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What would you do?
Caroline Tennant Kelly with two of her photos from the Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement (Source: Sydney Morning Herald at http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/the-bohemian-and-her-mission-20100416-skgk.html) In...
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Language test masquerading as literacy and numeracy test
Gunbalanya School in West Arnhem Land (Source: abc.net.au) Last week, the results of the 2012 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) were published. As has been the case since...
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Linguistic diversity and social inclusion in Australia
2012 workshop on ‘Linguistic Diversity and Social Inclusion in Australia’ at Macquarie University How does language intersect with social inclusion in contemporary Australia? Do social inclusion...
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Dodgy data and language misdiagnosis
2014 NAPLAN Year 3 Numeracy test results by language status In Australia the results of last year’s round of student and school performance on national standardized testing have just been published. As...
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We all have a culture, we all speak a language: the Australian legal system...
Panel on Representing Culturally Diverse Clients Cultural Diversity and the Law: Access to justice in multicultural Australia was a conference held in Sydney on the 13th and 14th of March. Jointly run...
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Yiman does not have a word for ‘massacre’
Memorial to Yiman leader Bilba at Wallumbilla (Source: Goodbye Bussamarai) On October 27, 1857, a group of Aboriginal Australians, members of a group known as Yiman carried out a massacre: they...
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Translation challenges of Kriol signage in the Top End
Supposedly Kriol signage at Rapid Creek, Darwin When I shared this Kriol sign on Facebook as an example of a bad Kriol translation, a first language Kriol speaker commented: Im nomo Kriol garjinga,...
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Aboriginal languages matter – but to who?
NAIDOC Week 2017 Logo Every year, the first week of July marks NAIDOC Week – a time to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and recognise the achievements of first Australians. The...
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Literacy and the differential value of knowledge
In today’s world, “literacy” is strongly associated with competence: the ability to read and write is the pre-condition for the acquisition of all kinds of knowledge and skills. The basic rule of thumb...
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Are Aboriginal languages really useless in the workplace?
Click on this image to view video about the role of English and local languages in the educational experiences of Aboriginal children in remote communities Editor’s Note: March 21 is Harmony Day in...
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Language and Indigenous Disadvantage
Indigenous Australians are imprisoned at much higher rates than non-Indigenous Australians (Source: Australian Law Reform Commission) Note: This post was co-authored with Laura Smith-Khan. Language on...
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What can Australian Message Sticks teach us about literacy?
Few people have ever heard about a fascinating form of visual communication used by Indigenous Australians: message sticks. When I teach about the invention of writing, I usually mention them in a...
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Decolonising sociolinguistic research
Celeste Rodriguez Louro and Glenys Collard, University of Western Australia *** The histories and everyday experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia are etched in the...
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Indigenous language denialism in Australia
Gerald Roche (Senior Research Fellow, La Trobe University) and Jakelin Troy (Director, Indigenous Research, The University of Sydney) *** Source: Australian Museum Editor’s note: This week (Nov 08-15)...
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Language on the Move Reading Challenge 2021
2020 has been a strange year for reading: some of us have had a lot more time for reading, others far less. Regardless whether you’ve been able to indulge or have missed out, most Language on the Move...
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