Papers by Jackie L Gorring
Australian languages are among the most critically-endangered in the world. At the time of Europe... more Australian languages are among the most critically-endangered in the world. At the time of European invasion there were an estimated 250 languages spoken across the continent. Today, linguists believe less than 20 are taught as a first language. In the Goldfields region of Western Australia, the status of languages is defined as sleeping, critically endangered, endangered or living (Austin, 1986). Speakers, with linguists, at the Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre Aboriginal Corporation (GALCAC), are working to document and revitalise the sleeping languages.
A phonology is a document that catalogues the phonemes of a language, how these phonemes are prod... more A phonology is a document that catalogues the phonemes of a language, how these phonemes are produced in the mouth and the graphemes, or diagraphs, used to represent each phoneme. Letters of the Roman alphabet are used to represent the phoneme in this language. Some of the phonemes found in Mirniny language do not correspond to the English letter phonemes and therefore sometimes two letters are used to represent one phoneme such as 'ny' which represents the phoneme found in the English word, onion and the Mirniny word mirninyman. These are known as digraphs. This phonology document explains phonological features found in words of the Mirniny language such as the vowels, consonants, consonant clusters, syllables and stress patterns. The morphology, sentence structures, suffixes and adverbs will be addressed in a forthcoming sketch grammar of this language. Note on Spelling of First Nations' Words Each Australian First Nation language uses a spelling system suited to that particular language's sound system. This means that words may be seen to be spelt differently when they come from different languages. Spelling systems in WA have been standardised by the First Nations for their language, and it is important that the standardised system is respected. If you are not sure of the standardised spelling system for a First Nation's language, contact your regional Aboriginal language centre to find out the standardised spelling system. Location And Migration Of Speakers Mirniny country occupies a long thin strip of land, east from Point Culver, along the south coast of Western Australia and South Australia to the head of the Great Australian Bight. The inhospitable nature of the Nullarbor to the north, meant the Mirniny stayed close to the coastline, never venturing more than 50 or 60 kilometres from the coast (Curr, 1886). Separate to non-Indigenous naming conventions, Aboriginal groups named themselves and their neighbours by differences in geography, cultural practices and rituals (or lack thereof). Considering this, it was not unusual for one language group to be known by many different names. Documents held in the GACLAC archives show the Mirniny were also known as:
The arrival and spread of colonists in the country now known as Australia meant the end of self-g... more The arrival and spread of colonists in the country now known as Australia meant the end of self-governance for First Nations' people (Kearney, 2020). Traditional ways of life, culture and language were systematically replaced with European ways of being. In Western Australia, The Aborigines Protection Act 1886, and the Aborigines Act 1905, enforced by the Chief Protector of Aborigines, controlled every aspect of the lives of First Nations' people. This included their place of habitation, who they could marry, their place and manner of employment and even their right and ability to care for their own children (Australian Human Rights Commission [AHRC] 1997). This paper discusses the processes and ongoing effects of one such intervention, the Aboriginal Mission. It will show how the removal of First Nations' people from their traditional homelands, and subsequent placement on the missions resulted in the denial of access to Heritage and the benefits that flow from access to that heritage (Nichols & Smith, 2020). For the purpose of this paper, Heritage should be understood to mean language, as it will be argued language is the way in which heritage is passed on to children. It will be shown that linguistic and non-linguistic factors, such as the removal of traditional languages in favour of Standard Australian English, and placement of many language groups on the missions have resulted in language change. The effects of these changes are still evident today.
Australian languages are among the most critically-endangered in the world (Coffin 2022). At the ... more Australian languages are among the most critically-endangered in the world (Coffin 2022). At the time of European invasion there were an estimated 250 languages spoken across the continent. Today, linguists believe less than 20 are taught as a first language (National Indigenous Languages Report [NILS] 2020). In the Goldfields region of Western Australia, the status of languages is defined as sleeping, critically endangered, endangered or living (Austin, 1986). Speakers, with linguists, at the Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre Aboriginal Corporation (GALCAC), are working to document and revitalise these sleeping languages.
Productive Morphological Processes for Language Rejuvenation of Goldfields Aboriginal Languages, 2022
This paper examining the universal morphological processes used by Goldfields Aboriginal language... more This paper examining the universal morphological processes used by Goldfields Aboriginal languages. This paper will help languages that need to be rejuvenated because of language loss.
Language loss effects 6 of the 12 Goldfields region's languages as speakers were forced to speak only English on missions from the 1930s to the 1960-80s. Not only lexical items were lost but the morphological processes were lost. Six of the Goldfields Aboriginal languages are frozen in that they are not morphologically productive. By identifying the universal morphological processes across languages, these can then be employed to rejuvenate frozen languages.
The paper is based on research undertaken by the Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre Aboriginal Corporation's Senior linguist and CEO, Sue Hanson, with input from a number of other linguists and language speakers.
Further info contact Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre on Burt St, Boulder, or phone on (08)9021 3788 or email info@wangka.com.au
Word Creation in Goldfields W.A. Aboriginal Languages, 2022
Purntangu Money Noun From stones; extension Yarta Policeman Noun Also glossed as 'eagle' in the t... more Purntangu Money Noun From stones; extension Yarta Policeman Noun Also glossed as 'eagle' in the toolbox. Marked as Mundrabilla area Walka Policeman noun See Bates (2019), walga meaning ground fog and also the fruit of a small prickly plant. Maltjarra Slippers noun Extended from traditional term for slippers, as in those worn by the muparn men. Possibly sensitive. Pirkala Honey/ sugar Noun Extension of native term for mallee honey to white sugar, one being an extension of the other. Likely that honey is the original gloss and sugar the extension. Ngaltja Bates has glossed as 'a non-specific type of honey' but offers no more information. noun Probably an extension from native honey to White man's honey, even though Bates does not mention anything more than just honey. Ngamu Damper Noun From food, vegetable type food. Karnti Knife Noun Glossed as knife. Hercus (n.d.) lists garndi as stone, hard rock, and also sandalwood gum, used to fasten flints onto spear (handles). Muparn Medicine Noun Muparn refers to a medicine man, or healer. Possibly an extension from an Indigenous medicine to European medicine. Walkarn Meeting Noun Glossed as a meeting by O'Grady & O'Grady
Word Creation in Goldfields Aboriginal Languages
This document analyses word creation practices used by speakers of three First Nations languages ... more This document analyses word creation practices used by speakers of three First Nations languages in the Goldfields Region of Western Australia. Contact with European colonists in the 19 th Century meant First Nations peoples were exposed to new concepts, objects and ideas, that needed labels. Identifying the processes Australian language speakers used to generate new words is a valuable tool for Australianists whose work requires equal parts investigation and linguistics. In this paper, the focus is on the languages: Mirniny, Pitjantjatjarra and Cundeelee Wangka. Pitjantjatjarra and Cundeelee Wangka are Western Desert languages of the Wati family, while Mirniny is part of Geoffrey O'Grady's Mirniny subgroup (Hanson, 2017). Of these, Mirniny is a sleeping or remembered language (Austin, 1996) while Pitjantjatjarra and Cundeelee Wangka are living languages with children speaking the language as a mother tongue. We begin by presenting statistics from the three datasets, before moving on to discuss the strategies for word creation: lexical borrowing; semantic extension and coinage including derivation. We analyse the ways in which each language observes morphological rules within these word creation processes and examine patterns of phonological adaptation and semantic extension. Consideration is given to word creation through coinage, and discussion is presented on verbal derivation, onomatopoeia and methods of reduplication.
During the invention of Australia, British Imperialists used colonial linguistics to ‘Other’ the ... more During the invention of Australia, British Imperialists used colonial linguistics to ‘Other’ the Indigenous communities who were the original inhabitants of the continent. As the country was settled, language was used as a tool to break up culture, remove first languages and control the Aboriginal population. This linguistic imperialism continues to the present day, aided by government legislation purporting to return dignity to Indigenous Australians, such as native title. While there is a difference between the aim of native title, and the effect it wreaks on the community, this paper found that language can also be used to heal. In communities where, native title processes have contributed to the further erasure of Indigenous identities, sociolinguistic concepts of language, culture and topography, can provide means to revitalise and re-assert indigeneity and assist with the resolution of intra-Indigenous disputes centring around identity, or who is entitled to claim what and where. Intra-indigenous disputes far outweigh any other across native title claims, placing more strain on an overloaded system, while inflicting unnecessary pain and further confusion upon an already-traumatised community. This paper finds the system, in its current format, is not working because it is not compatible with Indigenous cultural norms, or practices of communication, but instead perpetuates the Othering (Errington, 2008) of these cultural acts, while confirming the dominance of white Australian culture. Yet, there is a place for Indigenous voices and culturally appropriate input within the design of claims processes. The person best qualified to speak to country, is one from that country, and the same can be said for native title praxis. Australia’s First people are more than capable of speaking for themselves. They are able to articulate how language and cultural differences in their communities act as evidence to prove social groups and traditional custodianship, more so than white Australia. Further, they are able to identify ways in which the current system could be improved in a manner that incorporates culture-specific knowledge, and most importantly, stands to return dignity to first nations people.
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Papers by Jackie L Gorring
Language loss effects 6 of the 12 Goldfields region's languages as speakers were forced to speak only English on missions from the 1930s to the 1960-80s. Not only lexical items were lost but the morphological processes were lost. Six of the Goldfields Aboriginal languages are frozen in that they are not morphologically productive. By identifying the universal morphological processes across languages, these can then be employed to rejuvenate frozen languages.
The paper is based on research undertaken by the Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre Aboriginal Corporation's Senior linguist and CEO, Sue Hanson, with input from a number of other linguists and language speakers.
Further info contact Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre on Burt St, Boulder, or phone on (08)9021 3788 or email info@wangka.com.au