School of Languages and Linguistics - Theses
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ItemNo Preview AvailableWriting in the space : the development of a play from conception to performance(University of Melbourne, 1989)
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ItemDeutsche Exilliteratur in Australien( 1983)Translation of first paragraph of forward: The present work is an attempt at the first description and documentation of German exile-literature in Australia. As no literary stocktaking has so far taken place, there was no possibility of any reliance on preceding material. This meant that the work represents a painstaking gathering together of material. A not insignificant part of this material is based on unpublished material, spread far across Australia and often hard to get at. For example, poems, manuscripts, memoirs and novels (about the existence of which no one had the slightest idea), were discovered in drawers and in the papers of deceased people.
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ItemAboriginal language maintenance some issues and strategies( 1988)In this dissertation I will discuss some of the issues involved in maintenance of Aboriginal languages in Australia. Chapter 1 places the movement in a historical context, establishing why there is an interest in maintaining Aboriginal languages in the 1980s. In chapter 2 I ask what language maintenance actually is. Both 'language' and 'maintenance' need to be defined, and in doing so I suggest that we need something other than a structuralist notion of language. I distinguish two uses of the term 'language maintenance': (a) the activity of a group of speakers, usually described by linguists in terms of causes of maintenance, numbers of speakers over generations and so on; and (b) maintenance as an interventional practice, the approach that is favoured in this work. I also distinguish between maintenance of indigenous languages and maintenance of immigrant languages in the Australian context. In chapter 3 I assess some arguments for language maintenance, and suggest that the strongest argument is based on social justice, with more commonly expressed arguments (e.g. that language is part of identity, that it is part of the national resources) often lacking firm ground, or else being potentially damaging. For example, if a language is equated with identity, then on what grounds do people still identify themselves with their heritage if they do not still speak that language? Chapter 4 discusses some models that have been used for language maintenance, using the term now to include language resurrection, revival, renewal and language continuation. Following these models I discuss some of the causes for language shift, suggesting that an understanding of the causes may allow us to devise more appropriate interventional strategies, some of which are discussed in chapter 4.3. Practical examples of the models and strategies of chapter 4 are included in a broader study of Aboriginal language maintenance in Western Australia in chapter 5. A brief historical sketch shows that little has been done by the colonial and state authorities to encourage the use of indigenous languages. The best examples of programmes aimed at maintaining the use of Aboriginal languages are in the community schools, and in the homelands movement, both examples relying on local community direction and involvement.