Arnold Brown: Marriammu

A research report through Batchelor on Marriammu.

Language books: Noongar.

Kiangardarup has a post on Noongar language books.

Habitat of Australia’s Indigenous Languages

Publisher’s site is here, and publisher’s blurb is reproduced below:

The languages of Aboriginal Australians have attracted a considerable amount of interest among scholars from such diverse fields as linguistics, political studies, archaeology or social history. As a result, there is a large number of studies on a variety of issues to do with Aboriginal Australian languages and the social contexts in which they are used. There is, however, no integrative reader that is easily accessible to the non-specialist in any of the areas concerned. The collection edited by Leitner and Malcolm fills this gap.

Looking at Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and their changing habitats from pre-colonial times to the present, the book covers languages from a structural and functional linguistic perspective, moves on to the issue of cultural maintenance and then turns to language policy, planning and the educational and legal dimensions. Among the many themes discussed are: the social and linguistic history of language contact after 1788 (including the Macassans); the demographic base of indigenous languages; traditional indigenous languages; results of language contact such as the modification of traditional languages and the rise of contact languages (pidgins, creoles, esp. Kriol, Torres Strait Creole, and Aboriginal English); the impact of the Aboriginal languages on mainstream Australian English; maintenance, shift, revival and documentation of indigenous and contact languages; language planning; language in education; language in the media; language in the law courts.

The contributors are leading experts in their fields. The book can serve as a reader for university courses but also as a state-of-the-art work and resource for specialists like applied linguists or educational planners.

Recent work by Heidi Kneebone

• Heidi Kneebone and Peter Muhlhausler: 19th Missionary notions and practices of literacy. Soon to be available through Routledge.
• Heidi-Marie Kneebone, University of Adelaide Honours thesis. The language of the chosen view. (link goes to University of Adelaide DSpace archive, and includes table of contents).

The design and trial of an interactive computer program Lata-kuunu to support Warlpiri school children’s literacy learning

Research report by Wendy Baarda on using computers to teach literacy. rtf available for downloading here.

(via Jane Simpson)

Ozbib update

OZBib

A linguistic bibliography of Aboriginal Australia

and the Torres Strait Islands

SUPPLEMENT 1999-2006

Compiled by Geraldine Triffitt

Published by Mulini Press, Canberra

OZBIB was compiled by Lois Carrington and Geraldine Triffitt and published by Pacific Linguistics in 1999. Its aim was to provide a full bibliographical listing of all published materials and theses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and linguistics. This Supplement covers the period from July 1999 to September 2006 plus addenda from OZBIB. There are both language and subject indexes to the bibliography.

OZBIB is broad in scope. It lists both theoretical and applied linguistics works. It covers the description and analysis of languages, dictionaries, grammars, works on bilingual education, language policy, language use in courts of law, the experiences of language speakers and the linguistic output of language centres. Included in the Indigenous languages are creoles and Aboriginal English.

Available from

Naviti Documentation, PO Box 537, MAWSON, ACT 2607
No Credit Card facilities available

$30 + postage and handling.

Postage rates: Australia $5.50: Overseas air mail $10-$17 depending on destination

Geraldine Triffitt is a librarian with linguistic qualifications from the Australian National University. She worked as Bibliographer (Linguistics) and Collection Manager (Linguistics) at AIAS and AIATSIS Library from 1986 to 1997.

Language diversity in the Pacific

A recent book published by Multilingual matters including three articles of relevance to Australia. The publisher’s page for the book is here.

Summary from site:

The Southwest Pacific from Southern China through Indonesia, Australia and the Pacific Islands constitutes the richest linguistic region of the world. That rich resource cannot be taken for granted. Some of its languages have already been lost; many more are under threat. The challenge is to describe the languages that exist today and to adopt policies that will support their maintenance.

Wirangu and SA resources

Hermann Koeler’s Adelaide : observations on the language and culture of South Australia by the first German visitor / edited by Peter Mühlhäusler. Unley, S. Aust. : Australian Humanities Press, 2006. ISBN 0958596220

An introduction to Wirangu / Gladys Miller, Paul Monaghan and Peter Mühlhäusler. [Adelaide, S. Aust.] : Linguistics Discipline, School of Humanities, University of Adelaide, c2006. 25 p.

Wardugu wirn = hunting for wombat : a Wirangu storybook / [story by Gladys Miller with assistance from Wanda Miller ; technical linguistic help by Paul Monaghan and Peter Mühlhäusler]. [Adelaide, S. Aust] : Gladys Miller c2005. ISBN 0975791206 (Wirangu vocab and parallel English text)

Gamilaraay et al

Jane Simpson has a great post on some recent happenings, including Gamilaraay revitalisation work and some happenings in NSW.