Identity, translanguaging, linguicism and racism: the experience of Australian Aboriginal people living in a remote community

ABSTRACT

Eight adult Aboriginal people residing in a remote community in the north-west of Australia participated in this research. The data were collected from an ‘inside’ perspective and, as culturally appropriate, through informal interviews (yarning) and ongoing conversations. These data were recorded as field notes and audio files which were transcribed and used to formulate case studies. Because the authors are not Aboriginal people, the voices of the participants were used to tell their personal stories and experiences. The findings indicate that each identified as Aboriginal and according to their language group. They recognized their wide-ranging linguistic repertoire which included Aboriginal English (AE), Kriol and, to various degrees, traditional languages. They believed they were more connected to their culture because of their Aboriginal dialects and languages. Their language use was fluid and they engaged in translanguaging. Not all claimed to be proficient in Standard Australian English and some described feeling ‘shame’ when speaking this and their Aboriginal language varieties. They also reported experiences with linguicism and racism, even in their own community because of their language use and because of the color of their skin. Our findings suggest a key role for education in providing support for multilingual Aboriginal people.

KEYWORDS:

• Australian Aboriginal people
• translanguaging
• identity
• linguicism
• bilingual pedagogy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Professor Rhonda Oliver is Head of the School of Education at Curtin University. She is widely published in the area of second language acquisition particularly in relation to child language learners. She has also undertaken work in the area of Aboriginal education including research on those students who have Standard Australia English as their second language or dialect.

Mike Exell has worked with Aboriginal students for the last 10 years, commencing as a volunteer basketball coach with indigenous students, then as a research assistant and he is now a youth mentor. He has since worked across the Western Australia in the Goldfields, Kimberley and Pilbara regions for the last four years with the Clontarf Foundation.