Page 678 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 11 February 2009
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Late last year I also attended the graduation of the Giralang primary school year 6 class and witnessed first hand the result of the language and cultural education the students of this school are now experiencing. This is expressed through dance, song, music, art and storytelling.
When a language dies out, more than a means of communication is lost. A central feature of a culture is lost with it. In turn, that threatens the existence of that particular culture and, by consequence, humanity’s cultural complexity, diversity and variety. It also means that a source of human experience and knowledge is forever lost.
Those cultures at greater risk are often those who were slowest to adapt to a different way of life such as our so-called modern civilised society. Those same cultures that were cultivated over many centuries have a deep attachment to their environment and carry with them a unique understanding of nature. Perceptions and observations are richly interwoven through centuries of knowledge passed on from one generation to the next, often through speech alone. Each plays its part in broadening an understanding of nature.
I have mentioned before in this place how the Indigenous people that I lived with over 12 years interpreted their world through dance, music, art and speech. There was no written language when I was at that place. As each language dies, a chapter in human history goes with it, and knowledge that is so desperately needed to placate and then reverse modern society’s destructive impact on our shared environment quietly makes its exit.
Retaining proficiency in one’s mother language does not compromise the position of English as our official working language. As I have highlighted, there are sound economic and social arguments which support the teaching of a second language as well as the retention of mother languages in our community.
There are sound economic and social reasons to support language teaching in the ACT. Increasing the level of language proficiency in our workforce will allow local businesses to respond to market opportunities irrespective of their source. Knowledge of foreign and Indigenous languages will also increase our collective understanding of and appreciation for the cultural diversity of our city. At the moment we are seeing one example of the cultural diversity of our city through our multicultural festival, as I mentioned before.
In recognition of the desirability of language proficiency in the territory, the curriculum framework for ACT schools offers a path to bilingualism for young Canberrans. For Indigenous persons in the ACT, retaining a level of proficiency in an Indigenous mother language is to retain a link with past generations while keeping the culture strong for future ones. This is extremely important and I am sure that you would all agree about that.
I am happy to support the United Nations international day of mother languages and I encourage the government to continue to support the teaching of foreign and Indigenous languages in schools and, of course, the teaching of foreign and
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