“English, Catherine!” My daycare teacher would exclaim, multiple times. Three-year-old Catherine sat there in silence, pondering why the only language she had ever known at the time, was deemed wrong. Following the commencement of schooling, the elusive Chinese syllables that were once a cherished lullaby to me faded into the language of those around me: English. ‘Xièxiè’ became ‘thank you’, and ‘mm hé bàba’ became ‘mum and dad’. As I grew up, the Chinese language became a distant memory, playing hide and seek with my brain. It slipped through my grasp every time I tried to find it, leaving only a sense of nostalgia behind.
The diminishing of my first language draws similar, however more poignant, parallels to the language loss of Indigenous …show more content…
Why hasn’t more been done to preserve these languages? My feelings of anger towards language loss are influenced by the documentary, In My Blood It Runs. The film follows Dujuan, an Aboriginal boy who struggles between the Western education system and his native cultural practices. His nan expressed her frustration with the new indigenous generations losing their native language when Dujuan communicated with her in English. She would chastise him and tell him to speak their traditional language, exclaiming “Speak in Arrested!” This displays the dismay his nan felt about the loss of their language, which to her was a way of preserving culture. Throughout the documentary, Dujuan’s Nan and aunties make repeated efforts to get him to speak in Arrernte, highlighting how important it was to them to keep their language …show more content…
This realisation stems from the documentary, particularly when Dujuan’s dad expresses his views on the loss of his native language2. He states, disheartened, “I don't even know most of my language. That’s why I prefer my boys to learn their language on their mother’s side and culture.” This statement reflects the dismay he feels towards language loss and goes on to further explain how he doesn't feel like a good father due to this. He wants his boys to learn their native language, as the loss of his language resulted in feeling disconnected from his culture and identity, thus impacting his parenting to his children. Ultimately, this displays that language fosters the culture and identity of Indigenous people, and it is a way of maintaining various aspects of health for Aboriginal people. From his perspective, it’s perceived that the preservation of Aboriginal language for his children is important because he wouldn’t want them to experience the loss of identity, autonomy, and heritage he felt as a result of language
The diminishing of my first language draws similar, however more poignant, parallels to the language loss of Indigenous …show more content…
Why hasn’t more been done to preserve these languages? My feelings of anger towards language loss are influenced by the documentary, In My Blood It Runs. The film follows Dujuan, an Aboriginal boy who struggles between the Western education system and his native cultural practices. His nan expressed her frustration with the new indigenous generations losing their native language when Dujuan communicated with her in English. She would chastise him and tell him to speak their traditional language, exclaiming “Speak in Arrested!” This displays the dismay his nan felt about the loss of their language, which to her was a way of preserving culture. Throughout the documentary, Dujuan’s Nan and aunties make repeated efforts to get him to speak in Arrernte, highlighting how important it was to them to keep their language …show more content…
This realisation stems from the documentary, particularly when Dujuan’s dad expresses his views on the loss of his native language2. He states, disheartened, “I don't even know most of my language. That’s why I prefer my boys to learn their language on their mother’s side and culture.” This statement reflects the dismay he feels towards language loss and goes on to further explain how he doesn't feel like a good father due to this. He wants his boys to learn their native language, as the loss of his language resulted in feeling disconnected from his culture and identity, thus impacting his parenting to his children. Ultimately, this displays that language fosters the culture and identity of Indigenous people, and it is a way of maintaining various aspects of health for Aboriginal people. From his perspective, it’s perceived that the preservation of Aboriginal language for his children is important because he wouldn’t want them to experience the loss of identity, autonomy, and heritage he felt as a result of language