Cover not available
Article published In:
Australian Contact Languages
Edited by Carmel O'Shannessy, Denise Angelo and Jane Simpson
[Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 39:1] 2024
► pp. 219–249

Recognising Yarrie Lingo, the creole language of Yarrabah community in far north-eastern Queensland Australia

ORCID logo | Australian National University
ORCID logo | Australian National University

Yarrie Lingo is the local name for the English-lexified creole language spoken in the Aboriginal community of Yarrabah in far north-eastern Queensland, Australia. This creole has only recently been gaining recognition but it is the main language of everyday interactions in Yarrabah. This study describes the recognitional trajectory of Yarrie Lingo and what has fostered this language awareness. With a focus on the experiences of the local Aboriginal educator, language activist and researcher, Bernadine Yeatman, we showcase a range of grounded methodologies, including devices like language posters, interviews and illustrative stories, along with maps, timelines and cartoons developed in conjunction with a linguist, Denise Angelo. This shines a light onto the practical ‘how to’ of language awareness for under-recognised language communities and the potential support a linguist can provide. It exemplifies a research approach which engages linguistic knowledge with local language expertise to co-design materials for community members, educators and service providers.

Keywords: Yarrie Lingo, Yarrabah Creole, Australian creoles, pidgin and creole languages, language recognition, language awareness, language shift, creoles in education, English as a Second Language for creole speakers, grounded language research methodology
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The start of my personal language awareness journey
  • 3.Yarrabah community history – A language perspective
  • 4.A family language story
  • 5.Continuing my language awareness journey
    • 5.1School initiative: Language of Maths
    • 5.2Community initiative: Vernacular Language Poster ‘At da Crick’
  • 6.Raising the recognition trajectory of Yarrie Lingo
    • 6.1Grounded methodologies for community and educators
    • 6.2Recognition of Yarrie Lingo in the public domain
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 3.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 20 November 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jpcl.00124.yea
References (63)
Alexander, Diane
1965 Yarrabah Aboriginal English [BAHons thesis]. Brisbane: University of Queensland.
Angelo, Denise
2021a Countering misrecognition of contact languages and their ecologies in Australia [PhD Thesis]. Canberra: Australian National University.
2021b Creoles, education and policy. In Umberto Ansaldo & Miriam Meyerhoff. (eds.), The Routledge handbook of pidgin and creole languages, 286–301. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
2023 Contact language case studies. In Claire Bowern. (ed.) The Oxford guide to Australian languages, 765–80. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Angelo, Denise & Nina Carter
2015 Schooling within shifting langscapes: Educational responses within complex Indigenous language ecologies. In Androula Yiakoumetti. (ed.), Multilingualism and Language in Education: Current Sociolinguistic and Pedagogical Perspectives from Commonwealth Countries, 119–40. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Angelo, Denise, Henry Fraser & Bernadine Yeatman
2019a The art of recognition. Visualising contact languages with Community Vernacular Language Posters. Babel 54. 34–40.Google Scholar
Angelo, Denise & Catherine Hudson
2020 From the periphery to the centre: Securing the place at the heart of the TESOL field for First Nations learners of English as an Additional Language/Dialect. TESOL in Context 29. 5–35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Angelo, Denise & Sophie McIntosh
2014 Anomalous data about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language ecologies. In Elke Stracke. (ed.), Intersections: Applied Linguistics as a Meeting Place, 270–93. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Angelo, Denise, Carmel O’Shannessy, Jane Simpson, Inge Kral, Hilary Smith & Emma Browne
2019b Well-being and Indigenous Language Ecologies (WILE): a strengths-based approach. [Literature Review, National Indigenous Languages Report, Pillar 2]. ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian National UniversityGoogle Scholar
Angelo, Denise & Susan Poetsch
2019 From the ground up: How Aboriginal languages teachers design school-based programs in their local language ecology, with Carmel Ryan, Marmingee Hand, Nathan Schrieber and Michael Jarrett. Babel 54. 11–20.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
2016 Australian Standard Classification of Languages (ASCL) – 1267.0. [URL]
2021 Yarrabah 2021 Census all persons QuickStats local giovernment area LGA37600. [URL]
2022 Language Statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Canberra: ABS. [URL]
Australian Government
n.d. Closing the Gap targets and outcomes. [URL]
Berry, Roslyn & Joyce Hudson
1997 Making the jump: A resource book for teachers of Aboriginal students. Broome, W.A.: Catholic Education Office.Google Scholar
Bottoms, Timothy
2016 Cairns : city of the South Pacific: a history 1770–1995. Edge Hill, Qld: Bunu Bunu Press.Google Scholar
Bowern, Claire
(ed.) 2023 The Oxford guide to Australian languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carter, Nina, Denise Angelo & Catherine Hudson
2020 Translanguaging the curriculum: A critical language awareness curriculum for silenced Indigenous voices. In Peter Mickan & Ilona Wallace. (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Education Curriculum Design, 144–74. New York/London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.Google Scholar
Catholic Education Office Broome
1994 FELIKS – Fostering English Language in Kimberley Schools – a Professional Development Package for Primary Schools. Aboriginal Child at School 22. 23–24.Google Scholar
Cedric, Denise & Di Hoy
2014 Supporting Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children who speak languages other than English. Brisbane: Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority. [URL]
Clyne, Michael
2005 Australia’s Language Potential. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.Google Scholar
Copland, Mark
2005 Calculating Lives: The Numbers and Narratives of Forced Removals in Queensland 1859–1972 [PhD Thesis]. Brisbane: Griffith University.
Crowley, Terry & Bruce Rigsby
1979 Cape York Creole. In Timothy Shopen. (ed.), Languages and their status, 153–207. Cambridge MA: Winthrop Publishers Inc.Google Scholar
Denigan, Kathleen
2008 Reflections in Yarrabah. Yarrabah, QLD: Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council.Google Scholar
Dinku, Yonatan, Francis Markham, Danielle Venn, Denise Angelo, Jane Simpson, Carmel O’Shannessy, Janet Hunt & Tony Dreise
2020 Language use is connected to indicators of wellbeing: Evidence from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey 2014/15. CAEPR Working Paper 137/2020. Canberra: Australian National University Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR). [URL]
Dutton, Tom
1983 The Origin and Spread of Aboriginal Pidgin English in Queensland: A Preliminary Account. Aboriginal History 7. 90–122.Google Scholar
Education Queensland (EQ)
2000a Partners for success: Strategy for the continuous improvement of education and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Education Queensland. Brisbane: Queensland Government (Education Queensland).Google Scholar
2000b Review of education and employment programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Education Queensland. Brisbane: Queensland Government.Google Scholar
Gourlay, Claire & Ilana Mushin
2015 ‘Up dere la’: Final particle la in a Queensland Aboriginal vernacular. Australian Journal of Linguistics 34. 76–101. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holzberger, Natasha
2011 Before and after: The assessment of spoken and written language samples to inform teaching. Practically Primary 16. 24–28.Google Scholar
Hume, Lynne
1989 Yarrabah: Christian Phoenix. Christianity and social change on an Aboriginal reserve [PhD Thesis]. Brisbane: University of Queensland.
1991 Them days: Life on an Aboriginal reserve 1892–1960. Aboriginal History 15. 4–24.Google Scholar
Indigenous Education and Training Alliance (IETA)
n.d. Speech examples for North Queensland. The FELIKS approach [DVD]. Cairns QLD: IETA.
Jones, Paul
2005 Chinese-Australian journeys. Records on Travel, Migration and Settlement, 1860–1975. Canberra: National Archives of Australia.Google Scholar
Kaplan, Robert B. & Richard B. Baldauf
2008 An Ecology Perspective on Language Planning. In Nancy H. Hornberger. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 2937–48. Boston, MA: Springer US. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Knight, Libby
2003 Right Talk Right Place: A resource book for teachers of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students in north Queensland schools. Townsville: Catholic Education Office.Google Scholar
Language Perspectives
2009 At da crick: Yarrabah [Community Vernacular Language Poster]. Cairns: Indigenous Schooling Support Unit, Department of Education and Training (DET) (Qld).Google Scholar
McIntosh, Sophie, Renae O’Hanlon & Denise Angelo
2012 The (in)visibility of “language” within Australian education documentation: Differentiating language from literacy and exploring particular ramifications for a group of “hidden” ESL/D learners. In Christina Gitsaki & Richard Baldauf. (eds.), Future directions in applied linguistics: Local and global perspectives, 448–68. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Meakins, Felicity
2014 Language contact varieties. In Harold Koch & Rachel Nordlinger. (eds.), The Languages and Linguistics of Australia, A Comprehensive Guide, 361–411. Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter Mouton. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Migge, Bettina, Isabelle Léglise & Angela Bartens
2010a Creoles in education. A discussion of pertinent issues. In Bettina Migge, Isabelle Léglise & Angela Bartens. (eds.), Creoles in education. An appraisal of current programs, 1–30. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(eds.) 2010b Creoles in education. An appraisal of current programs. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mushin, Ilana, Denise Angelo & Jennifer M. Munro
2016 Same but different. Understanding language contact in Queensland Indigenous settlements. In Jean-Christophe Verstraete & Diane Hafner. (eds.), Land and language in Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf country, 383–407. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
O’Shannessy, Carmel & Felicity Meakins
2016 Australian language contact in synchronic and historical perspective. In Felicity Meakins & Carmel O’Shanessy. (eds.), Loss and renewal. Australian languages since colonisation, 3–26. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Prasad, Jocelyn & Stefanie Zingsheim
2019 A man of his word: revitalising an Indigenous language. Students of Yarrabah embrace Gunggay language. Sydney: University of Sydney. [URL]
Queensland Government
1963 [1865] Industrial and reformatory schools act. Brisbane QLD: Government Printer. [URL]
1963 [1897] Aborigines protection and restriction of the sale of opium act. Brisbane: Government Printer. [URL]
n.d. Being a communicator – language development strategies in Indigenous early childhood. Brisbane. [URL]
Sellwood, Juanita & Denise Angelo
2013 Everywhere and nowhere: invisibility of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contact languages in education and Indigenous language contexts. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 36. 250–66. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shnukal, Anna
1985 Variation in Torres Strait Creole: a preliminary discussion. In S. Wurm. (ed.) Papers in Pidgin and Creole Linguistics No. 4. A-72, 155–75. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics Australian National University.Google Scholar
Siegel, Jeff
2006 Keeping creoles and dialects out of the classroom: Is it justified? In Shondelle Nero. (ed.) Dialects, Englishes, creoles, and education, 39–67. Erlbaum: Mahwah NJ.Google Scholar
2007 Creoles and Minority Dialects in Education: An Update. Language and Education 21. 66–86. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2010 Second Dialect Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Simpson, Jane, Samantha Disbray & Carmel O’Shannessy
2019 Setting the scene: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and teaching. Babel 54. 6–10.Google Scholar
Simpson, Jane & Gillian Wigglesworth
2019 Language diversity in Indigenous Australia in the 21st century. Current Issues in Language Planning 20. 67–80. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Pauline
2005 An illuminative participatory evaluation of the response of Queensland schools to Indigenous literacy policies [PhD Thesis]. Cairns QLD: James Cook University.
Thomson, Judy
1989 Reaching Back: Queensland Aboriginal People Recall Early Days at Yarrabah Mission. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.Google Scholar
UN General Assembly
1948 Universal declaration of human rights. Paris: United Nations. [URL]
1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: United Nations. [URL]
1992 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. [URL]
2007 United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples. [URL]
Verstraete, Jean-Christophe & Diane Hafner
(eds.) 2016 Land and Language in Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf Country. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wingard, Barb & Jane Lester
2001 Telling our stories in ways that make us stronger. Adelaide SA: Dulwich Centre.Google Scholar
Yeatman, Bernadine
2006 Snail Planner. Planning tool for teaching mathematical language multilingually. [URL]
Cited by (1)

Cited by 1 other publications

Angelo, Denise
2024. Indigenous Language Ecologies framework. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 39:1 ► pp. 34 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.