Indigenous language makes it to the classroom
As the world is becoming increasingly globalised, it seems that more and more of us are speaking the same language.
And it's true - 97% of the world's population speak only 4% of its languages.
That kind of linguistic homogenisation certainly applies to this country where there was once more than 250 Indigenous languages spoken, the majority of which are now completely lost or highly endangered.
So why is it that we have never heard about of any of these languages being taught in the mainstream classroom?
Professor Jakelin Troy and Paul Patton say that's about to change.
They are two of the many dedicated community members who have been working for years to revive and promote traditional Indigenous languages, from finding lost words in archives to writing new dictionaries.
And they recently reached a major milestone when Indigenous languages were included in the national curriculum and were added as possible Year 11 and 12 subject choices.
- Jakelin Troy
- Director, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Research Office, University of Sydney
- Paul Paton
- Executive Officer, Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages
- Bec Zajac