Talking about Language
The language information on this website is a work in progress, as many Language Champions and speakers maintain, research and revive their languages, and assist the CALL Collection.
In collaboration with CALL (Centre for Aboriginal Languages and Linguistics), community members and language speakers have developed the ‘language status’ descriptions you will see on this website. The language descriptions draw on publications developed with communities, and references to these are available.
CALL acknowledges the assistance of AIATSIS with the AIATSIS language codes and international ISO language codes provided on this website.
The language maps shown are ‘soft’ maps, indicating an area or range of a language — these illustrations are not intended to show or mark borders or boundaries.
If you are a language speaker and would like to discuss further descriptions, representations or status for your language, please contact CALL call.archives@batchelor.edu.au.
Language status/situation as described on this website
| Language Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Alive and Strong | The language is used by everyone in the language community for face-to face communications by all generations in all contexts. The language is being learned by children. |
| Alive but Changing | The language is used by everyone in the language community for face-to-face communications by all generations. The language is changing from the old traditional language because people are not living out bush and might be mixing languages. |
| Threatened | The language is used by adults but is not being passed onto children. The children might be using mixed language. |
| Endangered | Only grandparents and older people speak the language and in limited situations. |
| Adapted | The heritage language is no longer spoken and the language community has made a new first language that might be a mixed language or a variety of English. |
| Reawakening | The language community is working to revive their language and use the language in face-to-face communications. It is becoming a second language. |
| Sleeping | Some people speak a few words of the language. There is some documentation about the language but it is yet to become part of a language revival program in the language community. |
| Heritage | The language is a part of the heritage of identity, but no one has more than a few words or no words. |
