Aboriginal Languages in Australia - Learning Aboriginal Words and Understanding Australian Aboriginal Culture

Before European settlement some 200 odd years ago, Australia was made up of many different and separate Aboriginal nations. There are estimates which put the number of different languages spoken prior to settlement at around 600. However, over time, the Aboriginal languages spoken by these groups have been lost, sometimes completely, and sometimes to the extent that only tantalizing fragments remain in the memories and spoken language of the elders of various groups. This has had a corresponding detrimental effect on the knowledge of Australian Aboriginal culture in the wider community, and the awareness of Aboriginal words which have been retained.

As with many cultures, the Australian Aboriginal culture has a strong oral storytelling tradition, and so the languages and their associated accents, sounds and Aboriginal words have often been passed down as an oral rather than graphic representation of the language itself.

A useful map showing the boundaries of the various Australian Aboriginal groups is listed online and is published by Aboriginal Studies Press. This is a good starting point for understanding Aboriginal languages in Australia, and the prolific number of Aboriginal words which are both still spoken today, and have been lost through the generations.

In an effort to preserve some of the remaining Aboriginal languages in Australia, some students in the Northern Territory are now learning to speak in their traditional first language, as well as learning English. This boosts not only their knowledge of Aborifinal words, but also their understanding of their own Australian Aboriginal culture.

For some Aboriginal students, English is not their first language - they are often more fluent in the Aboriginal languages of their family than they are in English. This makes a few headaches for teachers in schools as they have to adapt the curriculum to suit students who are indigenous Australians but who are effectively ESL learners.

There are a range of useful online resources to help with understanding Aboriginal Languages and Australian Aboriginal culture. Aboriginal Languages of Australia lists the languages which are still spoken, together with information which has been collected about traditional Aboriginal groupings across Australia, traditions, language types and features, a state by state listing of languages, information about research and programs to maintain and develop languages, interviews, place name information and a host of other useful details.

Remember that there are many different Aboriginal languages throughout Australia. The words used in each are different. For example, the word for the nails on the fingers or toes of a person, or the claws on an animal, is spoken as 'birri' in the Kuarna Warra people of South Australia.

More can be learnt about the language of the Kaurna Warra on this site, which seeks to expand the knowledge and retention of this Aboriginal language.

It is a worthwhile exercise to look carefully at a map depicting the original Aboriginal groups across Australia, and to ponder for a moment how extensively this situation has changed in just 200 short years since European settlement. Although some traditional place names and other language features have been retained or initiated in more recent years, there is just so much of the Australian Aboriginal culture, tradition and knowledge of Aboriginal words which has been lost with barely a murmur of protest from white Australia. One can but wonder what the future will hold for Australian Aboriginal culture, and whether the once extensive knowledge of Aborignal words, stories and language features which are so much a part of that Australia Aboriginal culture, will ultimately be lost.