Music and Language

Summary 

Australia has over 200 distinct Indigenous languages and over 800 dialects (AIATSIS, 2024). But due to the impact of colonisation and subsequent assimilation policies there is an ongoing crisis of Indigenous language endangerment. Music plays an important role in enhancing language preservation and there are a growing number of people who are working to sustain Indigenous languages through music. There is an urgent need, however, to develop further online resources that engage with language through music that can be used by others to undertake language preservation and revitalisation activities. Funded by the Centre for Digital Societies and Cultures at The University of Queensland, this pilot project undertook five case studies with individual Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people to document the ways they are using music to sustain languages. Deline Briscoe, Jamaine Wilesmith, Ruth Ghee, Robert McLennan, and Letitia Harris were interviewed to explore how they use music in their professional and personal lives to preserve and sustain languages.