Several states have literacy programs for Aboriginal English speakers which build on the students' home language. And there have been some important developments in the recognition and understanding of Aboriginal English in the legal system, following a number of key criminal cases involving Aboriginal English speaking witnesses.
There is quite a bit of variation in the different varieties of Aboriginal English throughout Australia, but probably not as much as is found in English in Britain compare the differences in grammar, sound systems, and vocabulary between Cockney, Scottish and 'Geordie' English.
It is an oversimplification to speak of one dialect of Aboriginal English, just as it would be to speak of one dialect of British English. There are a number of Aboriginal English dialects, or more accurately, there are a number of continua of Aboriginal English dialects, ranging from close to Standard English at one end the 'light' varieties , to close to Kriol at the other the 'heavy' varieties.
Heavy Aboriginal English is spoken mainly in the more remote areas, where it is influenced by Kriol, while light varieties of Aboriginal English are spoken mainly in urban, rural and metropolitan areas.
But even in these areas, some Aboriginal people in certain Aboriginal situations use a heavier Aboriginal English. In the area of lexicon or vocabulary there is often regional variation. So, for example, the word for policeman is:. There are also some English words used with different meanings in Aboriginal English. In many varieties of Aboriginal English, the word mother means 'the woman who gave birth to a person, and that woman's sisters'.
This shows the continuity of Aboriginal kinship where a mother's sister often is treated as a mother, and a single word in many Aboriginal languages would translate into standard English as both 'mother' and 'mother's sister'.
Another important example is the word country which refers to land generally, but also has a more specific meaning of 'place of belonging'. Some other examples are:. An interesting Aboriginal English word is deadly which would translate as 'really good or impressive' in standard English. It appears that this is a word which is spreading from Aboriginal English into general Australian usage, especially among young people compare the way that the African American English word 'bad' to describe something very good has spread into many other varieties of English.
The sound system of Aboriginal English has been influenced by the traditional languages, as well as the different kinds of British and Irish English brought to Australia. One of the most distinctive features of the Aboriginal English sound system is found in the many words which start with a vowel, where the standard English translation starts with 'h', for example. This feature is shared with many other varieties of English around the world, such as Cockney English.
The traditional Aboriginal languages have no 'h' sound. Over the generations, Aboriginal speakers have learnt English with an Aboriginal accent. So when they have learnt standard English words which start with an 'h' sound, the Aboriginal accent has produced such words without this 'h' sound. This pronunciation is probably also influenced by the accent of many of the early non-Aboriginal Australians especially Cockney convicts , and it also coincides with some other nonstandard varieties of English.
But it is a mistake to assume that the pronunciation of words without 'h' is 'uneducated' English. It is just as much a part of the Aboriginal accent, as the 'sophisticated and charming' vowel pronunciations of French speakers of English are part of the French accent.
It should be respected as part of the Aboriginal accent, and recognized as a feature of which many Aboriginal people are proud. While this feature of Aboriginal English pronunciation is shared with a number of other non-standard English varieties, there is a related characteristic of Aboriginal English pronunciation which is much less commonly found in non-Aboriginal varieties of English: namely the addition of the h sound to English words which start in a vowel, as in:.
This tendency to overcompensate in using the 'h' sound at the beginning of a word is an example of a general linguistic pattern, technically known as 'hypercorrection'. Different examples of hypercorrection can be found in diverse language situations throughout the world. In heavy varieties of Aboriginal English we see a different pattern of consonants when compared to Standard English and General Australian English, for example:.
Aboriginal English. Perhaps one of the most persistent and widespread grammatical features of Aboriginal English involves the structure of questions. It is common for Aboriginal English speakers to ask a question using the structure of a statement with rising question intonation. This structure is also used sometimes in colloquial Standard English. We collected Aboriginal English stories about family, history and the supernatural. From there, we studied the conventions that arise from the way language is used in society.
Here are ten features unique to Aboriginal English, based on our observations in Nyungar country in Perth, Western Australia. Aboriginal English speakers convey respect by referring to people as Auntie or Uncle, including senior people the speaker has never met before. Aboriginal English also makes use of reciprocal address , where certain words apply to people interchangeably. While Standard Australian English speakers are expected to hold direct eye contact, for some speakers of Aboriginal English this can be perceived as rude or threatening.
The term unna is frequently used at the end of spoken utterances to establish shared knowledge. With those Aboriginal Englishes, the speakers of Aboriginal Englishes, can range from the influence from their traditional language being more concentrated, through to those Aboriginal Englishes that are more highly influenced by Standard Australian English.
Research is gradually revealing the differences between Aboriginal English and Australian English. Professor Farzad Sharifian has described how these can be subtle underlying features that are not obvious. This is where teachers would really need to know, would need awareness, in order to make a distinction between what is at the surface level Australian English and what is not, what is actually, at the deeper level, Aboriginal English, and to link the two varieties that the students are supposed to operate in, which is their home dialect as well as their second dialect, which is Standard Australian English that they are there to learn.
So the aim really is to enable teachers to help students develop bidialectal competence, is competence in the two varieties of English, and this is often quite a challenge for teachers. But the reward I think is significant if we can get there.
In the next link you can hear more about some of the more obvious differences from another linguist, Professor Ian Malcolm.
The 27th of May White Australians were voting in a referendum to change the Constitution. Even more noteworthy is the fact that it was only in that the High Court ruled to change the lie that this country was founded on — that it was terra nullius: vacant land.
During this time, significant differences became evident in the way Aboriginal people spoke, as Professor Ian Malcolm explains. They are systematically changing the whole way in which English is bolted together. Aboriginal English has dispensed with them and found other ways to make the same meanings come across. It is even more important to support students who speak a different dialect, than those who speak a different language.
If students come to school speaking a different language, everyone tends to be aware of that and will make an effort to ensure that they are given appropriate support. In the case of Aboriginal English speakers, many teachers do not realise that such children need support, because it is not so obvious that they may not understand Australian English.
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