[Ngapartji Updates] learning to speak 'australian'

[Ngapartji Ngapartji]

As our World Premiere at the Melbourne Festival approaches here is a story
from one of the students participating in the online language and culture
from the Melbourne Festival ArtsZine. (Don't forget to get your tickets,
the shows are selling fast!)

Palya!

http://svc057.wic028p.server-web.com/news/13/11/learning-to-speak-'australian'/52/enews.aspx

Learning to Speak 'Australian'

‘Wow, you’re from Australia? You speak English really well. Say something
in Australian!’

I once cringed at this reaction, amazed by the ignorance of someone who
had never been to Australia.

Now I wince remembering my condescending reaction: educating them to the
fact that Australians speak English, explaining that there is no such
thing as an ‘Australian’ language. I have lived in Australia all my life,
and until this year I doubt if I knew the meaning of a single word in any
one of the Indigenous Australian languages. On the whole, I still don’t.

But here’s the problem: whilst you can enrol in a course to learn French
or Indonesian or any number of other languages at your local CAE or
language school and have access to a structured course and native-speakers
to tutor you, where do you go to learn one of the languages that were
spoken for thousands of years before those other languages were ever heard
here?

I’ve studied six languages in my life, and this Ngapartji course is like
nothing else I’ve encountered. It's a chance glimpse and share in an
Australia that I don’t know. I'm not learning to count inanimate objects
like I did in my Japanese class, I'm counting backflips with the kids down
on the dry riverbed. I'm becoming accustomed to the sounds of
Pitjantjatjara, and the sounds of laughter from central Australia. The
enthusiasm of the community to share their language is infectious.

Part of the beauty of this course is that because it is online I can go
there any time of the day or night, do as much or as little as I like. It
is a living course, with online forums and tutors and because it is being
developed as we learn, our feedback to the tutors affects the way the
course is taught and evolves.

I can't wait to see some of those faces here in Melbourne and hear
Pitjantjatjara spoken on stage. I'm sure that when my friends come along
to the show, they'll want to enrol too! I'll just have the advantage of a
little bit of prior understanding.

I accept that I personally will never speak Pitjantjatjara fluently. For
me, this course is about experiencing a language and a culture, about
challenging myself as well as having a bit of fun.

Maybe some day every Aussie kid will be in position to take for granted
their opportunity to learn an Aboriginal language. In the meantime I’m
immensely grateful for this unique experience.

In this world first, you are invited to build relationships with the cast
and community through a generous exchange of language. To take part in
this online community and experience the performance with a deeper
understanding of its beauty and tradition, visit the Ngapartji Ngapartji
website.




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