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Why are Indigenous languages important?

Languages are more than just systems for communication. Languages are cultural creations. Cultures express themselves through language – through songs, poetry and stories. Translations can’t capture the rhythms and metaphors of the original languages.

Languages also contain ecological knowledge, such as unique ways to express features of the local environment. For example, the Bininj Kunwok language uses one word to refer to:

  1. a type of grasshopper,
  2. the two plants it likes to eat, and
  3. the lightning spirit.

These grasshoppers come out at the start of the monsoon season, when there is much lightning. When languages are forced out of use, these kinds of traditional ecological knowledge connections tend to become forgotten. To paraphrase linguist Ken Hale, forcing a language out of use is like dropping a bomb on a museum.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, language is a key part of identity. This is the case even when the language is no longer in daily use. Language, Country, culture and community are interconnected.

Keriba geseg agiakar dikwarda keriba mir. Ableglam keriba Mir pako Tonar nole atakemurkak. (Bua Benjamin Mabo, cited in AIATSIS nd)

“The land actually gave birth to our language. Language and culture are inseparable.”

Speaking Indigenous languages has social and economic benefits. The National Indigenous Languages Report found that Indigenous people who speak their language are more likely to feel happy, full of life, calm and full of energy than those who speak only English. Indigenous people who speak traditional and new Indigenous languages are more likely to be connected with friends and family. Indigenous language speakers are more likely to earn an income from arts, cultural programs, and land and sea management (Commonwealth of Australia 2020, p. 24).

What about Aboriginal English?

Around 80% of Aboriginal people speak Aboriginal English. Aboriginal English is a variety of English that differs from Standard Australian English in many ways, including sentence formation rules and sounds. Aboriginal English varieties often incorporate words from local traditional Aboriginal languages. Some varieties of Aboriginal English include Nunga English (spoken in and around Adelaide), Broome lingo (spoken around Broome, Western Australia) and Woorie Talk (spoken in Woorabinda, Queensland). 

The National Indigenous Languages Report did not look at the connection between use of Aboriginal English and wellbeing. However, there is evidence that using Aboriginal English increases wellbeing. Speaking Aboriginal English leads to greater feelings of self-recognition and relaxation (Harrison 2004). It reinforces group identity, solidarity and cohesion (Collard et al 2000). Use of Aboriginal English maintains and asserts Aboriginal identity (Eades 1993, p. 3). Celebrating Aboriginal English in primary education leads to better engagement and overall wellbeing of Aboriginal students. This in turn leads to better educational outcomes (Victoria State Government 2020).

Why and how does language loss occur?

‘Loss’ is a common way to describe the situation where languages are no longer used. However, it is not the case that people ‘lose’ their language. As late as the 1980s, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were punished for speaking their languages. In the 2000s, Aboriginal languages and bilingual education were removed from schools.

Throughout Australia’s history, children were removed from their families and taken to institutions where Indigenous language use was forbidden. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were forced onto missions where they did not have a common language, so Aboriginal English became the language for daily use. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were imprisoned for speaking their language in public. Indigenous languages were forced out of use rather than ‘lost’. As Kevin Keeffe writes:

Now some white people will try to tell you that you haven’t got language – that you’ve lost your language. Well we didn’t lose our languages; they got taken off us. Hundreds of them – stolen. (Keeffe 1992, p. 53–54)

Languages can be forced out of use in more subtle ways. Defunding bilingual programs can make speakers feel that their language is not valued or worthwhile. If there is little new media in Indigenous languages, speakers can feel like their language is not as modern or prestigious as English. Some parents experienced racism and discrimination because they spoke Indigenous languages. These parents may be afraid that if their children are speakers of Indigenous languages, they will also experience racism and discrimination. As a result, parents may stop speaking the language to their children. 

What does it mean for a language to be endangered?

A language is endangered when there is a risk that soon, there will be no speakers left.

What is a sleeping language?

Sometimes people refer to languages with no speakers as ‘extinct’ or ‘dead’. When an animal is extinct or a person passes away, there is no way to bring them back. However, it is possible to bring languages back. This is called language reawakening. We refer to languages with no speakers as ‘sleeping’, because there is a possibility that these languages can be woken up again.

What is language reawakening?

Language reawakening is the work of bringing a language back into use after some time during which there were no speakers.

The work of reawakening a language builds on the knowledge that community members still remember, such as words or phrases, along with historical records of the language such as word lists or audio recordings.

What is a speaker?

In this Survey the below terms were used with the following definitions.

A 'fluent' or 'full speaker' can have a conversation in all situations. They can express almost everything in the language.

A 'part speaker' can have a conversation in limited situations. They can’t express everything in the language.

A 'limited speaker' knows a 'little' of the language and can only say some words and simple sentences.

What is the difference between a language and a dialect?

‘Language’ and ‘dialect’ are used as technical terms in linguistics: ‘language’ refers to varieties that are so different that speakers cannot understand each other and ‘dialect’ refers to varieties that are noticeably different but close enough that speakers can understand each other. For example, Aboriginal English, Standard Australian English, and North American English are dialects of the English language. Speakers of these dialects can understand each other. However, the way they speak and use the language is quite different, they use different words, produce some sounds differently and also have different ways of using grammar. Each way of speaking is associated with a distinct identity. This means they speak dialects, or different versions, of the same language.

While ‘Dialect’ is used as a technical term in linguistics, in common usage it has taken on a negative meaning. Sometimes people use ‘dialect’ to refer to languages they do not consider valuable. For this reason, linguists sometimes refer to ‘language varieties’ instead of languages and dialects. A language variety is any way of speaking, including languages, dialects and other ways of speaking, like clan-based dialects.

Last updated: 01 March 2022