Traditional Aboriginal languages in Australia are losing speakers, rapidly and tragically. Yet in many areas of northern and central Australia, language loss has been accompanied by language genesis. New language varieties spoken by younger generations are emerging which combine the sounds, words and grammar from traditional languages, Kriol and Aboriginal English.
One of these new language varieties is Gurindji Kriol spoken at Kalkaringi. A team of linguists and Gurindji language consultants have been documenting Gurindji Kriol across different generations. The team is led by Felicity Meakins (University of Queensland) and Cassandra Algy, Samantha Smiler, Rosie Smiler, Lisa Smiler, Leanne Smiler, Cecelia Edwards, Ronaleen Reynolds and Anne-Maree Reynolds and around 25 Gurindji children.
The project was funded by the Australian Research Council through the University of Queensland.
Their work earned us the 2021 Eureka Award for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research.
Photo: Rosie Smiler records Verisha Smiler reading a picture book while the team watches on (Photo: Felicity Meakins 2013) [Group_Small.jpg]
Photo: Leyton Dodd reads a picture book while his mother Samantha Smiler watches on (Photo: Felicity Meakins 2013) [Samantha_Leyton_Small.jpg]