Term 3 Hot Topic: Language
“Keriba gesep agiakar dikwarda keriba mir. Ableglam keriba Mir pako Tonar nole atakemurkak.”
Translated into English
“The land actually gave birth to our language. Language and culture are inseparable.”
Bua Benjamin Mabo, Meriam
Hello and welcome to our Term 3 newsletter.
In this issue, we’re putting the spotlight on Indigenous languages and ways educators can incorporate this area of study into their classroom teaching.
Many a research study has confirmed the benefits of learning another language, or aspects of another language. That it has positive spin-offs for creativity, attentiveness, brain health and growth as well as improving first language proficiency. For our students these are all critical.
But more broadly for our society, for the future our students will inherit and lead, Suzy Kassem’s observation that understanding languages and other cultures builds bridges is one that cannot be ignored.
Learning any new language is certainly a daunting prospect, and few of us will ever be super fluent in an Indigenous language. More the pity. But inroads can be made that are fun and engaging along the way. For both students and teachers.
It’s not beyond our students to acquire a meaningful vocabulary of Indigenous words to take with them through life. And who knows…their passion for Indigenous languages may be piqued in the process.
For our students who do have an Indigenous background, committing classroom time to exploring a First Nations language gives that language a presence and a validity that can be an affirming experience for them.
So, where to start?
“Learning a foreign language, and the culture that goes with it, is one of the most useful things we can do to broaden the empathy and imaginative sympathy and cultural outlook of children.”
Students, and maybe a few of their teachers, will possibly hold a few misunderstandings on this topic, including:
Aboriginals all speak the same Indigenous language
Aboriginals today speak only English
There never were any Indigenous languages
If there were different languages spoken at the time of European settlement then they are now dead
The languages spoken by First Nations people aren’t as important now in modern Australia as they were in the past
Activities
Rewrite these dot-points as questions. An example is in the table below. Students think/pair/share each question
Create a table, like the one below. Students can work alone or with a partner and complete
What are your students’ responses….
“A language is not just words. It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It’s all embodied in language.”
Languages map
More than 250 different First Nations languages and many more dialects were spoken across Australia at the commencement of white settlement. Each language group has their own cultural traditions. Check out this resource: Map of Indigenous Australia | AIATSIS
Activities
Have a look at a map of modern, federated, Australia with current state and territory borders. What are the differences between these borders and the borders of the Aboriginal language groups?
Why do you think the borders of each language group are not ever in straight lines, but flow, and curve and bend and swerve? A good geographical map of Australia my give you some clues (think about mountain ranges and rivers, for example, or of Indigenous dreamtime stories you may know)
“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things. ”
Vocabulary lists
I. Listen to the pronunciation of the names of the Indigenous language groups in Victoria: Victorian Aboriginal languages - Bunjilaka (museumsvictoria.com.au). Here’s another map for Victoria: Ngarrwaa (vacl.org.au).
Activities
Find the language group for the suburb where you live
Listen to and then learn the pronunciation. Say it out aloud a few times till you feel you have got it right
Can you feel how your mouth and tongue and lips are made to move differently to how they have been trained to move when you speak English, and perhaps the language you speak with your family at home?
Gently place your finger where your larynx (voice box) is located. Speak the words and feel the vibrations. This is where language, all languages, are given their physical, vocal, power
Notice how the sound is different to the sound you make when you pronounce the name of the suburb where you live
Where do you go for holidays or trips in Victoria? Have you got family or friends that live in other parts of the state? Are there places in your state you would like to visit? Locate those places and use the language map to find the Aboriginal language for that area. Again, say its name out aloud till you feel you have it right
ii. The Boon Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples are the traditional owners of the place we today call Melbourne. Over 90 percent of their vocabulary is the same.
Wurundjeri Language - Deadly Story
The ASJP Database - Wordlist Woiwurrung (clld.org)
Activities
Team up with a buddy and create a crossword puzzle of Indigenous words. A link to a free crossword puzzle making program can be found at: Crossword Puzzle Maker | Create Your Own Crossword Puzzles (printablecreative.com)
With a buddy, commit to learning a new word a day for two weeks. Place them in a meaningful and grammatically correct English sentence. Share them with your class
Write a 100-word mini story that uses at least five words from the lists
Write a short poem using English and Wurundjeri on any topic you like
Write a letter to a student who is your age living in another country. Explain to them who the traditional owners of Melbourne are and what is unique about them, using as many words as you can from the lists
The honest, open and respectful lines of inquiry on Indigenous languages that we know teachers will bring to the classroom will, we believe, help nurture student empathy and respect for First Nations peoples. And that is a wonderful outcome to strive for.
Rev. Canon A/Prof Glenn Loughrey
A final word from Uncle Glenn:
“Wiradjuri Elder Uncle Stan Grant Snr writes: "Wiray Nigiyang, Wiray Mayiny - No language, no people" and reminds us of the importance of language to our people. Without language, knowledge is lost and cannot be transferred. Learning another language introduces you to a new way of thinking, you have to think like those who speak it to be able to understand the language.
“As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people we do not write language, we speak it, paint it, dance it, sing it. It is directly connected to country and our relationships with all on country. To understand who we are it is important to immerse yourself in all of these facilities of knowledge.
“I would invite you to visit the Murnong Aboriginal Art Gallery in Glen Iris, Melbourne to see the word blocks and perhaps arrange to borrow them for your students. While there enjoy the art and visit the Wominjeka Reconciliation Garden, one of the 5 significant cultural spaces in the Boroondarra council area.”
Word blocks simultaneously in the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people and English the Murnong Aboriginal Art Gallery in Glen Iris, Melbourne.
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