Transformational gift

A transformational gift from the Alan and Elizabeth Finkel Foundation will support an innovative project to help protect Indigenous languages.

The donation from the Finkel Foundation will help create the Monash Country Lines Archive (MCLA). In this program a team of Monash researchers, students and digital animators will work with Indigenous communities to help preserve the communities’ languages, stories and narratives.

The Monash Country Lines Archive is a flagship program of the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies in the Faculty of Arts, working in collaboration with the Faculty of Information Technology.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts Professor Rae Frances said the donation will have a significant impact on the field of Indigenous Studies at Monash, providing resources to support the research and outreach of the very talented group of staff working in this area.

“The gift means serious attention will be given to Indigenous language and culture preservation in a way that is immediately accessible in communities both remote and urban. The project allows for the cross generational transfer of knowledge,” said Professor Frances.

“The Monash Country Lines Archive is a cutting edge way of preserving intangible heritage.”

Cultural continuity using modern day media

The team has had recent success completing five Country Lines with the Yanyuwa people of the south west Gulf of Carpentaria. The 3D animations have proved to be a very powerful way for young people to learn the stories and narratives of their country. These Country Lines have been very positively received by the Yanyuwa community and other Indigenous communities are keen to have their Country Lines digitally animated.

The gift from the Finkel Foundation will enable the team to animate 20 country lines per year (equal to over 40 minutes of animation) over the next five years.

Dr Alan Finkel AM and Dr Elizabeth Finkel were inspired to initiate the gift with their Foundation Directors after seeing the Yanyuwa animations. They immediately recognised that these animations will preserve language, stories and culture for future Indigenous generations in a way that will appeal to children and adults alike.

“We particularly liked that the country lines initiative demonstrated how technology and collaboration can help Indigenous communities to preserve their ancient languages,” said Dr Alan Finkel.

“These digital animations will survive forever on publicly accessible information networks. They will be reproduced for centuries and millennia without deterioration, providing a cultural and ancestral insight for future generations, be they descendents, scholars or interested members of the broader community.”

An alarming trend

When the British flag was raised at Sydney Cove in 1788, there were 250 separate languages spoken on the continent. There were also at least 600 dialects of these languages.

Today less than 100 of these languages are spoken, some by only one or two people. Of these, 50 are considered strong, that is, all generations of the community are speaking the language. On average, two of Australia’s Indigenous languages disappear each year. Some linguists suggest that by 2050 there may only be a handful of these languages being spoken.