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The Forum > Article Comments > Precarious state of our Indigenous languages > Comments

Precarious state of our Indigenous languages : Comments

By Brendan O'Reilly, published 25/11/2016

NSW will become the first state in Australia to introduce landmark legislation to protect traditional Aboriginal languages and establish an Aboriginal Languages Centre.

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I've read a few "studies" on the benefits of learning another language. Most of the data seems forced and inconclusive.
Posted by Cobber the hound, Monday, 28 November 2016 7:21:10 AM
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I agree with ttbn in that learning unwritten languages used by stone age people has no relevance to modern society. On our continent there were something like 270 of them. Is there an intention to fabricate one language from all of them?

Why waste time and money when you can have a go at learning a language like Mandarin that may be of more use.
Posted by Roscop, Monday, 28 November 2016 10:03:58 PM
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Is Mise

Always nice to interact with another Gaelicphile.

I only found out about 10 years ago that all my grandparents were native Gaelic speakers - and only through genealogical research that led me to the 1904 Irish Census. I suppose that knowledge died within the family, because it was no longer relevant to their children growing up in north Queensland.

I learned Gaelic in Australia. Now, living in Ireland, it's taken on huge relevance, as I can relate to a lot of the culture through this knowledge.

There are many arguments for letting a language die a natural death, but there are just as many arguments for investing in their preservation. In Ireland, many criticise the reasons for enforcing Irish in the school curriculum, but few really want to get rid of it, regardless of the expense. It has too much symbolic value to Ireland's culture and past.

Every language that dies is like losing another natural species. Some couldn't care less. Others feel profound grief. I fully support Aboriginal people for wanting to preserve what is left of their languages. We don't have to let them die.

After all, Latin hasn't been spoken in an everyday sense for at least 1500 years. Yet, most of the top private schools in Australia still offer Latin as a language. Go figure
Posted by Killarney, Tuesday, 29 November 2016 3:41:02 AM
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Alan B

I'm sorry. Tá brón orm!

Correcting people's spelling on the internet is a low blow. I shouldn't have done it. Thank you for putting me right.

My Irish background is similar to yours. My mother was left a young widow with four children under 10 to support. This is the major reason I get extremely angry at cynical politicians who want to attack welfare at every turn. Without the widow's pension, I and my siblings would have been raised in an orphanage and no doubt abused in every way possible. Instead, I was allowed to grow up in a caring, loving (albeit impoverished) home.

The reason I went to university was because of Whitlam-era free university tuition. Today, I'd be left with a massive HECS debt, which my children are left to pay off for god knows how long.

The Gaelic schools I mentioned in my previous post are private affairs - not part of university courses. I learned Gaelic at the Irish Club in Brisbane. The courses and residential schools I attended didn't cost much.
Posted by Killarney, Tuesday, 29 November 2016 3:42:32 AM
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Tony Lavis

Thanks for the article link. Agree with all of that.

Sadly, English speakers are at both an advantage and disadvantage. English is the international language of business and diplomacy, and thus native English speakers have no practical need to become fluent in another language. So, in many ways, that is their loss.

Non-English speakers have a practical reason to become fluent in English as a second language. That is their gain.
Posted by Killarney, Tuesday, 29 November 2016 4:04:18 AM
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