Reviving Indigenous Languages in Western Queensland
MEDIA RELEASE
Date 11-06-10
Reviving Indigenous Languages in Western Queensland
Language is one of the most important parts of culture; however, languages in many Indigenous communities are fast disappearing. Efforts to revive Indigenous languages in the Desert Channels region are a great example for other communities.
Representatives of community, education, state and the local government sectors attended an Indigenous language workshop in Longreach on the 9th and 10th of June to explore ways to renew and revive Indigenous language within the community. Delivered by the State Library of Queensland and hosted by Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ), the workshop looked at the history of languages in the region, their importance, and ways to keep Indigenous language alive.
The workshop links in with a wider initiative of DCQ’s Aboriginal Advisory Group, aimed at developing pictorial dictionaries for each of the fourteen Traditional Owner groups in the region. DCQ successfully sourced funding for the project through the Australian Government Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) and the Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records program.
Jeff Poole, DCQ Indigenous Engagement Officer, put the importance of language to Aboriginal communities into context and emphasised the importance of reviving it.
“Most Aboriginal people would have been multi-lingual, speaking the language of their parents and their neighbouring tribes,” he said. “Today as language is fading, it is important to take hold of a fleeting opportunity to save what is left.
“This project has already been very effective in developing interest in local languages within the Indigenous community. We hope it will spread to the wider community and schools once the project is complete.”
The recent Indigenous languages workshop was an opportunity to learn and to create networks to better deliver community projects.
“The revival of language is an important community project. It is up to the Indigenous community to make decisions about the language and to progress these projects,” said Des Crump, Indigenous languages researcher for the State Library of Queensland.
“There is a great diversity of languages in the Central Western Queensland region and it is exciting to compare their differences and similarities,” Mr Crump said.
These efforts to revive Indigenous languages in Western Queensland hold great potential for communities within the region and beyond.
ENDS
Media enquiries: Mark Kleinschmidt
Ph: (07) 4652 7818
Fax: (07) 4658 0122
Email: mark.kleinschmidt@dcq.org.au
