Fanny Cochrane Smith (1834 – 1905) is claimed to be the last indigenous Tasmanian Aborigine and it is claimed that with her death in 1905, the last speaker of a Tasmanian indigenous language died. “In 1899 and 1903 she recorded songs on wax cylinders: held in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, these are the only recordings ever made of Tasmanian Aboriginal song and speech.” (Clark, 1988) However, there used to be a great amount of languages being spoken on the Tasmanian island. In ‘Tasmanian Aboriginal Language: Old and New Identities’, Crowley explains that there were approximately eight, and possibly more, different languages being spoken by different native groups in Tasmania before the Europeans first arrived. (54) The central question in this essay will be: what does still remain of the Tasmanian languages? This essay will look at the ‘colonial impact’ of the European settlers on Tasmanian languages, the development of the languages under influence by the European settlers and the remains of the languages.
In the beginning of the 19th century a rapidly growing group of Europeans settled in Tasmania. The European settlers relied heavily on Aboriginal sustenance supplies such as kangaroo, used for their meat. As a result, the European settlers became the dominant group, and thereby English the dominant language. “By 1835, after three decades of conflict, the Aboriginal population had declined from about 4,000 to a couple of hundred. Severely reduced birth-rates, poor health as a result of loss of hunting grounds and introduced diseases, and murder were the main reasons for the sharp reduction in numbers. The total number of Europeans killed by Aborigines during the same period of conflict was 183.” (Clark, 1983)
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... greatly; their number declined from thousands upon European arrival, to the last native Tasmanian, Fanny Cochrane Smith, passing away in 1905. One could argue that European settlement was the main reason for the Tasmanian languages to become extinct; not only was European dominance the main reason for the decrement of Tasmanian Aborigines, it also caused the languages to merge into one pidgin that started to be the primary language spoken on Flinders Island by Tasmanian Aborigines. Fanny Smiths recordings of some native songs are the only source of a native Tasmanian language that still remains. However, her recordings are not a trustworthy source since they are not entirely in accordance with each other and because of the condition of the recordings. One could argue that European settlement was the main reason for the Tasmanian languages to become extinct.
Dr. Marcia Langton, an anthropologist from Australia of Australian Aborigines descent, spoke at the Berndt’s lecture in 2011. Her article, Anthropology, Politics and the Changing World of Aboriginal Australians, focuses primarily on the works of an anthropologist couple Robert and Catherine Berndt. They had completed many ethnographic studies in various areas around Australia. Langton states that their work has been crucial in order to have a complete understanding of the Australian Aborigines’ society. The indigenous Australian’s society has been thoroughly researched by many social sciences through the decades. Artworks, religion, rituals, economy, politics, and even claims of UFO sightings have been recorded by a multitude of scholars. It could be argued that the Australian Aborigines’ culture has been better documented than any other non-western society. I would like to capture the movement of Australian Aboriginal tradition to a more modern society by incorporating Dr.Langton’s works as well as the work of National Geographic Journalist, Michael Finkel. By researching the society as it is today in the 21st century, I will to analyze how they relate to Australians of European descent.
Wheeler, B., 2013, A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature, Google Book, viewed: 1/03/14, URL: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=NX_2y2UD5-IC&pg=PA166&lpg=PA166&dq=traditional+language+in+%27box+the+pony%27+Leah+Purcell&source=bl&ots=VLqT-Xa5WV&sig=q6F8Rp1MHhC9TF2Ue3QSLoqECN8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Zd4NU56KL4nEkwXs1ICgAQ&ved=0CFcQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=traditional%20language%20in%20'box%20the%20pony'%20Leah%20Purcell&f=false
The next section of the film goes into the language families of Oceania: Papuan, Austronesian and Australian. These languages were spread throughout the region by seafarers over thousands of years. The diverse languages that make up this region are an excellent example of how languages developed into unique forms because of lost contact. These languages are roughly a quarter of the world’s languages but barely make up a tenth of the worlds population. Papua New guinea alone for example has more than 800 languages. One-fourth of all the world's languages are Austronesian, but the languages from this family are spoken by less than one per...
Reynolds, H. (1990). With The White People: The crucial role of Aborigines in the exploration and development of Australia. Australia: Penguin Books
Watson, I 2002, Looking at you looking at me: Aboriginal culture and the history of the South-east of South Australia, vol. 1, Nairne, South Australia.
Discussion Ancient Aboriginals were the first people to set foot on the Australian continent, over 40,000 years or more before colonization (Eckermann, 2010). They survived by hunting and gathering their food, worshipping the land to protect its resources, and ensuring their survival. The aboriginal community has adapted to the environment, building a strong framework of social, cultural, and spiritual beliefs (Eckermann, 2010). Colonisation of Australia began in 1788, when Englishman Captain Cook claimed the land as an empty, uninhabited, continent giving it the classification Terra Nullius and leaving it open to colonization. Eckermann (2010), stated that the English failed to recognise the aboriginal tribes as civilized, co-inhibiters of the land, feeling they had no right to a claim.
The indigenous Australian culture is one of the world’s oldest living cultures. Despite the negligence and the misunderstanding from the Europeans, Aboriginals were able to keep their culture alive by passing their knowledge by arts, rituals, performances and stories from one generation to another. Each tribe has its own language and way of using certain tools; however the sharing of knowledge with other tribes helps them survive with a bit easier with the usage of efficient yet primitive tools which helps a culture stay alive. Speaking and teaching the language as well as the protection of sacred sites and objects helps the culture stay...
Overall the colonization of Australian is a major health determinant for Indigenous Australians in many ways. Many Indigenous Australians are still being affected by the invasion and are trying to live life in a new way to what they are accustomed to. The colonization led to many deaths, diseases, wars, violence and lifestyle changes which will all continue to make life difficult for the Indigenous.
Bourke, E and Edwards, B. 1994. Aboriginal Australia. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press.
The assimilation policy was a policy that existed between the 1940’s and the 1970’s, and replaced that of protectionism. Its purpose was to have all persons of aboriginal blood and mixed blood living like ‘white’ Australians, this established practice of removing Aboriginal children (generally half-bloods) from their homes was to bring them up without their culture, and they were encouraged to forget their aboriginal heritage. Children were placed in institutions where they could be 'trained' to take their place in white society. During the time of assimilation Aboriginal people were to be educated for full citizenship, and have access to public education, housing and services. However, most commonly aboriginal people did not receive equal rights and opportunities, for example, their wages were usually less than that paid to the white workers and they often did not receive recognition for the roles they played in the defence of Australia and their contribution to the cattle industry. It wasn’t until the early 1960’s that expendi...
Within Australia, beginning from approximately the time of European settlement to late 1969, the Aboriginal population of Australia experienced the detrimental effects of the stolen generation. A majority of the abducted children were ’half-castes’, in which they had one white parent and the other of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Following the government policies, the European police and government continued the assimilation of Aboriginal children into ‘white’ society. Oblivious to the destruction and devastation they were causing, the British had believed that they were doing this for “their [Aborigines] own good”, that they were “protecting” them as their families and culture were deemed unfit to raise them. These beliefs caused ...
It all started in 1859. Australia was slowly becoming populated with European pioneers who sought the newness of the great, unsettled continent. However, there were a few things from home from which they just couldn’t part.
The Aboriginal people of Australia were here thousands of years before European settlement and we forced them to adapt to the changes of environment around them. This change might be for better or worse, but we will never find out. But with the European settlement came the birth of industry, agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, manufacture, electricity, gas and water just to name a few.
For this summary I watched a video called Voices of the World: The Extinction of Language and Linguistic Diversity. The video starts off with how people believe that there are about 6, 000 languages. David Crystal talks about how with all these different languages half of them are endangered of becoming extinct. Each different language offers a different point of view of the world and culture. He said that if different languages are lost then “we lose the meaning what is it to be human.”
This is an incredible paragraph extracted from Bora Ring. This poem depicts perfectly of the European invasion of Australia. It shows how the traditions and stories are gone, how the hunting and rituals are gone and ‘lost in an alien tale’, the Europeans being the aliens. This poem also describes that it seemed as if the tradition of Aborigines was ‘breathed sleeping and forgot’. These are powerful words Judith Wright used to show how they Aborigines were quickly invaded and ‘forgotten’. This poem is an excellent example of why Australian students should study her poetry.