Teaching Australian Indigenous languages in Universities (TAILU)

Before European invasion, Australia had around 500 Indigenous languages. Today, there are around 120 that are still spoken at some level, but only 12 that are still spoken by children (National Indigenous Languages Report, 2021). While awareness of, and concern for, the loss of Indigenous languages in Australia is slowly increasing, there is a notable absence of opportunities to study Indigenous languages at tertiary level.

The University Languages Portal Australia (ULPA) website currently lists seven languages which can be studied at universities in Australia:

• Arrernte at Charles Darwin University
• Bininj Kunwok (Kunwinjku) at Charles Darwin University
• Gamilaraay at Australian National University and University of Sydney
• Kaurna at University of Adelaide
• Pitjantjatjara at University of South Australia
• Wiradjuri at Charles Sturt University
• Yolŋu Matha at Charles Darwin University

In his 2007 article “Aboriginal language habitat in research and tertiary education,” Rob Amery writes:

Indigenous languages must be regarded as a special case. They are, after all, Australia’s unique irreplaceable linguistic heritage. New ways must be found to deliver courses in and about Indigenous languages, and to deliver courses that impart skills needed for language work in the community and schools. These are life and death issues.” (Amery, 2007, pp. 345-346)

Useful Readings

National Indigenous Languages Report. (2020). Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and Australian National University. Available here

Amery, R. (2007). Aboriginal language habitat in research and tertiary education. In G. Leitner & I. G. Malcolm (Eds.), The Habitat of Australia’s Aboriginal Languages: Past, Present and Future (pp. 327–353). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Amery, R. (2020). Teaching Aboriginal Languages at University: To What End? In J. Fornasiero, S. M. A. Reed, R. Amery, E. Bouvet, K. Enomoto, & H. L. Xu (Eds.), Intersections in Language Planning and Policy: Establishing Connections in Languages and Cultures (pp. 475–489). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50925-5_29

Gale, M.-A. (2011). Rekindling warm embers: Teaching Aboriginal languages in the tertiary sector. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 34(3), 280-296. https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.34.3.02gal

Giacon, J. (2020). How Universities Can Strengthen Australian Indigenous Languages. The Australian Indigenous Languages Institute. In J. Fornasiero, S. M. A. Reed, R. Amery, E. Bouvet, K. Enomoto, & H. L. Xu (Eds.), Intersections in Language Planning and Policy: Establishing Connections in Languages and Cultures (pp. 523–539). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50925-5_32

Giacon, J., & Simpson, J. (2011). Teaching Indigenous languages at universities. In Selected Proceedings of the Inaugural LCNAU Colloquium, 2011. Melbourne, VIC. Available from https://www.lcnau.org/pdfs/lcnau_2011_giacon_simpson.pdf

Simpson, J. (2014). Teaching Minority Indigenous Languages at Australian Universities. In Proceedings of the 18th FEL Conference. (pp. 54-58). Okinawa: Foundation for Endangered Languages. Available here.