The State Library has launched a new Indigenous Languages Blog!
State Library Indigenous Languages Blog.
This space will be a portal for State Library, IKCs, Indigenous Language Centres, Community Language Workers and others to share and network about Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. The Categories for the Blog reflect some of the key themes for Indigenous languages: Resources, Training, Contacts, etc.
The Resources section will provide useful Indigenous Language resources and links to help community groups and language workers with their research. In addition to highlighting resources within the State Library collections, this element of the Blog will serve to focus on community-based resources and collections.
Railways map of southeast Queensland showing the Aboriginal tribes in the region.
Within the Collections category, items within the State Library collections will be showcased. For example, the above Map is from OM73-20F J Watson Papers and identifies "The Aboriginal tribes of south-east Queensland - with map showing their lingual divisions". This item accompanies Watson's work 'Vocabularies of four representative tribes of South Eastern Queensland: with grammatical notes thereof and some notes on manners and customs, also, a list of Aboriginal place names and their derivations'.
Launch of Yugambeh Language App.
State Library and community activities will be highlighted in the Events category. This space will allow IKCs, language Centres, Community Groups etc to share news of upcoming events such as language workshops, culture love programs, etc. For example, the above image is from the launch of the Yugambeh Language App, held in April 2013.
Norman Tayley presenting at Research Discovery Workshop.
State Library holds regular research activities, including Indigenous Languages Research Discovery Workshops - these will be a key component of the Workshops section. In addition, key outcomes or findings from workshops will also be presented here. Again, community groups are also able to provide accounts of their local/regional workshops as well as language research activities.
Guest Bloggers are encouraged to submit posts on their language activities within this section. State Library is aware there is a range of community language activities in place across Queensland to preserve and maintain Indigenous languages; these range from small individual or family activities to those coordinated via language centres through to larger-scale projects supported by external organisations/collecting institutions. State Library invites language workers, IKC Coordinators and community members to submit a Blog Post about their work with language; e.g. recording language, community resource development, language stories, etc.
Digitised Content identifies language material that has been digitised and made available for community access. In addition to State Library, other collecting institutions such as University of Queensland, AIATSIS and State Library of NSW have significant digitisation projects underway. The above image is an extract from the Meston Vocabulary Notebooks which were recently digitised and made available online via the State Library's website.
It is envisaged that the Indigenous Languages Blog will be a dynamic space with news and updates on a regular basis. State Library welcomes your input into the Indigenous Languages Blog and looks forward to supporting your language journeys.
Desmond Crump, Indigenous Languages Coordinator, kuril dhagun
State Library of Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages webpages
State Library of Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages blog
State Library’s Indigenous Languages Webpages
References and Further Reading
OM73-20 F J Watson Papers
OM64-17 Archibald Meston Papers
REFJ 499.15 wat Vocabularies of four representative tribes of South Eastern Queensland.
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