E-Book Overview
The languages of Aboriginal Australians have attracted a considerable amount of interest among scholars from such diverse fields as linguistics, political studies, archaeology or social history. As a result, there is a large number of studies on a variety of issues to do with Aboriginal Australian languages and the social contexts in which they are used. There is, however, no integrative reader that is easily accessible to the non-specialist in any of the areas concerned. The collection edited by Leitner and Malcolm fills this gap. Looking at Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and their changing habitats from pre-colonial times to the present, the book covers languages from a structural and functional linguistic perspective, moves on to the issue of cultural maintenance and then turns to language policy, planning and the educational and legal dimensions. Among the many themes discussed are: the social and linguistic history of language contact after 1788 (including the Macassans); the demographic base of indigenous languages; traditional indigenous languages; results of language contact such as the modification of traditional languages and the rise of contact languages (pidgins, creoles, esp. Kriol, Torres Strait Creole, and Aboriginal English); the impact of the Aboriginal languages on mainstream Australian English; maintenance, shift, revival and documentation of indigenous and contact languages; language planning; language in education; language in the media; language in the law courts. The contributors are leading experts in their fields. The book can serve as a reader for university courses but also as a state-of-the-art work and resource for specialists like applied linguists or educational planners.
E-Book Content
The Habitat of Australia’s Aboriginal Languages ≥ Trends in Linguistics Studies and Monographs 179 Editors Walter Bisang Hans Henrich Hock (main editor for this volume) Werner Winter Mouton de Gruyter Berlin · New York The Habitat of Australia’s Aboriginal Languages Past, Present and Future edited by Gerhard Leitner Ian G. Malcolm Mouton de Gruyter Berlin · New York Mouton de Gruyter (formerly Mouton, The Hague) is a Division of Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin. 앝 Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines 앪 of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The habitat of Australia’s aboriginal languages : past, present, and future / edited by Gerhard Leitner, Ian G. Malcolm. p. cm. ⫺ (Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs ; 179) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-3-11-019079-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Australian languages ⫺ History. 2. Pidgin English ⫺ Australia. 3. Aboriginal Australians ⫺ Education. 4. Languages in contact ⫺ Australia. I. Leitner, Gerhard. II. Malcolm, Ian G. PL7001.H33 2007 4991.15⫺dc22 2006034600 ISBN 978-3-11-019079-3 ISSN 1861-4302 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. ” Copyright 2007 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Cover design: Christopher Schneider, Berlin. Printed in Germany. Acknowledgements This book owes its existence to a long-standing collaboration between the two editors that goes back to the early 1990s. It