that munanga linguist

Well goodness. I started this blog what... 4-5 years ago? Originally it started because I was living out bush finding life and work tough and blogging/writing about it was a good way to process my thoughts and not feel quite so alienated. The past few years I've been living in town (the big smoke!) and that same motivation for blogging has waned. (I also blame facebook - it's so much easier to write a 1-2 sentence status update then form actual paragraphs!) But anyways, I'm still here and still in the NT working on languages. The update for 2010 is that I've spent 18 months working at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education teaching language and linguistics courses to people from all over Australia and it's been mostly really really great. But always in the back of my mind were the languages and people I grew close to while working at Ngukurr for three years. And with the languages so critically endangered I had to make a choice. So now I'm ...

When was the last time you saw a piece in major daily newspaper written in both English and an Indigenous language? This is from Aden Ridgeway, who was a Senator in the Australian Parliament a few years back - one of the few Indigenous politicians that ever made to Canberra. (Noel Pearson has never made it that far!) Aden adds his voice to those critical of the NT Govt. policies on English teaching and Indigenous teaching education. Good article! Please read it by following the link . (Copyright dictates I'm not allowed to post the text here...)

Background: I'm still here at Kalkarindji where alcohol is banned from the community, as it was before and after the Australian Government's Intervention. There's a club here where you can go to have a beer after work, but only if you've been to work that day. Situation: There are two visiting tradesmen (white (kartiya)) staying near where I am who are having a quiet drink after work. They are breaking one of the laws introduced across most of the Territory when the Intervention came into being. Ethical Dilemma: Do I say something to the Federal Government rep who lives here when I'm on my way out of town or do I let it go? (There are quite a few pros and cons which I won't go into... I'm hoping I'll get some responses that will flesh them out anyway...)

Hello! I'm in Kalkarindji for a week, delivering one of the language courses I teach to a small group of local woman who mostly work at the school. Today was the first day and it was a decent start to the week. The ladies seem keen and already skilled. Some speak Gurindji really well and have good literacy skills already. There are heaps of Gurindji books at the school and I brought a stack with me too. All really positive news - a fairly well resourced language with fairly strong speakers who are fairly literate and are fairly motivated. What more can you ask for? The school has been really helpful and given students release to do their coursework and given us space in the library to do our work, so I have nothing but good things to say. But something interesting did happen when I was talking to a staff member about how exciting it is to have so much there all ready to capitalise on for a language and culture program. I was trying to tell them that here at Kalkarindji it...

So every schoolkid in Australia had their English literacy tested and of course NT did pretty crap - to be expected really given how many ESL kids we have (who go 'untreated' in the classroom, i.e. no ESL methodologies employed) and how thin resources get spread. Our Chief Minister Paul Henderson said something rather disturbing about it (as reported on ABC news website): Henderson talks up NT education results The Northern Territory Education Minister, Paul Henderson, says national testing results represent a small step forward in the performance of NT students, and shine a light on areas that need improvement. The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy, or NAPLAN, results show the Northern Territory has performed the worst of all Australia's jurisdictions. But Mr Henderson, who is also the Chief Minister, says he sees encouraging signs of improvement in the Territory compared with last year's results. He says it is not necessarily appropriate to draw a dir...

wheee! that's my joyful noise after reading Jane's lovely post ...

Hey I came across another video chock-full of language. This time it's Yolŋu Matha and it's not a language learning video. It's a powerful message from an Arnhem Land homeland, from someone clearly and rightfully disturbed by the latest government policy that leans towards developing big communities (already often barely functional) and against homelands/outstations (often places where family groups live peacefully, happily and healthily while maintaining language and cultural traditions). It's worth a viewing. Here's the message from the mob that posted the video: Created in response to the Northern Territory and Federal Government's continued attempts to close down Indigenous Homeland communities. Yolngu and other Indigenous people have been living on their Homelands since before Settlement. Since missionary days they have asserted their desire to remain on their own traditional country. Most people thought this right was enshrined in the Land Rights Act (...