National Conference On Racism In A Global Context

Irra barndimalgu - making language good: a look at discrete discrimination and invisible language policy

Adriano Truscott (Irra Wangga - Geraldton Language Programme)

Regardless of the number of International Human rights instruments that focus on linguistic human rights of 'minorities', and the recent UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights, there is no explicit Federal (or macro) level language policy currently existing in Australia that addresses the linguistic rights of Aboriginal people.

There is a de facto form of language policy, however, that is implicitly delineated by certain mechanisms through which the language of the dominant social group - Standard Australian English- operates. Language mechanisms like education, media and even street signs are embedded in society's everyday life and implement the ideologies of the dominant group. The impact of these mechanisms, intentional or otherwise, can perpetuate discrimination and consequently be especially disadvantageous to certain non-dominant groups, such as speakers of Aboriginal English, Kriol or traditional languages. There exists, however, numerous meso(State) and micro (community) level language policy strategies to counter-act these macro mechanisms and reaffirm the cultural identity and needs of Aboriginal people.

This paper will address how everyday language use can unsuspectingly perpetuate discrimination by reinforcement of the ideologies of the socio-politically dominant group. A summary of the Human rights instruments that focus on linguistic human rights and some of the efforts being made to deliver those rights will also be covered. In sum, this paper calls for the recognition of the distinct linguistic rights of Aboriginal people, particularly with regards to being educated in their first language.

Session 11, Stream 3

Date & Time: Sunday 11 November (1.00pm)

Location : ECL4

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The Other One

Jan Woodland (Relationships Australia WA ,Curtin University of Technology)

In 2007, the list of what doesn't work in relation to effective and appropriate service delivery for Aboriginal people is both exhaustive and repetitive. Also repetitious is the sense of inevitability which accompanies this perceived 'problem', one that is transmitted through and embedded within localised practices of individuals, organizations and government. This seemingly unchanging process is informed by a framing that privileges 'the (non-Aboriginal) one' and casts 'the (Aboriginal) other' as problematic; where responsibility is placed upon 'the other' and yet, directed by 'the one'. Within this framing, political strategies and acts of appeasement, no matter how well intended, deny and reproduce embodied acts of racism. To achieve equitable and socially just outcomes requires ways of knowing and being which disrupt this binary and shift the problematising gaze from 'the other' to 'the one'.

This paper explores the author's lived experience of this 'disruption', through the re-telling of practice narratives within the context of the community-based support service, Morrditj Yarning. The narratives describe ways of working when 'familiar' reference pointsand conceptual arrangements become unsettled and challenged,and where work becomesaccountable to community evaluation and aspiration.

Session 11, Stream 3

Date & Time: Sunday 11 November (1.20pm)

Location : ECL4