International Year of Indigenous Languages
In February 2020, UNESO anncounced an International Decade of Indigenous Languages from 2022 - 2032. Extending beyond the lift of the Centre, CoEDL researchers are nevertheless excited to contribute to the important celebration of Indigenous languages and continue working with Indigenous communities to document, preserve and revitalise precious linguistic heritage across the world.
Collected below are activities the Centre participated in during the International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019. We look forward to continuing this work in the coming years.
20 December 2019
Looking back, looking forward - taking stock of the world's endangered languages
A major review of 25 years in recording, studying and revitalising the world’s endangered languages shows both significant advances and critical shortfalls. Find out more...
22 November 2019
Mudburra dictionary launched
The Mudburra to English Dictionary is the result of a 40 year collaboration between the Mudburra community of the Northern Territory and linguists. Find out more...
20 November 2019
Alyawarr dictionary makes a comeback
It has been more than 25 years since the first Alyawarr to English Dictionary was compiled by Centre Affiliate and Postdoc Jenny Green. The release of a new, updated and substantially revised second edition was celebrated at Arlparra. Find out more...
15 November 2019
Toksave – Culture Talks podcast connects communities with archives
The PARADISEC team are very excited to announce the first five episodes of a new podcast series launched in Sydney. In Toksave - Culture Talks, listeners will join Jodie Kell and Steven Gagau as they host a series of interviews. Find out more...
8 November 2019
Exhibitions galore – the Year of Indigenous Languages in sight and sound
Centre members are involved with no less than five exhibitions currently on show in Adelaide and Canberra. Find out more...
4 November 2019
Australian Languages Workshop 2020
Next year, ALW will be held on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), the lands of the Quandamooka Peoples, on 28 February - 1 March 2020. Find out more...
1 November 2019
New book surveys complexities of Archival Returns
Centre members feature heavily as co-authors in a new volume capturing the breadth and complexity of returning records of Indigenous knowledge to their home communities. Read more...
24 October 2019
Public lecture: Re-Awakening Kaurna, the Language of the Adelaide Plains - Strategies and Methods
This lecture will be delivered by Jack Kanya Buckskin and Associate Professor Rob Amery on 5 December 2019 during the Centre's Summer School. Find out more...
23 October 2019
Birds-of-Paradise, eye trackers and EEGs: Doing psycholinguistics in the cloud rainforest of PNG
In June, Centre researchers Hannah Sarvasy and Alba Tuninetti arrived in the village of Towet, in the Saruwaged Mountains of PNG, carrying more than the usual field kit. Read more...
10 October 2019
Early learnings from ERLI tool
Speech pathologists and other professionals still have relatively few tools for assessing and researching Indigenous children’s language development. In response to this need, a WSU team has developed the ERLI (Early Language Inventory). Read more...
23 September 2019
Centre celebrates International Day of Sign Languages with the Mudburra to English Dictionary
In celebration of the UN International Day of Sign Languages, CoEDL is highlighting the Mudburra to English Dictionary, which is the first dictionary of an Australian Indigenous language to include an extensive section dedicated to handsigns. Read more.
20 September 2019
Reviving the spirit of vernacular languages in Solomon Islands
‘Understanding our languages: Solomon Islands’, held in the capital Honiara on 19-23 August 2019, gathered some 100 people speaking 44 Solomon Islands languages. Debra McDougal reflects on the experience...
6 September 2019
PNG ‘culture sign’ can’t be pidgin-holed
Papua New Guinea is one of the world’s most linguistically diverse nations, but until now the sign language situation in PNG has been almost completely unknown outside the country. Read more...
23 August 2019
Nen Dictionary available online
A dictionary of the Nen language of Papua New Guinea, compiled by Nicholas Evans, is now available as an online publication. With 5005 lexical entries, this is the first major dictionary of a Papuan language to appear in online format. Read more...
20 August 2019
Video: Kunpulu (sawfish)
Gurindji people stunned scientists with the furthest inland sightings of the highly endangered sawfish. A powerful example of Indigenous ecological knowledge and Western scientific knowledge working together, featuring Felicity Meakins. Watch it on ICTV.
14 August 2019
Ngarinyman Dictionary at Parliament House
How do you make a First Nations dictionary and what benefits do they have? Ngarinyman woman Mikayla Friday-Shaw joined Caroline Jones and Felicity Meakins to explain the at the Parliamentary Library. See more...
8 August 2019
Mildura’s languages shine in rainbow of colour
These posters have become the most popular outcome of a collaboration with the Aboriginal community to share and discover more about the traditional languages of the region. Read more...
30 July 2019
Video: Manyardi songs make us remember
Traditional custodians from Warruwi community in western Arnhem Land (NT), David Manmurulu, Jenny Manmurulu, Rupert Manmurulu and Jamie Milpurr joined with researchers to present the Garrurru public lecture, centred around the Inyjalarrku ‘Mermaid’ song-set. Watch it here...
25 July 2019
Doctorate recognises ancient wisdom of the Western Desert
On 19th July, Elizabeth Marrkilyi Warnngupayi Ellis was admitted to the Doctor of Letters by The Australian National University “on the grounds of her exceptional contribution to the study of traditional Indigenous languages.” Read more...
18 July 2019
Nandiri'ba'nya – exhibition shows Language and Country through Indigenous eyes
The work of Centre researchers features prominently in a new exhibition celebrating the International Year of Indigenous Languages opening in Sydney next month. Read more...
12 July 2019
When Gary met Gugs… and awakened a sleeping tongue
Brother Stephen ‘Gugs’ Morelli and Gary Williams go back a long way. This week their joint 30-year effort to revive the Gumbaynggirr language of the mid-north coast of NSW was recognised with the Patji-Dawes Language Teaching Award. Read more...
11 July 2019
Gunning for Gija – Patji-Dawes Award winner Sophia Mung
Sophia Mung is a humble school teacher. But when she received the Patji-Dawes Language Teaching Award, she was asked to tell the world why it was important to keep her mother tongue Gija strong – and she delivered. Read more...
5 July 2019
Ngarinyman Dictionary launched
The first dictionary for Ngarinyman, a language of central-western Northern Territory, has been launched by Rachel Perkins at the 2019 AIATSIS Research Conference this week, and is the result of a 25-year collaboration between 30 community members and seven linguists. Read more...
28 June 2019
Video: Studying the vernacular in the vernacular – Luqa literacy in the Solomon Islands
In this public lecture, Dr Alpheaus Graham Zobule takes the audience on the fascinating 20-year journey of the Kulu Language Institute in the Solomon Islands, which he founded and continues to direct. Watch here...
3 June 2019
Mother tongue
A chance find of a language fragment buried in archives of a family farm sheds light on a forgotten Indigenous language. Jane Faure-Brac reports on how the find is emblematic of the United Nation’s Year of Indigenous Languages. Read more...
31 May 2019
Indigenous language teachers win Patji-Dawes Award
Two teachers of Australian Indigenous languages are the joint winners of the Patji-Dawes Award – Australia’s premier award for achievement in teaching languages other than English. Read more...
21 May 2019
Gurindji sign language films win ICTV award
The Gurindji Takataka sign language project has taken out the 2019 ICTV (Indigenous Community Television) Video Award for Best Language Film. Find out more...
18 May 2019
Video: The genius of Australian Indigenous languages (public lecture)
On 6 February, Professor Rachel Nordlinger, one of the country’s foremost experts on Australian Indigenous languages, explained their unique importance to an audience of hundreds. Watch here...
8 May 2019
New book on Murrinhpatha questions concept of the ‘word’
Murrinhpatha Morphology and Phonology is the culmination of eight years' work on one of the world's most complex and fascintaing languages by Dr John Mansfield. Read more...
2 May 2019
Moli det Bigibigi rides into Australian Reading Hour
Karen Manbulloo, author of Moli det bigibigi (Moli the pig) has been named as a Child Ambassador for this year’s Australian Reading Hour. Read more...
15 April 2019
The 14 Indigenous words for money on our new 50 cent coin
The coin, developed in consultation with Indigenous language custodian groups, features 14 different words for 'money' from Australian Indigenous languages. Felicity Meakins and Michael Walsh ask where these words came from. Read more...
2 April 2019
Video: The ‘ecology’ of deaf sign languages in PNG
In this seminar, Lauren Reed, Alan Rumsey and local advisor John Onga outline their work documenting these barely studied languages and present one fascinatng case study from the Western Highliands. See more...
27 March 2019
The ABCs of language revival
When Hilary Smith began working with the Gamilaraay people of northern NSW on the revival of their language, she quickly hit upon an stumbling block: strong interest, but low confidence. Bringing a language to life is as tricky as A,B,C. Find out more...
25 March 2019
Aboriginal Australia’s smash hit that went viral
The Wanji-wanji song has travelled thousands of kms over 150 years. Follow the journey with our researchers Myfany Turpin, Brenda Croft, Felicity Meakins and ClintBracknell in The Conversation. Read more...
21 March 2019
Technology yarning
Tjinytjatjunku tjuma is the ancient art of telling stories while drawing in the sand. Now, thanks to iPads, storytellers of all generations can share their tales with the world while drawing on the screen. Read more...
13 February 2019
PhD opportunities in Indigenous Language Technologies
Develop tech at the University of Queensland for under-resourced Australian languages through machine learning, social robotics, apps, co-design projects with communities and educational games. Apply by 10 March. Learn more...
30 January 2019
Preserving the Kunwinjku language of West Arnhem Land
The Charles Darwin University (CDU) and the Australian National University (ANU) have launched the first university-level course teaching Kunwinjku - an endangered Aboriginal language spoken by the Bininj people of West Arnhem Land in northern Australia. Read more...
24 January 2019
Fishing up a huge surprise: tracing ancient sawfish with Indigenous knowledge
Could the ocean-dwelling sawfish swim 500km inland? The CSIRO's Double Helix magazine investigates an ancient mystery using Inigenous knowledge and Western science. Read more...
22 January 2019
The state of Australia's Indigenous languages – and how we can help people speak them more often
In 60 years’ time only 13 of Australia’s languages will be left unless something is done now to encourage Indigenous children to keep speaking their language, and to encourage children from other language groups to start speaking their heritage languages. Jane Simpson writes in The Conversation. Read more...
2 January 2019
Takataka: Gurindji Sign Language videos
Jenny Green and Felicity Meakins have collaborated with Cassandra Algy and other Gurindji people, and the Karungkarni Art and Culture Aboriginal Corporation, to produce 15 short videos demonstrating signs for people, places, artefacts and actions. Watch them on ICTV...
