Like millions of Australians I listened, somewhat tearfully, to Kevin Rudd's apology to the indigenous custodians of Australia. At long last the Australian government was doing something of which I could be proud. But the elation was short lived.
By the afternoon I was again overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenges faced by the indigenous people of this nation.
And the phrase playing on my mind wasn't "sorry", rather it was the Pitjantjatjara phrase Ngapartji Ngapartji.
Earlier on in the year I was fortunate enough to see a play by the same name presented at the Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney, and created by the amazing team at Big hART. The play was an incredible ride, and the notion of Ngapartji Ngapartji has been rattling around in my head ever since.
It's all about reciprocity, it's all about give and take, literally it means; "you give me something, I give you something".
The play also gave me something sacred: my first introduction to the Pitjantjatjara language. In school I learnt how to say "hello" in French, Spanish, German, Japanese and Latin. I learnt how to ask the time an introduce myself. I learnt a little about the history and the cultures which underpin those languages.
But here I was; three decades living and learning and growing in this country, and to my great shame I had no idea how to say hello in any of the twenty-odd surviving Aboriginal languages. But what of Ngapartji Ngapartji? Having been given something as sacred as language, what could a city-based white girl possibly do that is of any value to the people of the Spinfex country in Western Australia where Pitjantjatjara is still spoken.
And then it hit me: I can show respect to original custodians of this country, who have sacrificed so much for the rest of us, by learning their language. By teaching my kids that the Aboriginal stories we read come from real nations, with complex cultures and fascinating histories.
I could give back respect, by teaching my kids about other indigenous languages too, about Arrernte, and Gooniyandi, about the stories and the songs, about the past, and the present. Thanks again to Big hART, there's an online course teaching Pitjantjatjara (http://ninti.ngapartji.org), and practice groups that meet regularly in all major cities.
The greatest threat to Aboriginal languages in Australia at the moment is that they are not being spoken, well hey there's something I can do about that. And one of the greatest threats to Aboriginal culture is the loss of the few languages that remain, and yeah, there's something I can do about that as well.
Oh and by the way, "Wai, kulila-ya!" means "Hey, listen up", if you're talking to a big group of people.
And while there isn't really a word for "hello" in Pitjantjatjara, "palya", which means "good", is a friendly way to greet someone in the Western Desert, or for that matter, wherever else you happen to be.
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Ngayuku ini Nick-nya.
Ngayulu ngura Sydney-la. Wai, Kulila-ya!
"But what of Ngapartji Ngapartji? Having been given something as sacred as language, what could a city-based white girl possibly do that is of any value to the people of the Spinfex country in Western Australia where Pitjantjatjara is still spoken?"
Well, it's actually spoken by the Pitjantjatjara people of the Central Australian Desert, rather than the Western Desert, although it's part of the Western Desert family of languages. On a more practical note, the Ngapartji Ngapartji project doesn't actually ask "city-based white girls" to learn "Hey, listen up" in the language. It wants people to subscribe to it, at two hundred dollars a time, to fund its work.
The author revels in her passion for helping aboriginal languages survive so I'm sure her failure to mention her fully paid up membership merely speaks to a most becoming modesty on her part.
You've learnt to say a word or two and "you give me something, I give you something", right? Otherwise such fine sentiments amount to little more than self righteous posturing on top of Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya Hill. That's a Pitjantjatjara word of course and the longest official place name in Australia. It means 'where the devil urinates', as I'm sure you know.
The value of a second language?
There is no doubt that learning to speak a language other than English is a very interesting and satisfying journey. I regret that I didn't take my studies of Italian further than eighth grade! I am disappointed that the only language I can speak is English and a few words and odd sentences of Italian.
While I admire your enthusiasm to learn Indigenous languages and to teach younger generations about them, and certainly agree that history should not be ignored, I am not sure whether it is overly useful to speak the language in today's world?
If you feel it is a sign of respect, then I support that, though we all have different ideas of what respect is. I think encouraging our kids to learn and speak languages that will perhaps open more doors to them when they enter the workforce. Nowadays speaking foreign languages such as Japanese, Chinese and Spanish is viewed as a great asset and can be a deciding factor between them and another applicant who speaks only English .
It is purely a case of what is practical, not whether we respect culture and history. That's an entirely seperate issue.
Why Learn Aboriginal Languages
If you have ever learnt another language enough to think in that language you would understand. Or even think about the difference between Aboroginal English and mainstream English, why are pidgin languages created?
The language is created by a culture (as in pidgin languges) or grows with the culture (native tongues) to express the ways of thinking of that culture. Pidgin was created as English does not accomodate much in the way of story telling, or description that is used in Indigneous cultures.
Look at the history of english. It is a language of diplomacy, to be able to speak to all other European language, and some asian, and say very formally, without expression and not open to misinterpretation (ie not flowery) and so not rude, very polite... "We are taking your land, and if you fight we will kill you". The best language for expressing such ideas.
Now if you want to describe that land, how to look after it, how the aspects of it are closely linked, what the process for maintenance are, you need a more expressive "round about" and descriptive language based on action, doing words, and less on objects. The indigenous languages studied in Australia and the US are based on verbs and suffix/prefix addiditve to verbs, with some nouns, often derived form a verb describing what that noun does. Hence they suit the context of the expression of the culture and its priorities.
Languages give you a new way of seeing the world, through another cultures eyes. Something we very much need in Australia and the rest of the world with the effect of our present living processes on the environment.
Aboriginal Languages as a second language
Aboriginal languages are not about communicating with people overseas. They are about understanding and preserving the environment in which we live.
In Wiradjuri the greeting it: Widyung ngindyu ? Which way you. You answer if you are well-marang or not wiraay marang. The language places an importance on action and process rather than objects and doers, which we lack in english. Yet at present we spent a lot of time at University teaching team work and processes to avoid (often fatal) errors in engineering.
At a recent conference, Michael Mitchie, a non-Aboriginal consultant in NT, spoke about his experience mediating between scientists and local elders. The non-Aboriginal scientists wanted to know about fire-buring, how to use this to maintain an environment. The elders started to describe their environment. The scientists explained they did not wish to know this, they wanted to know about fire burning. The elders again started to explain about their environment and how its parts were linked. The talks broke down.
Fire burning is a process that links to the context. It cannot be transferred to another environment or context unless you understand the one in which is it used now. Hence despite years of research in the area, Australia still suffers drastic bushfires.
These are examples of what language is for. By learning one language and learning to think in that language, it is well acknowledged this provides a head start in any language in later life. What you learn in school is not the languge you may do at University or College, but any language will provide the skills to do later study.
It is true that it would be more productive to employ Aboriginal people in Australian environmental maintenance jobs, as they are well educated in the oral traditions of this knowledge domain, in Sydney often as much as in remote areas. But it does not hurt for non-Aboriginal people to start to learn to understand what is being said in this knowledge system.