In Australia there are more than 250 First Nations languages and 800 dialects. Each language is specific to a particular place and people. Language, culture and Country are intricately intertwined and cannot be separated. But 90% of First Nations languages in Australia are considered endangered.
April 16th, 2024
Arnhem Land
Bininj Kunwok Regional Language & Culture CentreWarddeken Land Management LimitedNawarddeken Academy Limited
Arnhem Land has a rich linguistic landscape, where some townships claim the highest linguistic diversity per capita in the world. Each of the languages here is often composed of several varieties or mutually intelligible dialects. Most are endangered, with some smaller language groups having only a handful of speakers - while others have more than 1000 speakers. Growing up here, people often speak multiple languages from an early age. For example, KKT’s Co-Chair Dean Yibarbuk estimates that he speaks around 18 languages, his first being Gurrgoni which has an estimated 60 speakers remaining today. Dean speaks multiple dialects of Bininj Kunwok, which is one of the more common languages in West Arnhem Land.
Bininj Kunwok is a chain of six mutually intelligible dialects - some with sub-dialects - which stretch from Kakadu National Park east across the Arnhem Plateau, encompassing Warddeken IPA, Djelk IPA, parts of ASRAC, Mimal to the south and diaspora communities in nearby townships. The Bininj Kunwok Regional Language and Culture Centre (BKRLCC) was established in 2007 to promote and maintain these languages and the cultures they are connected with. It wants to to ensure that parents continue to speak these languages to their children, and that they can be used in all areas of day-to-day life.
KKT often uses Bininj Kunwok terms from the Kunwinjku dialect, spoken fluently in the Warddeken IPA and surrounding areas. You can learn some of these terms below.
Balanda
person of non-Aboriginal descent
Bininj
Indigenous person or people from this region, or specifically a man/male
Bobo
goodbye
Daluk
female, women or wife
Kamak
good, okay
Karrkad
higher grounds away from the floodplains, above the escarpment
Kanjdji
downstream lowlands towards the coast
Kunwarddebim
Rock art
Mayh
animals
The Bininj Kunwok Regional Language and Culture Centre supports an Aboriginal-controlled team of language and cultural heritage professionals to respond to requests for assistance that enable communities and organisations to apply language and culture in a wide range of programs and projects. These activities are varied, but commonly include curriculum and cultural resource development, translation and interpreting, training, language documentation and archival management. BKLRCC also creates language resources such as dictionaries and species reference books, and manages a community-owned archive of more than 50,000 items of historical, linguistic and cultural importance. You can access the online dictionary at njamed.com.
The preservation and promotion of language and culture underpins effective management of other cultural and natural assets by rangers, schools and community organisations. BKRLCC collaborates with many of these organisations, including land management groups, the local land council, research entities, media, and government agencies such as health services, educational institutions, councils and national parks. KKT even relies on their services to support use of Bininj Kunwok in the KKT Annual Report. BKRLCC has been fielding growing requests for support, but does not yet have the operational capacity and long-term funding to meet this need. KKT is therefore supporting BKRLCC to develop its capacity for cultural resource management across this region, with funding security for administrative and strategic staff as the organisation grows. You can join us in supporting the cultural and linguistic environment of West and Central Arnhem Land by donating today.
"The land speaks to us and says, “why are you messing me up? You should look after me properly!” In the same way, our language is saying to us, “hold onto me, don’t forget me and speak some other language!” “We are your language and your country, and we both live here one place”."
- Ngalwakadj Jill Nganjmirra, Chairperson, Bininj Kunwok Regional Language & Culture Centre
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