Bringing dead languages back to life
How do you revive a language with no living speakers?
Australia used to be one of the most linguistically diverse places, with over 200 languages. Today, many of Australia’s indigenous languages are considered “highly endangered”.
Inspired by his native language, Hebrew, Ghil’ad Zuckermann is a linguistics professor who is on a mission to revive Australia’s dead and endangered languages, painstakingly piecing them back together from historical documents.
We speak to Ghil’ad and Shania Richards from the Barngarla community, whose language is being brought back from the brink.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporter/producer: Josephine Casserly
Producers: Claire Bates & Craig Langran
Series producer: Tom Colls
Sound mix: Annie Gardiner
Editor: Penny Murphy
Email: [email protected]
Image: Shania Richards, in the uniform of the Youth Governor of South Australia
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