Spoken exhibition - online content

Unfortunately, due to the impact of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), some of the interaction with State Library's Spoken exhibition has been curtailed; however, there is an online experience which allows members of the public to engage with exhibition content and gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.

Spoken: Celebrating Queensland languages has an online component to allow visitors to explore the diversity and fragility of Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Digital content from the exhibition can be viewed via the State Library of Queensland website.

Digital stories featured in Spoken are available online and allow visitors to listen intently to community voices as they share their knowledge and experience of language in their lives. A good starting point is the Gangurru digital story featuring Harold Ludwick which provides another perspective on the 41 days spent on the Endeavour River by Lt Cook and his crew of the Endeavour.

Next up is the interactive languages map of Queensland which identifies over 125 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. 55 of these are featured in Spoken. Each marker depicts a language and highlights a selection of language words, including greetings. Alternative names and dialects, where known are also listed as well as hyperlinks direct to items in the collections.

Learning resources for schools provide a snapshot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages as well as outlining resources and activities for classrooms. There are a number of Queensland schools incorporating language into the curriculum - sections in the learning notes provide further advice on how schools can support community language revival.

The next section provides information on programming and events to support the exhibition - some of these will be impacted and may have been cancelled; check the event details for updates.

At the end of the webpage is the selection of digital stories featured in Spoken showcasing the language communities of Queensland and the resilience and strength of community members to keep their language strong.

State Library of Queensland through their Indigenous Languages Project has supported over 105 languages and looks forward to ongoing work towards the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).