Australia: Indigenous play highlights 'language genocide'

[Harold Schiffman]

Indigenous play highlights 'language genocide'
Posted Fri Jan 11, 2008 4:13pm AEDT

Map: Surry Hills 2010

 A production kicking off at the Sydney Festival tonight is seeking to
highlight the dire status of Indigenous languages. Ngapartji
Ngapartji, which opens tonight at the Belvoir Street Threatre in Surry
Hills, is based on the forced removal of people from their traditional
land in the Central Desert for British atomic weapons testing during
the Cold War. The work is conducted in English and Pitjantjatjara and
audience members are encouraged to visit a website and learn some of
the language before seeing the show. Director Scott Rankin says
Australia is at risk of losing its Indigenous languages if the
Commonwealth does not instigate a national policy.

"If I said, 'How do you say 'hello' in the language of Uluru,'
Australians generally don't know that," he said. "That is language
genocide and our generation now is responsible.
"Interestingly, Mr [Kevin] Rudd, fascinated with languages, can speak
Mandarin. He would know how to say hello at the Great Wall of China
but would he know how to say hello at the foot of Uluru?" Mr Rankin
says it is a question of moral will on behalf of the Federal
Government to address the issue. "The Coalition of Australian
Governments (COAG) haven't looked at Indigenous language policy with a
national agenda," he said.

"The New South Wales Government is the most advanced in the country
and has the most developed policy. "We're prepared to spend as a
country, I think it's $29 million, making sure Indonesian can be
taught in schools but we're only prepared to spend about $4 million on
all indigenous languages."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/11/2136812.htm?section=entertainment
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