Exciting project-based role, approximately 6 months length, 2 days per week, with the possibility of extension dependant on funding. Support the career development and training of Indigenous language workers.
First Languages Australia has been funded for a national project to support the career development of Indigenous language workers and to research resources and tools for the teaching of Indigenous languages.
This will allow us to expand on the work that went into the publication of Nintiringanyi: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teaching and Employment Strategy.
A project outline can be downloaded here.
As we begin the next round of discussions we would like to hear from you about which parts of the project are most relevant to your region. We would also appreciate your advice as to who would be key individuals to contact within your state or territory.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to be involved in the discussions, or for further details.
As part of the Associate Degree of Indigenous Languages and Linguistics and Bachelor of Indigenous Languages and Linguistics offered by CDU in partnership with Batchelor, we have developed a new unit called Language Centre Management which will be on offer from Semester 2, 2019.
Batchelor would appreciate it if language centres could review the unit outline and provide feedback. You may add your comments directly to the document.
Please send your comments and feedback to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or call her on 08 8946 6028 to discuss the details, by the 24th of May 2019.
We have received the below message from Halay Turning Heart of Yuchi Language Project in the US.
Halay has provided a draft application form which can be downloaded here, though the official Request for Proposals has not been published yet and the final application may be updated slightly.
Once the RFP is published the deadline will be short so Halay would like to make contact with prospective groups in advance. If after reading that application form you are interested in applying [please email Halay directly](mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Further details are summarised in the email below.
Read more: International funding for master-apprentice type activities
First languages Australia recommends using the term 'language' for all language varieties rather than attempting to capture the relationship of one language to another through use of a linguistic term.
Each of Australia's more than 700 languages has its own characteristics with which speakers of the language can distinguish their language/s from those of their neighbours. We recommend against using linguistic terms such as 'dialect' and 'creole' as they can inaccurately imply simplicity and lower status.
Read more: Language, dialect, group, creole...what do these terms mean?
It is through language that we communicate with the world, define our identity, express our history and culture, learn, defend our human rights and participate in all aspects of society, to name but a few.
Through language, people preserve their community’s history, customs and traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression. They also use it to construct their future. Language is pivotal in the areas of human rights protection, good governance, peace building, reconciliation, and sustainable development.
A person’s right to use his or her chosen language is a prerequisite for freedom of thought, opinion and expression, access to education and information, employment, building inclusive societies, and other values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
To help improve the coverage of Indigenous languages and language activities, First Languages Australia is soon to publish “Notes to assist reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages”.
The notes recommend that reporters find a language worker, or other relevant local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander contact, to provide expert guidance and have a voice in any first language story being published.
For stories about a specific language or region, the notes recommend contacting a regional language centre or local program to find a suitable contact.
The draft notes can be downloaded here. We are asking language centres and programs to read through the draft and send us feedback by the end of March 2019.
Press release for International Mother Language Day–21 February 2019
In acknowledgement of International Mother Language Day 2019, First Languages Australia is celebrating the relaunch of Gambay: First Languages Map.
First Languages Australia manager, Faith Baisden says, “Gambay highlights over 700 languages, many of which are grouped by colour to support the sharing of resources between related languages.”
“In collaboration with local community members extensive teachers’ notes have been compiled to encourage schools to teach about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages across curriculum areas.”
“Over the past few months, Gambay has undergone significant development to improve a range of functions...”
To help the media, and others, make direct contact with language workers, First Languages Australia is publishing a map of language programs.
We are asking all language centres and programs to check their contact details are correct on the web map at this link, and also the DRAFT PDF.
We would also like to hear of any additional programs that would like to be added.
First Languages Australia will address an Interdepartmental Meeting in Canberra on the 12th December, to bring into focus the responsibilities of all strands of government to support languages within their portfolios. This meeting has been coordinated at the request of First Languages Australia, with the support of the Indigenous Languages and Arts Program team. It will include the presentation to the government of a range of key issues raised by language centres and network members at meetings over the past eighteen months.
The meeting will be an opportunity to build awareness of:
* the need for increased and committed ongoing federal funding for languages;
* the importance of legislation to protect the rights of first languages speakers;
* the responsibility and role that each Department has regarding Indigenous languages and their communities;
* the benefits (social, financial and cultural) that come with increased connection with first languages; and
* specific actions each Department can take to embed and support language as core to their work.
First Languages Australia has developed an interactive map to display and promote the diversity of Australia's Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages. The map is called Gambay, which means 'together' in the Butchulla language of the Hervey Bay region in Queensland. Gambay is the first Australian map to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities control over the way their languages are publicly represented.
The 'person' icons on map dots represent Language Legend clips. These short videos allow language workers and advocates to personally explain the importance of their language/s and demonstrate their passion and dedication to their revival or strength.
The videos are moving expressions of the diversity of Australia's languages, their present endangerment status, and the dreams and achievements of individuals. They provide an opportunity for the public to meet language workers from their regions and learn about the language activities they are involved in, as a bridge to cross-cultural understanding.
So far the map has a collection of over 250 clips, with limitless room for your stories.
You can help to build the collection by contributing short videos of your language legends following the instructions in the above video.
In the coming months, First Languages Australia will be working on a guide to help educate journalists on how to better report on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and language issues. The guide will build on the comprehensive information in the Handbook for Reporting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and Issues released by Media Diversity Australia in July this year.
FLA is collating ideas from the network and media partners to improve language news stories into the future. As part of this process, we are interested in [receiving examples](mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) of:
* reporting that has concerned you and the specific changes you would make to improve the reporting, and
* stories written by journalists that you feel demonstrate exceptional reporting on language activities and issues.
Members of First Languages Australia and the Queensland Indigenous Languages Advisory Committee (QILAC) presented to a meeting attended by nearly all departments in the Queensland Government to help shape the content of the Queensland Indigenous Languages Policy.
Read more: First Languages Australia and QILAC a combined voice for Queensland policy
In July 2018, Annalee Pope and Carolyn Barker from First Languages Australia, together with Steven Bird from Charles Darwin University, visited the Mobile Language Team in Adelaide to look at the various tools they are using in their work with language groups across South Australia. The Mobile Language Team have many innovative activities underway, primarily focused on creating environments where community members can talk with each other in language. Of particular interest, were their processes of collaboratively creating learning materials to support weekly community classes held at great distances from each other.