Based on information delivered by Australian Associated Press, AustraliaNews.com reports on an interesting initiative led by the New South Wales Library, Sydney.

Of the over 250 Aboriginal languages spoken in Australia at the time the colonists arrived, only around fifteen are still spoken at all ages of their home community nowadays. What’s more, a fair number of researchers work on documenting Aboriginal languages that are often either extinct or moribund.

The NSW State Library has recently identified a significant source for documentation, unexploited so far: the letters and diaries of British naval officers, surveyors and missionaries. According to the library’s acting chief executive, Noelle Nelson, « (…) fragments of these languages can be found among the letters, diaries and journals of British naval officers, surveyors and missionaries held, in the State Library’s unrivalled collections. (…) These first-hand accounts are often the only surviving records of many indigenous languages. »

A three-year study of these precious documents aims to identify as many word lists as possible and make them available to their relevant indigenous communities.

The project, entitled « Rediscovering indigenous Languages », will be led with the support of mining giant Rio Tinto.

Full article available here.

Read or re-read the latest news on Aboriginal languages:

• June 23, 2011: Australian government announces $47 million budget for Aboriginal cultures

• June 2011: Interview with Barbara Glowczewski on publication of «The Challenge of Indigenous Peoples»

• May 21, 2011: «Speaking one’s mother tongue is vital», The Australian.

• November 3, 2010: article on Australian Aboriginal languages published in Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes.

Read or re-read Maïa Ponsonnet’s contributions to our blog:

• The Australian tradition of multilingualism and the post-colonial context

• The ideology of monolingualism in the Australian context