Pema Wangdi
Central Queensland University, James Cook University - Cairns Campus, Australian National University, Dzongkha Development Commission, Royal Institute of Management
0000-0002-1750-7727
About
Pema Wangdi has a multidisciplinary academic and professional background spanning Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning, Linguistics, Economics, Administration and Management. He holds a Master of Information Technology from Crown Institute of Higher Education (CIHE), Australia; a PhD in Linguistics from James Cook University (JCU), Australia; a Master’s degree and Graduate Diploma in Linguistics from the Australian National University (ANU); and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours Course) in Economics from Sherubtse College, then affiliated with the University of Delhi.
His current academic and research interests lie particularly at the intersection of Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, NLP and Machine Learning. His interdisciplinary background combines IT skills with an in-depth understanding of human language, linguistic analysis and language data. His practical IT experience includes machine-learning projects, such as phishing URL detection, as well as the development and management of modern web applications. He is particularly interested in the application of AI, NLP and machine learning to complex real-world problems.
Pema obtained his PhD in Linguistics from James Cook University in 2021. His doctoral research produced a comprehensive grammar of Brokpa, a Trans-Himalayan language of Bhutan closely related to Classical Tibetan and other Tibetic languages. The grammar is based primarily on seven months of immersion fieldwork in 2018, supplemented by earlier fieldwork in 2004 and 2014 and his long-term familiarity with Brokpa language use. His broader linguistic research has also included work on Chali, an East Bodish language of Bhutan, and Nyenkha (Mangdekha).
Before his doctoral studies, Pema had an extensive career in language research, language policy and planning, administration and management with the Royal Government of Bhutan. After completing his Honours studies in Economics in 1998, he was selected through Bhutan’s Civil Service Officers Selection Process and subsequently undertook professional training in management and administration at the Royal Institute of Management in Thimphu. He joined the Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC), where he progressed from Assistant Research Officer to Chief Research Officer and twice served as Officiating Secretary.
At the DDC, Pema was extensively involved in language policy and planning, linguistic research, lexicography, translation and the development of language resources. He contributed to monolingual and bilingual dictionaries involving Dzongkha, Classical Tibetan, English and other indigenous languages of Bhutan. He also led a team of Bhutanese researchers undertaking Parts-of-Speech (PoS) tagging of a large corpus of Dzongkha texts drawn from diverse genres and sources. This work contributed to the development of linguistic resources for lexicography and Dzongkha Natural Language Processing.
Pema also served at the Permanent Mission of Bhutan to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2009 to 2014, first as First Secretary and subsequently as Counsellor. During his time in Switzerland, he also taught language and literature in the International Baccalaureate programme at Institut Le Rosey.
Pema is bilingual in Tshangla and Dzongkha and has extensive knowledge of Classical Tibetan and literary Dzongkha. His work has included linguistic research, lexicography, language policy and planning, corpus development, translation, editing and language teaching. He translated and edited two volumes of "Seeds of Faith: A Comprehensive Guide to the Sacred Places of Bhutan" from Dzongkha/Classical Tibetan into English and has translated numerous official documents between Dzongkha and English. He has also conducted training in translation and grammar for Bhutanese scholars and civil servants, including collaborative translation training with Larry Mermelstein of the Nālandā Translation Committee.
His other language-related work has extended to film and creative media, including work on the English subtitles for "Travellers and Magicians", directed by Khyentse Norbu (Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche), and writing Dzongkha scripts for the Bhutanese films "Muti Thrishing" and "Thank You Sir".
Pema has authored scholarly works on Bhutanese languages and has presented research on linguistic and language-related topics at national and international conferences. His present interests increasingly bring together his backgrounds in Information Technology and Linguistics, particularly in AI, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning and the development of computational approaches to language and other complex real-world problems.
Employment
-
Central Queensland University Adjunct Research Fellow2023 - Present
-
Central Queensland University Postdoctoral Research Fellow2022 - 2022
-
James Cook University - Cairns Campus Research Scholar, PhD Candidate2017 - 2021
-
Dzongkha Development Commission Officiating Secretary2014 - 2016
-
Dzongkha Development Commission Chief Research Officer2014 - 2014
-
Permanent Mission of Bhutan to the United Nations Counsellor2011 - 2013
-
Le Rosey IB Teacher2009 - 2013
-
Permanent Mission of Bhutan to the United Nations First Secretary2009 - 2011
-
Dzongkha Development Commission Officiating Secretary2008 - 2009
-
Dzongkha Development Commission Senior Research Officer2004 - 2008
-
Dzongkha Development Commission Research Officer1999 - 2003
Education
-
James Cook University - Cairns Campus PhD2017 - 2021
-
Australian National University Non-Award2006 - 2006
-
Australian National University Master of Linguistics2002 - 2003
-
Australian National University Graduate Diploma in Arts specialising in Linguistics2001 - 2002
-
Royal Institute of Management Certificate in Administration and Management1999 - 1999
-
University of Delhi B.A. Honours1995 - 1998
Projects & Funding
Projects & funding information is unavailable.
Publications (35)
- Adjoining clauses in Brokpa narratives Save
- Where have adjectives come from in Dzongkha? Save
- Celebrating Indigenous Voice: Legends and Narratives in Languages of the Tropics and Beyond Save
- A Grammar of Brokpa Save
- Identifying Who is Who in Brokpa Save
- On Bodish languages in Bhutan: Language contact, genetic inheritance, and parallelism in drift Save
- What is a word in Brokpa Save
- Questions in Brokpa Save
- Segmental and suprasegmental features of Brokpa Save
- Argument marking in Brokpa Save