Felicity Meakins
I studied at the University of Queensland between 1995-2001. Between 2001-04 and 2008-09, I worked as a community linguist at Diwurruwurru-jaru Aboriginal Corporation (Katherine Regional Aboriginal Language Centre), producing language resources and facilitating revitalisation programs for Gurindji, Bilinarra and Ngarinyman people. I joined the Aboriginal Child Language project (University of Melbourne) in 2004 as a PhD student. I completed my PhD in 2008 and continued documenting Gurindji, Bilinarra and Gurindji Kriol as a part of the Jaminjungan and Eastern Ngumpin DOBES project and then with my own ELDP grant at the University of Manchester. I have since held two ARC grants looking at the contact processes which went into the formation of Gurindji Kriol and its continuing development. I also hold an ARC grant examining contact between Mudburra, Jingulu and Kriol.
Address: School of Languages and Cultures
University of Queensland
Brisbane QLD 4072
AUSTRALIA
Address: School of Languages and Cultures
University of Queensland
Brisbane QLD 4072
AUSTRALIA
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Books by Felicity Meakins
Australia's language diversity is truly breathtaking. This continent lays claim to the world's longest continuous collection of cultures, including over 440 unique languages and many more dialects. Sadly, European invasion has had severe consequences for the vitality of these languages.
Amid devastating loss, there has also been the birth of new languages such as Kriol and Yumplatok, both English-based Creoles. Aboriginal English dialects are spoken widely, and recently there has been an inspiring renaissance of First Nations languages, as communities reclaim and renew them.
In 'Karu: Growing up Gurindji', Gurindji women describe their child-rearing practices. Some have a spiritual basis, while others are highly practical in nature, such as the use of bush medicines. Many Gurindji ways of raising children contrast with non-Indigenous practices because they are deeply embedded in an understanding of country and family connections. This book celebrates children growing up Gurindji, and honours those Gurindji mothers, grandmothers, assistant teachers and health workers who dedicate their lives to making that possible.
Songs from the Stations explores another side of life on Wave Hill Sta on. Despite harsh condi ons and decades of mistreatment, an eclectic ceremonial life flourished in the first half of the twentieth century. Constant travel between ca le sta ons by Indigenous workers meant that Wave Hill Sta on became a cross-road of desert and Top End musical styles. The Gurindji people learnt songs from the Mudburra who came further east, the Bilinarra from the north, the Nyininy from the west, and the Warlpiri from the south.
This book is the first detailed documentation of wajarra, public songs performed by the Gurindji people in response to contemporary events in their community. Based on extensive discussion and collaboration with Gurindji singers, it considers both the history of wajarra and its role in community life today. In tracing the linguistic, musical and social origins of the songs, Songs from the Sta ons reveals a rich history of cultural exchange.
* A focus on fieldwork in countries and continents which have undergone colonial expansion, including Australia, the United States of America, Canada, South America and Africa;
* A description of specialist methods used to conduct research on phonological, grammatical and lexical description, but also including methods for research on gesture and sign, language acquisition, language contact and the verbal arts;
* Examples of resources that have resulted from collaborations with language communities which both advance linguistic understanding and support language revitalisation work;
* Annotated guidance on sources for further reading.
This book is essential reading for students studying modules relating to linguistic fieldwork or those looking to embark upon field research.
Gurindji culture has a strong oral storytelling tra- dition, from ancient to recent times: Dreamtime stories for ceremony and entertainment, and anecdotes told for fun as part of everyday life. The selected stories in Mayarni-kari Yurrk, pre- sented in both Gurindji and English, capture this tradition and provide a captivating insight into Gurindji history and life.
Papers by Felicity Meakins
Australia's language diversity is truly breathtaking. This continent lays claim to the world's longest continuous collection of cultures, including over 440 unique languages and many more dialects. Sadly, European invasion has had severe consequences for the vitality of these languages.
Amid devastating loss, there has also been the birth of new languages such as Kriol and Yumplatok, both English-based Creoles. Aboriginal English dialects are spoken widely, and recently there has been an inspiring renaissance of First Nations languages, as communities reclaim and renew them.
In 'Karu: Growing up Gurindji', Gurindji women describe their child-rearing practices. Some have a spiritual basis, while others are highly practical in nature, such as the use of bush medicines. Many Gurindji ways of raising children contrast with non-Indigenous practices because they are deeply embedded in an understanding of country and family connections. This book celebrates children growing up Gurindji, and honours those Gurindji mothers, grandmothers, assistant teachers and health workers who dedicate their lives to making that possible.
Songs from the Stations explores another side of life on Wave Hill Sta on. Despite harsh condi ons and decades of mistreatment, an eclectic ceremonial life flourished in the first half of the twentieth century. Constant travel between ca le sta ons by Indigenous workers meant that Wave Hill Sta on became a cross-road of desert and Top End musical styles. The Gurindji people learnt songs from the Mudburra who came further east, the Bilinarra from the north, the Nyininy from the west, and the Warlpiri from the south.
This book is the first detailed documentation of wajarra, public songs performed by the Gurindji people in response to contemporary events in their community. Based on extensive discussion and collaboration with Gurindji singers, it considers both the history of wajarra and its role in community life today. In tracing the linguistic, musical and social origins of the songs, Songs from the Sta ons reveals a rich history of cultural exchange.
* A focus on fieldwork in countries and continents which have undergone colonial expansion, including Australia, the United States of America, Canada, South America and Africa;
* A description of specialist methods used to conduct research on phonological, grammatical and lexical description, but also including methods for research on gesture and sign, language acquisition, language contact and the verbal arts;
* Examples of resources that have resulted from collaborations with language communities which both advance linguistic understanding and support language revitalisation work;
* Annotated guidance on sources for further reading.
This book is essential reading for students studying modules relating to linguistic fieldwork or those looking to embark upon field research.
Gurindji culture has a strong oral storytelling tra- dition, from ancient to recent times: Dreamtime stories for ceremony and entertainment, and anecdotes told for fun as part of everyday life. The selected stories in Mayarni-kari Yurrk, pre- sented in both Gurindji and English, capture this tradition and provide a captivating insight into Gurindji history and life.
Despite Schuchardt’s early work and enormous amounts of descriptive and comparative work since, the theoretical literature on the origins and development of Creoles has remained largely Atlantic-focussed, although Siegel (2008) is one notable exception. The aim of this column is to suggest that Melanesian and Australian Creoles have valuable contributions to make to some of the debates which have preoccupied Creolists over the last two decades.
but also contribute to distinct patterns of language usage in the different generations.
Our study demonstrates the use of multivariate analyses on big datasets to identify
sociolects, an important step in linking the ‘micro-level’ processes to the ‘macro-level’
outcomes.
This volume also provides a new challenge to revisionist historians such as Keith Windshuttle who question the extent of the frontier battles and the legitimacy of the Stolen Generations. New accounts of early colonial history are important in the current political context, for example, with the proposed restructuring of the National Curriculum, in particular the history component. The hope is that this book will carry on a knowledge of Gurindji history or yijarni for future generations, but also make the detail of this history accessible to non-Indigenous readers.