Around 300 languages have been used in traditional and modern Australian Indigenous societies. This unit introduces their sounds, words, grammars and use. You'll learn about speech etiquette, specialised codes and respect language, how languages reflect social, cultural and physical environments, along with learning something of a traditional language and a creole. Language-land relations, land rights, and placenames are a focus. We discuss the effect of English on traditional languages: borrowing, language reduction, loss, shift, and the creation of new varieties (e.g. Aboriginal English). We consider policies on language rights, reversing language shift through language revitalisation and bilingual education.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:- Describe coherently the principal aspects of Australian Indigenous languages in general.
- Understand several of the ways in which languages are used in Indigenous Australia.
- Apply key principles of language analysis to selected data from a few samples of particular languages.
- Discuss in depth the issues involved in one sub-area of the course topic.
- Understand the strengths and limitations of a grammar of an Australian Indigenous language.
Indicative Assessment
3 assignments (750 words each) (10% each, totaling 30%) [Learning Outcomes 1,2,3,5]Essay presentation, 10 mins (10%) [Learning Outcome 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Research essay, 3500 words (40%) [Learning Outcome 1, 2, 3, 5]
Critical report, 1500 words (20%) [Learning Outcome 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
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Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 36 hours of contact: 24 hours of lectures, 12 hours of tutorial.
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Preliminary Reading
Use resources of the AIATSIS library http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/library
Assumed Knowledge
No prior linguistic knowledge is assumed.
Specialisations
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $3180 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $4860 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4886 | 19 Feb 2018 | 27 Feb 2018 | 31 Mar 2018 | 25 May 2018 | In Person | N/A |