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.