Prior to colonisation, hundreds of Indigenous languages were spoken in Australia. Just over two centuries later, only around 12 of these languages are still being acquired by children as their mother tongue from birth and spoken as their main language. As a result, Australia has the dubious distinction of having one of the highest rates of language loss worldwide. The third National Indigenous Languages Survey, carried out in 2018–2019, showed that over 109 languages are still spoken by adults but are not being acquired by children. Without urgent action to increase speakership, within a few decades these languages may no longer be spoken at all.
Given the fact that government policies have been instrumental in disrupting the learning and use of traditional Indigenous languages and causing language shift, we need to consider how policies can now be used to ensure the full range of speakers and learners of all Indigenous languages are recognised and supported so their languages flourish into the future.
In response to the need for new thinking around language policy, the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL) decided to jointly organise and host a two-day symposium, ‘Strengthening Australian languages: between policy and practice’. The symposium brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language workers and linguists to meet at AIATSIS to talk about their experiences in strengthening language in their communities. The symposium provided language workers with the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with each other, academics and government policy makers. The symposium was successful in strengthening the relationships between communities across Australia and the Torres Strait and provided these language workers with the opportunity to communicate directly with those developing the policies that will impact their communities.