When I speak language, it makes me feel [at] home.

— Roger Hart, Aboriginal elder ^[15]

I think that Australia holds one of the world's records for linguicide, for the killing of language.

— Prof Ghil'ad Zuckermann, linguist, Adelaide University ^[16]

Traditional hand signs & sign language

You'll be quick to agree that when Aboriginal people were out hunting they couldn't just call out to each other—it would have scared away their game. So they used an intricate sign language to signal to each other.

But hand signs were not only used for hunting. Uses of sign language were very varied: ^[17][18]

• Mourning. During extended periods of mourning women (but not men) of the Warumungu and Warlpiri used signs instead of speech, sometimes for longer than a year. Speech was also culturally forbidden during periods of mourning for the Yolŋu people of North East Arnhem Land.
• Ceremony. During certain ceremonies speaking might be forbidden.
• Long-distance communication. Sign language is used when communicating over a large distance as talking out loud is considered inappropriate. Using sign language during hunting would also fall into this category.
• Confidential or secret information. When trying to avoid being overheard sign language is also used. I've experienced this first-hand when I was travelling with a backpack with an Aboriginal flag on it. In a restaurant, I could see a young couple gesticulating with each other while looking at my backpack.
• Sacred information. When referring to ceremonial issues, objects and sites Aboriginal people use sign language to codify or obscure the restricted information.
• Adding emphasis. Sign language is also used to add emphasis to verbal speech (which many non-Aboriginal people do as well).
• Wrong skin. Yolŋu people are not allowed to talk in the company of "poison kin", people of a different group where cultural protocols dictate that they cannot talk to them.

In the Western Desert areas men use sign language more than women, mainly ceremonially in initiation rituals or during hunting.

Sign languages have been used throughout the dry inner Australian areas as well as in northeast Arnhem Land and western Cape York. ^[17]

Most sign languages studied were found to be closely related to the spoken language, thus foreign to other Aboriginal nations.

Adam Kendon is considered an expert in this area with his stellar work Sign Languages of Aboriginal Australia.

Hand signs are considered one of two competing ideas about how early humans developed language. ^[19] In an experiment with university students, who were not allowed to use language, they became fluent very quickly in a sign language they developed, rather than the use of vocalisations.

Clifton Bieundurry explains more about the many uses of sign language in the following video.

Aboriginal language: When yes means no

Sometimes people say 'no' when they mean 'yes'. But it might surprise that many Aboriginal people say 'yes' and mean 'no'.

Research uncovered that Aboriginal people often answer 'yes' to advances by salespeople to appease the salesperson and politely end the conversation. ^[20] Salespeople however took their 'yes' as agreement and sealed the contract with dire consequences.

Hundreds of Aboriginal people entered unintentionally into exploitative, unfair contracts to buy, lease or lay-by products and services they can't afford and don't understand. The North Queensland-based Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network (ICAN) cancelled more than 800 contracts, preventing an estimated $2 million of financial detriment, ^[20] which they consider the "tip of the iceberg".

Similarly, Aboriginal people "agree" in everyday conversations with non-Indigenous people. They try to politely tell the person that they do not want or can't answer their questions or request because they haven't built enough trust yet or it is not their call to reveal the answers.

Resources

If you are interested in researching Aboriginal languages check out the following websites.

Indigenous communities are as diverse as Indigenous languages.

— Jimmy Pascoe, traditional owner, Maningrida, West Arnhemland, Northern Territory ^[21]

Gambay - First Languages map

First Languages Australia has developed a map of Australia’s first languages and language families that reflects the names and groupings favoured by Aboriginal communities.

You can search by language or town and share the information about each language. Videos illustrate languages or give samples. The site allows language centres and communities to update information as needed.

Dharug Dalang

Dharug Dalang is a site launched in October 2010. It features hundreds of words, some of which are read out to you so you can learn their pronunciation.

The site has also background information and video interviews about language of Aboriginal people.

Check it out: www.dharug.dalang.com.au.

Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages

This open access archive from the Charles Darwin University contains more than 3,600 items of authentic texts in 50 Aboriginal languages of the Northern Territory, many with English translations and illustrations, and all available to read or download for free. The materials cover a vast array of topics, from traditional stories, ethnobiology, history, bush food and medicine, tales of contemporary life, and translations of English stories.

Visit the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages.

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (IATSIS)

IATSIS' Australian Indigenous languages database AUSTLANG allows you to search for Aboriginal languages by name, place name or by navigating Australia through Google Maps.