Aboriginal language
17% Percentage of Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islander people speaking an Aboriginal language at home [1].
50% Same percentage in some remote areas of Australia [1].
When I speak language, it makes me feel home.—Roger Hart, Aboriginal elder [5]
Aboriginal verbal languages lost and not understood
Did you know that a lot of Aboriginal people speak English as their third or even fourth language? They grew up learning Indigenous languages as their mother tongue.
The omnipresence of English and the lack of teaching resources contribute to Aboriginal languages not being taught anymore. Some Indigenous dialects die out when the last speaker passes on. Worldwide a language gets lost every two weeks [5], and Australia's Indigenous languages are in grave danger of becoming extinct too.
Aboriginal languages lost in Australia
Question: How many Aboriginal languages existed in Australia before European invasion?
Answer:
over 250.
Linguists say that Australia is the top 'hot spot' for vanishing languages [2].
Australia's Indigenous north with its 153 languages is leading a list of five global areas, along with a region of central South America.
Every two weeks one of the world's 7,000 recognised distinct languages vanishes, often because its last elderly speaker has died.
Modern Aboriginal story-telling sometimes involves explaining the Aboriginal-themed t-shirt you wear and what it means.
Lack of Aboriginal language interpreters voids court decision
A South Australian Supreme Court judge upheld an appeal of an Aboriginal man because he was not given a fair hearing due to the lack of qualified translators [3].
Eight times the trial required a language interpreter but only once did one arrive. The lawyer had to ask a sentenced prisoner with little knowledge of the English language to step in, while another prisoner assisted the psychiatrist during his assessment of the man.
The judge ruled that the accused man was 'deprived of his rights'.
"I plead guilty!"—Read what happens to Aboriginal people who don't understand the white law system.
The 'Gubba Man'
The most fearful cry Aboriginal people in north-west NSW could hear in the 1850s was 'Gubbamen' or 'Gubba Man' [4].
This term resulted from an Aboriginal mispronounciation of 'government', and it meant officers were coming to take more children away or do other ills to the community.
The word (sometimes shortened to just 'Gubba') was later applied to all white persons.
Question: Why does the Warlpiri Aboriginal language have no words for saltwater things?
Answer:
Aboriginal languages can only have words for things within their local context. The Warlpiri Aboriginal people live in the central desert area of Australia and have no access to saltwater environments [6].
Aboriginal language preservation projects
Traditionally, young children who could pick up languages easily were to become caretakers of many languages.
However, many Aboriginal languages and dialects became extinct because their speakers were forbidden to use native language over many years under white Australian assimilation policies.
Yuwaalaraaly and Gamilaraay language project
Thankfully some initiatives are under way to try to revive or conserve some languages. One of them is the Yuwaalaraaly and Gamilaraay language project which tries to teach these northern NSW Aboriginal languages to children. The project's website (www.yuwaalaraay.org) offers stories spoken in these languages, the English translation and some background information on their history.
Many Rivers Aboriginal Language Centre
Another resource is the Many Rivers Aboriginal Language Centre (www.muurrbay.org.au) which aims to support Indigenous languages on a coastal strip from Brisbane to Sydney.
Ngapartji Ngapartji
This language preservation project (speak: 'napatji napatji') is both a stage performance and an online interactive experience.
You can journey into Pitjantjatjara (speak: 'pidjnjara') culture and language by watching short films or songs that have been produced by Indigenous community members and artists. Each clip or song is accompanied by a list of Pitjantjatjara words with their English meanings, pronunciation guides and even guided worksheets.
On signing up you can work at your own pace, continue lessons you've started and check out new content.
Try it—and you can experience yourself how hard it would have been for Aboriginal people when they first had to learn English, specifically as adults. ninti.ngapartji.org
Numerous private language preservation initiatives rarely make it to the headlines. If you are interested it's a good idea to search for Aboriginal language forums.
Language: Are you an Aboriginal person? Get involved!
For this project I'd like to involve Aboriginal people as much as possible. It should also become a platform for your voice and your story.
If you think you can contribute to any of these areas on the left-hand side, I am happy to listen to your advice. If necessary I can help you to put it into words, an audio file or an image for this site.
Contact me and we can find a way how your story helps towards true reconciliation.
Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
[1] Koori Mail 390 p.68, [2] MX Newspaper 19/9/2007
[3] National Indigenous Times 135 p.15
[4] National Indigenous Times 135 p.22
[5] Flyer from Ngapartji Ngapartji performance for Indigenous language support
[6] 'A single national language', Koori Mail 429 p.25
The author of this site wishes to recognise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the land in which we live and work.