Vlogging his language out loud!

Reading it and learning it is one thing, but sharing the Nukunu language out loud, with your own voice and your own face, is a whole other ball game. Sharing the Nukunu language through quick and easy videos helps to break down the barriers of language learning and speaking. Getting to break down these barriers through vlogging made this a perfect project for Anil.

How this worked

Mentorship

One of the MLT's key goals in this project was to mentor Anil through the process of making language videos and other content to share the Nukunu language. Our experts in endangered languages mentored Anil throughout his language journey, helping him become more confident and comfortable with Nukunu. Similarly the MLT’s media experts mentored Anil in building his media making skills and how to apply these to language revitalisation.

Employment

A crucial element of this project was to create employment for Anil during the time he was training with the MLT. Showing how careers in language can extend to both the young and old, as well as speakers and non-speakers of language, is crucial to creating a healthy environment for language revitalisation. This reiterates the value and worth in people’s skills, language and effort and demonstrates to others in the community what a career in language revitalisation can look like.

Language Development

At the heart of this project sits Nukunu language revitalisation. Anil, with the guidance of linguists and Aboriginal Language Workers at the MLT, developed his technical speaking ability as well as his ability to develop high quality language learning resources. He was mentored in language pronunciation, grammar, linguistic terms and cultural practices surrounding language use.

The Impact

As of right now there are over 20,000 views for the vlogs and language content published by Anil. This means 20,000+ people heard, saw and engaged with the Nukunu language from all across Australia and the world. Sharing Nukunu language like this shows a path forward for Nukunu and other language groups that are looking for ways to revitalise their language. Students in schools across Australia have been following along, using the vlogs to start a discussion about languages around Australia.

Lookng Forward

Anil and this project have laid out a path forward for young people in language revitalisation. Offered a job as an Aboriginal Media and Language Worker at the MLT, Anil now focuses on media projects surrounding language exposure and revitalisation. He has access to the expertise at the MLT as he continues to develop his skills and produce resources which work towards the recovery of the Nukunu language.

10 Words 10 Days

Over 10 Days Anil learnt and vlogged 100 Nukunu words and shared them with everyone via Facebook. Below are his vlogs, sharing his Nukunu language with the world.

Here's the stats

In 10 posts over 2 weeks Anil's project recieved a heap of attention, exposing Nukunu to 20,000+ more people around Australia. If we're honest we think this is a great success for Anil, the Nukunu language and Australian endangered languages more widely.