Around 300 languages have been used in traditional and modern Australian Indigenous societies, linking land, people and all aspects of life. What are these languages like? What roles do the languages play? In this course we explore some of the richness and complexity of ways of interacting in Australian languages, learn about their sounds, words and grammatical patterns, and gain an understanding of how languages reflect social, cultural and physical environments. Through learning a little of an Indigenous language, you will learn about features characteristic of Australian indigenous languages including ways of talking about kin and family relationships, specialised ways of talking to show respect, and interesting grammatical patterns. English has encroached massively on Australian indigenous languages. We’ll discuss the effect this has, including how new ways of speaking are created, how languages are lost and the ways in which Indigenous speakers are teaching and reviving their traditional languages today. This course is a must for anyone interested in exploring the richness of Australian Indigenous languages in their social context.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- describe the distinctive structural features of Australian Indigenous languages;
- explain the linguistic, cultural and interactional use and significance of Australian Indigenous languages;
- apply principles of linguistic analysis to selected data from Australian languages;
- critically discuss the issues involved in one sub-area of a topic relating to Australian Indigenous languages; and
- demonstrate the ability to gain linguistic information from a grammar of an Australian Indigenous language.
Other Information
Usually offered every year
Indicative Assessment
- Analysis of sounds of a language, 500 words (20) [LO 1,3]
- Analysis of the structure of a language, 750 words (15) [LO 1,3]
- Assignment on some language learned in the course, 500 words (20) [LO 1,2,3,5]
- Major research work, 3000 words (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Class participation and discussion (5) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
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Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorial and tutorial-like activities; and
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Prescribed texts will be indicated on Wattle
Preliminary Reading
Use resources of the AIATSIS library http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/library
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $5580 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3582 | 17 Feb 2025 | 24 Feb 2025 | 31 Mar 2025 | 23 May 2025 | In Person | N/A |