'Gamilaraay', the native language of the Kamilaroi tribe, is an enduring dialect which has withstood the deprivation and changed brought upon its people through European occupation.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATIS) has stated that the 'Gamilaraay' language is rich and complex in nature and in 2006 only 35 fluent speakers were identified as part of information collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics of the same year. Today, Indigenous languages with living speakers have been identified as a vanishing entity and efforts are now in place in pre, primary and secondary schools as well as at tertiary education to rectify the loss of language. This is evident at St Joesph's Catholic School in Walgett, where students undertake formal weekly language courses of 'Yuwaalaraay', a dialect of the 'Gamilaraay' language, to enrich students and Aboriginal identity.
Over recent years, Abbotsleigh has had a strong connection with St Joseph's Catholic School with numerous students joining the Abbotsleigh Boarding community entering into Year 7. We also have a small number of Year 10 students visit each year as part of the 'Applied Learning Experience' (ALE) who work along side the students and staff of St Joseph's Catholic School. The girls would have had a first hand experience of the 'Yuwaalaraay' language course and would be more than happy to share their thoughts and experience of such an enriching program.
'Gamilaraay' is formally broken in two words; Gamil meaning 'no' and Araay meaning 'having'. Gamil 'no' is used after naming people and is used extensively across NSW as derived by the Gamilaraay language.
Over the course of time, a Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay dictionary has been developed with word definitions, grammar and English translation. Please view the link below of the AIATIS website to further your own understanding.
http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/aseda/WWWVLPages/AborigPages/LANG/GAMDICT/GAMF_H.HTM
Brian Sampson, a Kamilaroi man, shares with us some Gamilaraay vocabulary in the Youtube clip below. Although the Abbotsleigh Indigenous scholars are not familiar with the traditional language, grasping a number of short phrases and words will give meaning to the girls you teach. The 6 minute and 5 second video clearly gives you a good basis of understanding and one in which you can discuss with the girls to open the lines of communication.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATIS) has stated that the 'Gamilaraay' language is rich and complex in nature and in 2006 only 35 fluent speakers were identified as part of information collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics of the same year. Today, Indigenous languages with living speakers have been identified as a vanishing entity and efforts are now in place in pre, primary and secondary schools as well as at tertiary education to rectify the loss of language. This is evident at St Joesph's Catholic School in Walgett, where students undertake formal weekly language courses of 'Yuwaalaraay', a dialect of the 'Gamilaraay' language, to enrich students and Aboriginal identity.
Over recent years, Abbotsleigh has had a strong connection with St Joseph's Catholic School with numerous students joining the Abbotsleigh Boarding community entering into Year 7. We also have a small number of Year 10 students visit each year as part of the 'Applied Learning Experience' (ALE) who work along side the students and staff of St Joseph's Catholic School. The girls would have had a first hand experience of the 'Yuwaalaraay' language course and would be more than happy to share their thoughts and experience of such an enriching program.
'Gamilaraay' is formally broken in two words; Gamil meaning 'no' and Araay meaning 'having'. Gamil 'no' is used after naming people and is used extensively across NSW as derived by the Gamilaraay language.
Over the course of time, a Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay dictionary has been developed with word definitions, grammar and English translation. Please view the link below of the AIATIS website to further your own understanding.
http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/aseda/WWWVLPages/AborigPages/LANG/GAMDICT/GAMF_H.HTM
Brian Sampson, a Kamilaroi man, shares with us some Gamilaraay vocabulary in the Youtube clip below. Although the Abbotsleigh Indigenous scholars are not familiar with the traditional language, grasping a number of short phrases and words will give meaning to the girls you teach. The 6 minute and 5 second video clearly gives you a good basis of understanding and one in which you can discuss with the girls to open the lines of communication.
The next Youtube clip, observes the native Gamilaraay language. The video is 2 minutes and 34 seconds in length allowing you to explore and hear the dialect. The Brolga has strong cultural links to the 'Gamilaraay' peoples with stories being shared between generations of this fine winged bird . It is recounted in many Dreaming stories. Please enjoy the video link below.
Kamilaroi - A Nations Identity website designed and compiled by Michelle Carpenter. Macquarie University student number 43601723