Last updated: 2 October 2012
Background to the use of Aboriginal languages in NT schools (bilingual education)
Main Contents Page:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-use-of-aboriginal-l...
'OUR LAND OUR LANGUAGES': REPORT ON INQUIRY INTO LANGUAGE LEARNING IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
Contents:
* Report
* Analysis / Opinion
* Audio
* Speech
* News
* REPORT:
House of Representatives Committees: Inquiry into language learning in Indigenous communities
Our Land Our Languages
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Represe...
"On Monday 17 September 2012, the Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs tabled its report on the inquiry into language learning in Indigenous communities entitled Our Land Our Languages."
* ANALYSIS / OPINION:
Crikey: Parliament reports on indigenous tongues: can they be saved?
By Greg Dickson of Crikey blog Fully (sic)
http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/09/17/parliament-reports-on-indigenous-ton...
17 Sep 12: "Today federal Parliament releases the Our Land, Our Languages report, stemming from the recent inquiry into Learning Languages in Indigenous Communities. Our Land, Our Languages draws on 154 submissions and 23 public hearings held throughout Australia over the course of a year. The report comprehensively argues for greater recognition and resourcing of indigenous languages and calls for action to halt the embarrassing rate of loss and endangerment of native languages. It is a thorough, measured, yet still ambitious document arguing for indigenous languages to be elevated into a position of greater prominence and prosperity." Greg Dickson is a contributor to Fully (sic) and has worked in indigenous language documentation, research, training and resourcing for 10 years.
Fully (sic) - Crikey's language blog: First language education is a matter of common sense
By Aidan Wilson
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/fullysic/2012/09/18/first-language-education-...
18 Sep 12: "The committee found heavily in favour of the proponents of bilingual education as the substantial evidence submitted clearly shows that rather than being deleterious, the use of the child’s first language in early childhood education had widespread benefits. ... Recommendation 14 therefore calls for the provision of adequately resourced bilingual education programs in areas where the child’s first language is an indigenous language, whether that language is a traditional language such as Warlpiri or Murrinh Patha, or a contact language such as Kriol, Gurindji Kriol or Light Warlpiri." By Aidan Wilson
The Conversation: The chance of a lifetime to save Indigenous languages
By Claire Bowern
http://theconversation.edu.au/the-chance-of-a-lifetime-to-save-indigenou...
18 Sep 12: "It is not often that the opportunity comes along to make a real difference, but a new report into Indigenous languages in Australia has the potential to do just that. Our Land, Our Languages has already been likened to the momentous Mabo decision. But where Mabo helped change our legal and cultural understanding of Indigenous land rights, this report highlights the fiction of a monolingual Australia and calls for recognition of Australia’s Indigenous linguistic diversity." By Claire Bowern, Associate Professor of Linguistics at Yale University. Claire's research focuses on the Indigenous languages of Australia.
ABC The Drum: Parlez vous Yolngu?
By Vicki Kerrigan
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-19/kerriganlanguage/4267938
19 Sep 12: "We must extinguish the idea of Australia as a monolingual place and there's no better place to start than in the classroom. ABC 105.7 Drive presenter Vicki Kerrigan on why all Australians should learn Aboriginal languages. ... Language is not just about being able to communicate with the shopkeeper; it is also the key to culture, social structures, attitudes to money, connection to country and the weather. Language is the key which can be used to unlock differences. And then together we can sort it out." By ABC's Vicki Kerrigan. Vicki is the Drive presenter for ABC Local Radio Darwin.
Green Left: Report: Bilingual education in Aboriginal communities is crucial
By Emma Murphy
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/52287
20 Sep 12: "The report unashamedly puts language front and centre not just to Aboriginal identity but also health and wellbeing. For example, it says Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who speak an Indigenous language enjoy "markedly" better health and are more likely to be employed, attend school and receive a post-school qualification than those who don’t. ... The recommendations in Our Land Our Language have been welcomed by bilingual education advocates. They are implicitly very critical of current approaches - especially in the Northern Territory, where bilingual education was dramatically scaled back four years ago by the then Labor government." By Emma Murphy
Fully (sic) - Crikey's language blog: Our Land, Our Languages and Preserving Our Heritage
By Claire Bowern
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/fullysic/2012/09/21/our-land-our-languages-an...
21 Sep 12: "We’re all in a tizz at Fully [sic] over the new report Our Land, Our Languages. We’re usually pretty mellow when it comes to government releases but this one is worth taking up some pixel space over. It’s pretty rare that Indigenous languages (IL) get a day in the sun in such a spectacular way. ... That’s why this report is so important: it ... provides 30 recommendations for how to go about it. The recommendations cover a very broad range of activities, from language documentation to education, implications for health, interpreting programs, and increasing national recognition for Australia’s linguistic diversity." By Claire Bowern, Associate Professor of Linguistics, Yale University
* AUDIO:
ABC Brisbane: Bilingual education for Indigenous Australians
By Lachlan Mackintosh
http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2012/09/bilingual-education-for-indig...
19 Sep 12: "There's a lot to a language, it’s more than just a tool for communication, it's a social identity. So when a language disappears, how does it affect the culture attached to it? The 'Our Land, Our Languages' report was released this week, it looked at the role of Indigenous languages in Australia and how they could help strengthen the Aboriginal identify and culture.
Dr Felicity Meakins, a Research Fellow in Linguistics at the University of Queensland, joined the program to talk about the topic."
The Wire: Calls for Indigenous Language in Early Education
Produced by Adam Jeffrey
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=9667
28 Sep 12: "The results of a parliamentary report on language learning in Indigenous communities has prompted calls for the inclusion of indigenous languages in early education within indigenous communities. The report from the Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs argues for greater recognition and resourcing of indigenous languages and requests action be taken to stall the high rate of native languages being forgotten in Australia. The report findings have also lead to calls for a higher focus on indigenous language in early education. ...
Featured in story:
* Dr Charles Grimes - Linguistics Consultant, Australian Society for Indigenous Languages
* Ken Langford-Smith - Principal, Ypirinya School"
* SPEECH:
Sharon Grierson MP, Federal Member for Newcastle: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Committee Report: Our Land, Our Languages
http://www.sharongrierson.com/SharonGrierson/Resources/120918%20Our%20La...
18 Sep 12: "Overall it was a wonderful report; it was a wonderful experience for all of us. How do I know that? How do I know it was a successful and great report? I would love to share with the House this letter I received from Daryn McKenny, from the Miromaa Aboriginal Language and Technology Centre. He says:
Can you please pass on our thanks and congratulations to Sharon on her part as a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, in an excellent report into our Aboriginal languages. The report 'Our Land, Our Languages' released yesterday was and is everything that we have needed for a long time." By Sharon Grierson MP, Federal Member for Newcastle
* NEWS:
National Indigenous Radio Service: Calls strengthen for bilingual education
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7560-calls-strengthen-for-biling...
2 Oct 12
Our Languages: University of Melbourne researchers urge government to heed indigenous language report
http://www.ourlanguages.net.au/news/national/item/683-university-of-melb...
27 Sep 12: "A group of indigenous language researchers from the University of Melbourne is calling on the Federal Government to implement a proposal to introduce bilingual teaching programs in some schools. The proposal was one of 30 recommendations made last week by a Federal Parliamentary inquiry into language learning in indigenous communities. Professor Gillian Wigglesworth, the Director of the University's Indigenous Language Research Unit, said bilingual education was vital to the development of young children in communities where languages other than English were spoken at home."
National Indigenous Radio Service: ANTAR backs call to save Indigenous languages
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7547-antar-backs-call-to-save-in...
18 Sep 12
Australian: Bilingual tack gains traction for indigenous children
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/bilingual-tack-gains-tr...
18 Sep 12
ABC: School sees pitfalls in Indigenous language studies
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-18/school-sees-pitfalls-in-indigenous...
18 Sep 12
Amnesty International Australia: Critical link between language and Indigenous Peoples confirmed in landmark report
http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/29738/
17 Sep 12: "A parliamentary committee report confirms the critical link that language plays in transmitting and reinforcing the ties between kinship, country and family for Australia’s Indigenous Peoples. Amnesty International welcomes the findings that recognise the important and intrinsic ties between Indigenous Australians, their language and their culture. "Our own research confirms the absolute importance of language for Aboriginal people which is central to the identity and connection of Aboriginal people to their homelands", said Sarah Marland, Indigenous Rights campaigner for Amnesty International Australia. ... "
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples:
Report speaks volumes on Aboriginal languages future
http://nationalcongress.com.au/languages-inquiry-response/
17 Sep 12: "Congress says the recommendations from a Parliamentary Committee inquiry reinforce Congress’s priority to address the crisis in protecting and maintaining Aboriginal languages.
Congress Co-Chair Jody Broun congratulated the committee on their report, “Our Land Our Languages”, saying that almost every point in the Congress submission is included in the Committee’s recommendations. ...
"Congress worked hard to ensure our members and member organisations who are experts in these areas were instrumental in developing a strong, evidence based report to the committee on the necessity for major improvements to language learning, maintenance and revival," said Director Curnow. ...
Co-Chair Broun stressed the importance of vital living languages - not remnants of extinct languages - being recognised as a unique part of Australian heritage and culture.
"Congress will continue to advocate for the essential national coordination required to support the many regional language centres who have worked tirelessly for the better part of 25 years," she said. ... "
The Conversation: Action needed to help preserve Indigenous languages
By Charis Palmer
http://theconversation.edu.au/action-needed-to-help-preserve-indigenous-...
17 Sep 12: "Language and Indigenous experts have welcomed a government report that recommends bilingual school education programs for Indigenous communities, saying it will benefit all Australians and help get some Indigenous languages off the endangered languages list. The "Our Land Our Languages" report follows a 12-month inquiry by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs." By Charis Palmer
ABC: Indigenous students need bilingual education
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-17/senate-committee-recommends-biling...
17 Sep 12
- - -
About WGAR News:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-abo...
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)