Stabilising Indigenous Languages

Lester-Irabinna Rigney

The world's Indigenous languages are in crisis. The way things are going, only a few hundred languages, amongst the world's 6,000 or so, look like surviving in the long term. It could be argued that the rate of extinction of Indigenous languages and cultures across the world exceed that of fauna and flora. Australia does not a have good record in this regard.

Prior to colonisation there were 'approximately 250 Indigenous languages spoken in Australia. Some of these had several varieties, and there were altogether about 500 language varieties used across Australia' (SSABSA 1996:7-8). Many of the Australian Indigenous languages have declined to a critical state. There are approximately 50 Indigenous languages left with only a few elderly speakers remaining. This means that these languages are being lost at a rate of approximately one per year.

The effects of colonisation on Australian Indigenous languages have been devastating (Walsh and Yallop 1993). A high water mark in the legal elevation of English and the destruction of Indigenous languages was the assimilation policy period between 1937-1970 (McConnochie etal 1988). Another now famous Australian governmental eradication strategy at the time was the removal of Indigenous children from their parents that contributed to a disruption in inter-generational transmission of language and culture.

The 2000 National Inquiry into Rural and Remote Education investigated the provision of education for rural and remote Australia. The inquiry found ' Indigenous knowledges, cultures, values and languages have rarely been valued in education and the curriculum in most schools has paid no more than lip service to Indigenous history, cultures and languages'(2000:74). Recommendation 2 and 4 speak directly to the right of Indigenous children to be educated in and about their own language, culture and history.

Australia has always had and continues to be, rich in Indigenous linguistic diversity. However, monolingual and monocultural principles have been upheld and reinforced in the Australian constitution since the formation of the Australian nation/state.

Stabilisation efforts for Indigenous languages over the last thirty years has had some success in Australia. Although small there are pockets of language safety areas where Indigenous languages are spoken, learned, written and heard. However, despite this success, language diversity and the number of Indigenous languages speakers continue to rapidly decline (see Amery, 2000, Schmidt 1990, Hale 1992).The good work to stabilising threatened Indigenous languages operates in a crippling atmosphere of non legal, political and constitutional recognition.

Indigenous languages do not enjoy legal protection as First Australian languages should. Every other language taught in Australian schools, excluding Indigenous languages, is an official language of other global countries. There is no official status given to Indigenous languages within the constitution. In other words the official language of Australia is English not Indigenous languages.

There is no legislative protection or support at present by federal or state and territory governments. Currently, Australia has no national Indigenous languages policy. Nor is there little by-law recognition and protection at local shire/councils.

No one focus will prevent Indigenous language decline. Multiple strategies need to be adopted. Legal and constitutional recognition is an important part of this strategy to prevent further cultural and linguistic harm.

In a shrinking world and with increasing globalisation, Indigenous Australian languages are under far more threat of extinction than ever. With the passing of the last speakers of Indigenous languages, time is of the essence.

Lester-Irabinna Rigney (Narungga Nation)   Yunggorendi First Nations Centre for   Higher Education and Research,   Flinders University

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