ATS3677 Indigenous languages of Australia

Two hundred years ago, between 250 - 800 Indigenous languages were spoken in Australia. These languages were incredibly diverse, though there are certain hallmarks of Indigenous Australian languages that most of them shared, including similar phonologies, cognate words, and recurrent patterns of meaning. This unit will present an overview of the features often considered typical of Australian Indigenous languages, and will explore how/whether these can be related to features of the various Indigenous cultures. This includes a consideration of the relationship between language and country, kinship and the sociocultural contexts of language use. We will also examine the roles of Indigenous languages in Australia today, including emergent Indigenous languages (such as mixed languages and creoles), multilingualism, language policy, sociolinguistics and the role of linguistics in language maintenance and revitalization.