Sounds in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages
First Languages Australia is pleased to share the first in our new set of language awareness videos “Common sounds in our languages”.
The video has been made by Dharug language teacher, Jasmine Seymour, with contributions from other Aboriginal Community Language Teachers and Master of Indigenous Languages Education graduates: Corina Norman (Dharug), Corey Appo (Wakka Wakka), Gulwanyang Moran (Gathang) Anjilkurri Radley (Gathang, Arlene Mehan (Gathang), Isobel Bevis (Noongar) and Tanille Bainbridge (Gunggari).
With a focus on pronunciation and spelling, this video highlights some of the shared features of sound systems and orthographies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages across the continent. The video is available for public access as a resource to help all Australians with their pronunciation of local placenames, landmarks, greetings etc.
First Languages Australia is pleased to launch the video with the current cohort of Master of Indigenous Languages Education students, at 4pm on Friday 15 July @ Sydney University.
Media contacts for the launch event:
Jasmine Seymour – Dhurag Language Teacher, jsmoja3@gmail.com
Susan Poetsch – Master of Indigenous Languages Education course coordinator, susan.poetsch@sydney.edu.au
Beau Williams – First Languages Australia, beau@firstlanguages.org.au
About Jasmine Seymour
Jasmine Seymour is a Dharug woman and descendant of Maria Lock, who was the daughter of Yarramundi, the Boorooberongal elder who had met Governor Phillip on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in 1791. Maria was the first Aboriginal woman to be educated by the Blacktown Native Institute. She was married to carpenter and convict, Robert Lock and their union resulted in thousands of descendants who can all trace their Dharug heritage back past Yarramundi. Jasmine is a member of the Dharug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation and a primary school teacher in the Hawkesbury area of NSW.
https://www.magabala.com/collections/jasmine-seymour
About First Languages Australia
First Languages Australia is the national peak body working to ensure the strength of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. We support a network of language centres, community programs and industry partners covering the whole of Australia, and all of our efforts are designed to have both immediate and longstanding impact on the future of our languages.
First Languages Australia connects language communities, which are often isolated by vast distances, to share their knowledge, experiences, resources, and skills.
https://www.firstlanguages.org.au/
About the Masters of Indigenous Languages Education
The Master of Indigenous Languages Education (MILE) is designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers who wish to develop their skills and specialise in any of Australia’s first languages. MILE is a one-year degree, open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates with a recognised teaching qualification (a Bachelor of Education, or a Bachelor degree and Diploma of Education) and at least one year full-time teaching experience since graduation. The program attracts teachers from across the country. MILE content includes the structures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, language learning and teaching methodologies and approaches. Classes are 9am-5pm in six intensive one-week blocks each year.
https://www.sydney.edu.au/courses/courses/pc/master-of-indigenous-languages-education.html
