Article published In:
Australian Review of Applied LinguisticsVol. 20:1 (1997) ► pp.43–56
Nyangumarta
Alive and adapting
This paper attempts to portray the effects of demographic, social and cultural dislocation experienced by members of the Strelley Aboriginal community on shift in language(s) observed during the period 1976 through to 1993. In particular, the effects of individual rather than traditional group actions will be considered. While concentrating mainly on Nyangumarta, as the politically dominant means of communication for this community, this paper also considers the levelling of other Western Desert languages and dialects within the group. Changes in code mixing and the need for English as the language of formal education are considered together with an outline of the resulting implications.
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