Less than half of the estimated 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages once spoken in Australia remain in some form of use, with the vast majority considered endangered. Linguist Murray Garde says only 20 to 40 languages have a good chance of survival across the next generations, but a resurgence in appreciation is underway.
Recent high-profile uses of Indigenous languages include Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaking Ngunawal to deliver the Closing the Gap report in February, and Northern Territory MLA Bess Price objecting to not being allowed to speak Warlpiri in parliament. For many Indigenous Australians, such moments are too rare.
Garde highlights that preserving these languages is not only a matter of historical or academic importance, but also has social benefits. “The mental health of people in small remote communities is tied to the ability to express themselves in first language,” he says. Communities function better when their language is acknowledged and interpreters are used.
Efforts to preserve and revive languages are growing. Indigenous languages were introduced as a higher school certificate subject in New South Wales this year, and other states offer classes. Universities increasingly provide tertiary courses, and language centres offer grassroots education. City councils are embracing Indigenous place names, and mobile apps and online tools make languages more accessible.
Last year Charles Darwin University launched an online dictionary of Yolngu Matha, spoken in Arnhem Land. Garde is working on a similar project for Bininj Kunwok, stressing the need for community control over language resources. In March, the Australian National University launched the Austkin database of kinship terms, preserving terms from languages that are essentially extinct except in archives.
Dr Patrick McConvell, lead investigator for the database, says the battle is fought on two fronts: maintaining living languages and reviving those that have fallen silent. The goal is to ensure that Indigenous languages are passed down to future generations.
