Language

By now we know that traditional Indigenous languages are losing speakers rapidly and tragically. Of the 250 languages once spoken in Australia, only 40 remain and just 18 of these are still learnt by children. But if children in remote Indigenous communities aren't still learning traditional languages, then what are they learning? It is generally assumed they are shifting to English, but this is not the case. - Article by Felicity Meakins from The University of Queensland [node:read-more:link]

When languages die, especially indigenous ones, a large part of culture and history disappears along with it

High rates of economic growth are a driving factor behind global language extinction, with one-quarter of all native tongues classified as "threatened," a new report has said.

Out of around 6,000 languages around the globe, 1,705 fit the criteria for "threatened" status. [node:read-more:link]

Jane Simpson writes that Indigenous languages won't survive if First Nations kids don't have the opportunity to speak their native languages at school. Ms Simpson is the Chair of Indigenous Linguistics and Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language at Australian National University asks the question of what language(s) to teach Indigenous students, what languages to teach them in, and how to go about it has been generating a little political heat (but not quite so much light) of late. [node:read-more:link]

... it just will not deliver long-term gains

It seems like a bizarre kind of double-think that the government can abandon the Gonski funding model, which would have most helped disadvantaged students; cut $534 million in funding for Indigenous community health and education programs; and then turn around and claim that a sparkly new program will somehow "fix" First Nations literacy.

Kirstyn March, Rebecca Brewin ABC Goldfields 18 June 2014

Warburton elder Daisy Ward recently left Australia for the first time to attend the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education. [node:read-more:link]

 
Deborah Rice ABC News 27 August 2013

A treasure trove of Indigenous language documents from across Australia has been discovered in the New South Wales State Library. [node:read-more:link]