asia-Pacific Research Cluster at the University of Melbourne. Thanks in particular go to Patrick Murphy and Tarek Makhlouf, who managed the administrative aspects of these gatherings while juggling their own PhD research during a pandemic. We thank our research assistant Tim Johannessen. We also thank the Asia Institute for its ongoing support of the research cluster, and this publication. We thank the Faculty of Arts for publication support.

Sections of some chapters were presented at “Quarantine, masks and dis/ease: social discourses of COVID-19 in Japan and Korea” on November 5, 2020. Many thanks to our colleague Melissa Conley Tyler (Research Fellow, Asia Institute) who chaired this session, and to Cathy Harper, Editor in Chief of the Melbourne Asia Review.

A note about the rendering of diverse languages across the chapters: as language specialists working in languages from the Asia region and writing in English, we have attempted to make the text as accessible as possible. Within the chapters, citations and examples are given in the source language, followed by a transliteration and translation. All translations are by the author of the chapter, unless otherwise stated.

Edited books are a product of collaboration and collegiality. We thank our contributors for their generosity in sharing their time and expertise. Without your support and assistance none of this would have been possible. We thank Ben Morgan for his excellent assistance in editing. We thank the anonymous reviewers whose comments we have taken on board as much as we can. We acknowledge and thank our editors at Leiden University Press: Romy Uijen, S.M. Gieling, Lisa van Vliet. Your patience in fielding questions and offering advice is very much appreciated.