Title: Language is sacred, language is life - Australian Northern Territory language education policy and indigenous community sustainability

Authors: Janine Oldfield

Addresses: Rural and Remote Health, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Abstract: Language plays a decisive role in the social, environmental, and economic development of remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. It encapsulates both relationships of people and connections to the land, which comprises the economic base of Aboriginal societies. However, since colonisation, there has been considerable denudation of traditional Aboriginal languages throughout Australia so that only about 2% remain spoken by children (Koch and Nordlinger, 2014). A revival of Aboriginal languages occurred in Northern Australia from the 1970s to the late 1990s with Aboriginal bilingual biliteracy education. This resurgence resulted in considerable social and economic benefits to entire communities. However, more recent changes in language policy with the rise of neoliberal governance have resulted in its discontinuation and a dramatic increase in social and economic dysfunction in remote Aboriginal communities. This paper presents an analysis case study of language education in the Northern Territory related to sustainability, policy orientations and neoliberalism.

Keywords: education for sustainable development; Australian language education policy; Aboriginal education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2023.135014

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2023 Vol.15 No.4, pp.334 - 351

Received: 01 Feb 2022
Received in revised form: 14 Jun 2022
Accepted: 27 Oct 2022
Published online: 27 Nov 2023 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article