Spanning Indigenous settings in Africa, the Americas, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Central Asia and the Nordic countries, this book examines the multifaceted language reclamation work underway by Indigenous peoples throughout the world. Exploring political, historical, ideological, and pedagogical issues, the book foregrounds the decolonizing aims of contemporary Indigenous language movements inside and outside of schools. Many authors explore language reclamation in their own communities. Together, the authors call for expanded discourses on language planning and policy that embrace Indigenous ways of knowing and forefront grassroots language reclamation efforts as a force for Indigenous sovereignty, social justice, and self-determination. This volume will be of interest to scholars, educators and students in applied linguistics, Ethnic/Indigenous Studies, education, second language acquisition, and comparative-international education, and to a broader audience of language educators, revitalizers and policymakers.
The Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages project established an open access online repository comprising digital versions of the materials produced in Literature Production Centres for bilingual education programs in Australian Indigenous languages in the Northern Territory.
This 1988 book was the first full-length study ever to be published on the subject of sign language as a means of communication among Australian Aborigines. Based on fieldwork conducted over a span of nine years, the volume presents a thorough analysis of the structure of sign languages and their relationship to spoken languages.
This 2009 book includes papers on the challenges faced by linguists working in Indigenous communities, Maori and Hawaiian revitalization efforts, the use of technology in language revitalization, and Indigenous language assessment. Of particular interest are Darrell Kipp's introductory essay on the challenges faced starting and maintaining a small immersion school and Margaret Noori's description of the satisfaction garnered from raising her children as speakers of her Anishinaabemowin language. Dr. Christine Sims writes in her American Indian Quarterly review that it "covers a broad variety of topics and information that will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, and advocates of Indigenous languages." Includes three chapters on the Maori language: Changing Pronunciation of the Maori Language - Implications for Revitalization; Language is Life - The Worldview of Second Language Speakers of Maori; Reo o te Kainga (Language of the Home) - A Ngai Te Rangi Language Regeneration Project.
This book explores the experiences of Indigenous children and young adults around the world as they navigate the formal education system and wider society. Profiling a range of different communities and sociolinguistic contexts, this book examines the language ecologies of their local communities, schools and wider society and the approaches taken by these communities to maintain children’s home languages. The authors examine such complex themes as curriculum, translanguaging, contact languages and language use as cultural practice. In doing so, this edited collection acts as a first step towards developing solutions which address the complexity of the issues facing these children and young people. It will appeal to students and scholars of sociolinguistics, applied linguistics and community development, as well as language professionals including teachers, curriculum developers, language planners and educators.
This is a book for all Australians. Since the Uluru Statement from the Heart was formed in 2017, Thomas Mayo has travelled around the country to promote its vision of a better future for Indigenous Australians. He’s visited communities big and small, often with the Uluru Statement canvas rolled up in a tube under his arm. Through the story of his own journey and interviews with 20 key people, Thomas taps into a deep sense of our shared humanity. The voices within these chapters make clear what the Uluru Statement is and why it is so important. And Thomas hopes you will be moved to join them, along with the growing movement of Australians who want to see substantive constitutional change. Thomas believes that we will only find the heart of our nation when the First peoples – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders – are recognised with a representative Voice enshrined in the Australian Constitution. ‘Thomas’s compelling work is full of Australian Indigenous voices that should be heard. Read this book, listen to them, and take action.’ – Danny Glover, actor and humanitarian