The language we speak
By ABC Open Producer Alex Smee for ABC Mother Tongue, 5 Sep 2014.
English allows me to communicate with the people in my world. I can use my words to ask for a second helping, to invite someone to the movies or to find the closest toilet. It’s a very practical thing.
But I also think and dream in English. Every idea and feeling that rolls through my mind is there because I have my own system of understanding, and I’m not just in tune with it, it’s who I am. Where and how I have lived my life has determined how I understand the world and the way I express that.
From the limited time I have worked in the Kimberley, I have learnt that words don’t always translate across the languages. The concepts behind words are often unfamiliar because where and how we have lived our lives is very different.
I’m thinking about these things because I have spent the last week at the Wanala language conference doing video workshops. This is a bi-annual meeting of top end and WA Aboriginal language workers. I was blown away by how dedicated everyone is to preserving their traditional languages.
I shouldn’t have been so surprised. If someone gave me a new language, that wasn’t relevant to my experience and understanding of the world, I think I would also dedicate myself to getting my words back too.
Below is a link to the video we made in the workshop. It features lots of language champions and some words, but I can’t tell you what the words are in English, because I don’t know how to translate them. The closest English equivalent is probably ’Welcome’. Just think of it as a greeting, and then wrap that in good feelings… or just watch the video. You’ll get it.
