Indigenous Studies Guide: Language & Communication
Welcome
Wadda Mooli means welcome, good-bye and greetings in the Birrigubba language which is the language spoken by the Bindal People of the Townsville area.
According to linguists at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, "agreed at the time of arrival of Europeans, over 250 Indigenous languages existed". These languages then divide into several hundred dialects.
Depending on the linguists or authors each language may have multiple spelling variations for example Bidjara or Pitjara are the same.
Variations of Aboriginal English, Kriol/Creole and Torres Strait Islander Kriol/Creole (also known by other names) have evolved since 1788. These are dialects of English and sometimes separate languages that are shaped by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages and speakers.
How to search for Peer Review literature on Indigenous languages
Searching for Indigenous languages can be challenging so using a combination of key words and adding similar and/or related words may yield greater results, see search string examples below:
Examples of Peer Review Papers on Indigenous Languages
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Indigenous Language and Language Rights in Australia after Mabo (No2) DecisionOnly JCU students and staff can access this paper via the Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLii) database.
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The Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge LibGuideOnly JCU students and staff can access this paper via the ProQuest database.
What's in our collection
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Words of Our Country: Yidiny - The Aboriginal Language of Cairns - Yarrabah Region by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: 2014 -
Broken: an introduction to the creole language of Torres Strait by Call Number: 427.99438 SHNPublication Date: 1988
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Mind The Gap by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: 2020Mind the Gap is a Handbook to raise awareness of how symptoms and signs can present differently on darker skin as well as highlighting the different language that needs to be used in descriptors.
Interactive Language Map
Gambay: a map of Australia's first languages
Gambay showcases over 780 languages, using data contributed by regional language centres and programs working directly with language communities around Australia. Website courtesy of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Torres Strait Traditional Languages Map
Source: Ober, D. (2017). Torres Strait Language Symposium May 2017:Languages and Dialects of the Torres Strait. Torres Strait Regional Authority. Please click on image to view map.
The Torres Strait Traditional Language Centre
The Torres Strait Traditional Languages Centre
The Torres Strait Traditional Languages Centre coordinates regional and community-specific efforts to retrieve, record and research our traditional languages. The centre has a community capacity building focus.
For more information, check out tstlanguages.org
Public Lectures by University of Melbourne Research Unit for Indigenous Languages
Public Lectures from October 2015 to December 2019
- Re-Awakening Kaurna, the Language of Adelaide Plains by Jack Kanya Buckskin and Associate Professor Robert Amery
- The genius of Australian Indigenous Languages, and why they are important for all of us by RUIL Director Rachel Nordlinger
- Our Languages Matter, Kulinin? by Sam Osborne and Karina Lester
- Something lost, something found: Kriol of Northern Australia by Greg Dickson and Grant Thompson
- Aboriginal Memories of the inundation of the Australian Coast by Professor Nicolas Reid
- The revival of Victorian Aboriginal languages - RUIL Public Lecture by Paul Paton and Mandy Nicholson
To watch selected public lectures from above list, please click here
Additional resources
Accessing these institutions collections will broaden your horizon regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language, culture, history and experiences.
Language Dictionary, Databases and Weblinks
AIATSIS has developed two databases dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Each database serves a particular purpose. OZLIB is a linguistic bibliography of Aboriginal Australia and the Torres Strait Islands where as AUSTLANG provides information about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander languages.
National Indigenous Languages Survey Reports
National Indigenous Languages Report 2020
Resource
Broken: An Introduction to Creole Language of the Torres Strait by Anna Shnukal
Pacific Linguistics Series C - No. 107
Department of Linguistics
Research School of Pacific Studies
The Australian National University
To view, please click on image.
We acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and acknowledge Traditional Owners of the lands where our staff and students, live, learn and work.