Non-Indigenous Australians taking classes to help revive Dhurga language
/ By James TugwellFifty years ago, students would be punished for taking this class. Now they're bringing this Indigenous language back.
Every Monday afternoon, a handful of people gather in a TAFE classroom on the New South Wales south coast and engage in an activity that up until the 1970s was banned across Australia.
The students are learning the Dhurga language, traditionally spoken by Yuin people from Nowra south to Wallaga Lake and inland to Braidwood.
In the class, First Nations people sit shoulder to shoulder with migrants and non-Indigenous Australians learning phrases, verbs, syntax and culture.
The class is part of a resurgence of interest in the language which was, until recently, on the verge of extinction.
TAFE teacher and Yuin woman Trish Ellis said these classes were the only way to keep the language alive.
"If we just confine the Dhurga language to Aboriginal people, there's a very real chance that we could lose it again," she said.
Resurrecting a language
Prior to colonisation, Australia had 250 distinct languages with more than 600 dialects.
The Commonwealth government banned Aboriginal languages in school classrooms and playgrounds while pursuing a policy of assimilation.
The report Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World's Languages, released in 2000, found languages were disappearing in Australia at a faster rate than anywhere else in the world.
In the 2016 census, only 10 per cent of Australia's Indigenous population reported speaking an Indigenous language at home.
Ms Ellis said, historically, police heard all Indigenous language as rebellious scheming.
"Our elders stopped us speaking [Dhurga] for our own protection," she said.
She said as a result, the language became almost extinct.
Ms Ellis was able to help resurrect the Dhurga language using archival material that was collected by various people between 1834 and 1902 — before Indigenous languages became jumbled together at missions.
In 2022, Ms Ellis helped publish the Dhurga Dictionary and Learner's Grammar with more than 730 words.
She began teaching Certificate I in Aboriginal Languages at TAFE in 2008 with a class of 18 students. She has since added certificates II and III.
Ms Ellis said her classes were originally only for Indigenous people, but she was happy to open the doors to anyone in 2023.
"The more people who speak our language, the less chance we've got of losing it a second time," she said.
"You can't really teach culture without language. They go hand in hand."
Invited into culture
Despite growing up in Moruya, Molly Carter didn't know the name of the local native language and always thought Indigenous culture was not something she could participate in.
"I didn't have any confidence to learn it or approach it without being disrespectful," she said.
"It wasn't even in my head that [Dhurga] was a thing to learn."
The 23-year-old preschool teacher hopes to pass the Dhurga she is now learning on to her students.
"It's important children are taught the language and it's carried on for future generations," she said.
"It's not just language — it's the cultural side of it."
Breaking the ice
Matthew Thomas grew up not knowing much about the history and culture of his homeland.
He learnt French and German at school but jumped at the opportunity to learn Dhurga because he saw it as a push back on tokenism.
"If I want to be genuine about being involved with everyone, then learning a bit of their language is a good part of that," he said.
"It's the best way of showing people that you've got a genuine interest in what they have to say.
"It helps bridge that gap and break the ice."
The language of empathy
Wendy Hardman wanted to do something about the injustice she saw towards Aboriginal people in society and the effect it had on her Indigenous friends.
"Learning Dhurga felt like a way of expressing that anger and frustration," she said.
"I'm a migrant, I'm going to learn the language of the country that I've migrated to, I want to assimilate."
Connecting with ancestors
Education Support Officer and Yuin woman Gayle Nolan was nervous at first to share language with non-Indigenous people.
"We haven't had language for so long – through so many generations. You don't want it taken out of the hands of Aboriginal people again," she said.
Ms Nolan said the gracious response shown while sharing language was a way to share culture.
"You're learning the dialect of what ancestors used to speak before they weren't allowed to speak," she said.
"I have a sense of pride to be able to speak the language that has not been heard for a long time.
"It's not just about language. It's about culture."