6 Going public with language: involving the wider community in language revitalisation

This article investigates the representative use of language in public life during initial stages of revitalisation. Based on experience with the Miriwoong revitalisation program the public use of language during the earliest revival stages, along with other strategies, is shown to play a supportive role. Fishman (1991) introduces a Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale for Threatened Languages which postulates a continuum of eight stages to define different levels of language loss. Stage 8 correlates to a language close to extinction and Stage 1 describes a surviving language. Based on this model one can stipulate a typical process of language revitalisation, starting with language acquisition by individuals progressing to groups of learners in the first two steps, which reflects the situation of the Miriwoong language. While Fishman’s scale positions the use of a threatened language in the dominant community at the later stages of revitalisation, the Miriwoong case demonstrates that this strategy can be useful at any point of the process. Though it is acknowledged that a community-based approach leading to diglossia is indispensable for language revitalisation, the symbolic use of a language close to extinction is vital, not only in order to lift its status in the wider community and to strengthen the linguistic identity of its traditional speakers, but also to stimulate active language use in the community. To illustrate this approach the public use of language as a component of the Miriwoong revitalisation program is characterised. It is demonstrated that, compared to other strategies, the public relations component is the one with the highest cost-efficiency ratio. This contradicts the hypothesis that the inclusion of such activities at an early stage represents a waste of efforts. In conclusion 1 Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre. 76 Re-awakening languages the addition of this component is recommended for application in revitalisation programs on a wider scale. Public language use in Miriwoong revitalisation Miriwoong, a non-Pama-Nyungan language of the Jarrakan family, can be classified as severely to critically endangered with all fluent first language speakers being aged over 60 years. Of the middle-aged speakers only a handful have a sound knowledge of the language but generally lack grammatical proficiency. The reasons for the gradual loss of Miriwoong can be found in history, including the Stolen Generations period, where people were actively discouraged from using their traditional language by official Australian government policies that were directed towards assimilation. This has led to a massive degradation of the language’s status, resulting in a loss of linguistic identity in following generations. With the dominance of English in all domains of daily life and the rise of Kriol, whatever is left of this identity has been suffocated in most speakers to a level where people feel embarrassed to use Miriwoong in public. Members of the younger generation merely know isolated words which also occur in Kriol. Kriol and Aboriginal English nowadays are the first languages for most Miriwoong. Efforts to preserve and revitalise the Miriwoong language have been made for over two decades and some of these activities have had visible success. Among the projects which have been part of the language program are language documentation, classroom lessons, bush trips, and the creation of employment as an incentive to learn the language. As discussed elsewhere in this volume (Olawsky) one of the more successful initiatives is the organisation of bush trips with elders and young people to enhance language and cultural skills through an experience-based approach. Because these activities form the backbone of a successful revitalisation program, they consume considerable resources – naturally requiring substantial involvement of human labour and materials that are not always available. Other activities of the Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre (MDWg)2 were traditionally considered sidelines to its main work, such as the casual inclusion of Miriwoong placenames on a map of the Ord River. In past years, however, the use of Miriwoong terms in public – especially in relation to signage – has gained more significance. What started out as an instance of loose cooperation between MDWg and the Western Australian Department of Water has now grown into partnerships with a variety of agencies and organisations. As a long-term outcome it is hoped that the wider community will progressively recognise the status of Miriwoong as the legitimate traditional language of the area, one that still plays a fundamental role today. Subsequently the Indigenous community 2 The Miriwoong language revitalisation program is conducted by Mirima Dawang Woorlabgerring Language and Culture Centre in Kununurra. Other details of this program are described in a separate article in this volume (Olawsky). Language in communities 77 will be encouraged to exhibit their language, not only in public, but on more basic levels such as at home. The following sections describe how a strategy that I will call language publicity is being implemented in the revitalisation process for Miriwoong. Interpretive signage and bilingual signs in Miriwoong and English Since 2005 work has been in progress to introduce public signage to relevant areas of Miriwoong country. One example is the erection of interpretative signage at six popular locations in the wider Kununurra area. These signs explain the traditional usage of the respective area in English and provide the Miriwoong placename as well as the Miriwoong words for relevant plants found in the vicinity. Other examples are the development of similar signs for an interpretative walking trail at Mirima National Park, as well as the placement of bilingual ‘Don’t Litter’ signs at various locations around town. Another signage project involves a partnership with the Western Australian Department of Water to create a map of the Ord River system on which placenames are printed in Miriwoong and English.