Cirrus@Austlit

'The Gamilaraay language declined in use for many years after the colonisation of Australia. From around 1990, Gamilaraay people and others have been working to revive the language. This book draws on recent research into previous records and analyses of Gamilaraay and of the closely related, and better recorded, Yuwaalaraay. It provides an introduction to many aspects of the language including verbs, the case system and the extensive pronoun paradigm, in a format that students have found very helpful for the last 12 years.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Across the state of New South Wales (NSW) a number of language rebuilding (LRB) efforts are currently underway.2 We use the term LRB to refer to development of a communicative, spoken form of a language that is no longer used to any substantial extent, based on prior written and audio-recorded records. Several other terms are used for this process, including ‘language revival’ (Walsh 2005), ‘language reclamation’ (Leonard 2007; McCarty 2003) or, more imaginatively, ‘awakening sleeping languages’ (Hinton & Hale 2001). Whatever term is used, it only begins to direct our attention to the complex intergenerational task that underpins the revitalisation of Australia’s ancestral languages. One of the contentious issues addressed through the rebuilding process is that, to be representative of aspirations of Aboriginal communities, the resulting languages need to be both epistemologically true to their traditions and open to new concepts and realities beyond what was recorded, or conceived by traditional speakers.'  (Introduction)

'The brightly coloured, bi-lingual Original Girl is about Michelle's daughter Emily, and explores Aboriginal identity from a young child's perspective. It's about being Aboriginal, it's about being a young girl; it's about being an individual, and celebrating self. And this is the message we need our young people, our future leaders, and our future caretakers of each other and of country, to understand'. (Gadigal Information Service)

'The central north of New South Wales is the home of the Gamilaraay, Yuwaalaraay and Yuwaalayaay people, one of the largest Aboriginal language groups in the state. For many years their languages were in decline, but in recent years they have been revived by a growing number of people in the area. This book is a result of their efforts. It contains the most extensive list of Gamilaraay, Yuwaalaraay and Yuwaalayaay words yet published; detailed information about words, and example sentences to illustrate their uses; comprehensive word lists to locate words by their English equivalent; and a learner's guide to the grammar of the languages.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.