#living languages

Living Languages have created a Learners Guide grammar template, for people who want to create language-learning materials for their language. The Learners Guide is written in plain English, and includes extensive information about what could be included, and how to talk about it. The guide is designed for Pama-Nyungan languages, the most wide-spread language family in Australia.

From the Living Languages website:

The template has been written with Pama-Nyungan revitalisation languages in mind. We hope it will be used and adapted by communities for their own needs - giving life to, and showcasing the individuality and beauty of, their languages. It has been created for people to make it their own and share their language in a way that would best suit their community of language speakers and future generations.  

The reference group has designed this resource as a tool for Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people working on their own languages. Please respect the people who are the authority for the language and follow their wishes and protocols if you are not from the language community.

We would like to keep a record of who has a copy of the template, so that if we make any updates or additional resources, or find any errors, we  can let you know.

The Learners Guide was a major project for Living Language in 2019. They had a team of people writing and reviewing the document. I helped out with some of the general sections – after writing a descriptive grammar it was an interesting challenge to help with a grammar specifically for learners.

The Learners Guide template document can be requested from Living Languages through their website. The materials have been specifically written with Australian languages in mind, but it could be adapted if you’re working on creating resources for other communities. 

Ten years after it first received funding to support Indigenous peoples in the documentation and revitalisation of their own languages, the organisation formerly known as the Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity has changed its name to Living Languages, and has a beautiful new logo and website.

There’s a bit of information about the motivation behind the name change in the Autumn 2019 newsletter:

“...we wanted our new name to reflect what we see in our work— the energy of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who both care for and draw strength from their languages, and the living, growing languages themselves, with all their resilience and richness.”

This process has been lead by the staff of Living Languages, who spent a lot of time consulting with a wide range of people who work with Living Languages.

A brief overview of what Living Languages does, from the new website:

We contribute to the health and well being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through the services we deliver, by providing direct relief from the suffering and distress that arises from the loss of Indigenous languages and the subsequent alienation from cultural heritage and Indigenous identity. Our programs seek to facilitate the self-determination, resilience and confidence of Indigenous communities to develop their own specific solutions that foster healthy, engaged and independent Indigenous communities.

We strive to advance the sustainability of Indigenous Languages and to increase the participation of Indigenous peoples in all aspects of their language documentation and revitalisation through our training programs, resource sharing, networking and raising community awareness.

There’s more detail about the context of Australian languages and the history of the organisation on that page. You can also keep in touch with news and events, subscribe to the newsletter, and donate to support their work.

In the spirit of RNLD, Living Languages still have a resources overview page, and for people who use the RNLD mailing list that will still be maintained. The record of Linguistics in the Pub events will eventually be moved over to the site but for now we’ve made a record of them using the Wayback Machine.

What Facts of Old Living Languages You Must Know?

In California, Saving a Language That Predates Spanish and English

By NORIMITSU ONISHIAPRIL 12, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/us/in-california-saving-a-language-that-predates-spanish-and-english.html?emc=edit_th_20140413&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=43453557

“It was predicted that in the year 2010 our language would be extinct. There would be no speakers. No speakers.”