Rebecca Defina Rebecca Defina i(16849431 works by)
Gender: Female
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1 Pitjantjatjara Language Change : Some Observations and Recommendations. Makinti Minutjukur , Katrina Tjitayi , Umatji Tjitayi , Rebecca Defina , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 2 2019; (p. 82-91)

'Pitjantjatjara is often regarded as a robust language with more than 3000 speakers, including children, across a range of communities. Nevertheless, the language has been affected by colonialism and many community members are concerned about language change. In this paper, Aṉangu educators from Pukatja/Ernabella work together with a non-Indigenous linguist to survey changes we have noticed in the language and to make recommendations for the future. We report changes in pronunciation, grammar and the ways the language is used. In some cases, these changes result directly from contact between languages or other changes in the cultural setting of people speaking Pitjantjatjara today. We see these as winds of change that are sweeping across the language and call for the construction of a windbreak to protect Pitjantjatjara language and culture to keep it strong for future generations.' (Author's abstract)
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