Innovative strategies for reintroducing a sleeping language: How a community-university partnership supports the revitalization of Kaurna, the language of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia

Abstract

A collaboration between the Kaurna community and the University of Adelaide is longstanding. This collaboration was formalised in 2002 with the establishment of Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi (KWP), a committee of Kaurna Elders, language enthusiasts, linguists, teachers and researchers. Commonwealth funding enabled KWP to establish a small part-time team in 2012 based at the University of Adelaide to support the reintroduction of the sleeping Kaurna language of the Adelaide Plains by producing resources and undertaking research. This paper shares the work of the KWP Team, which is guided by the Kaurna concept of yaityarni-apinthi “actively Indigenising,” manifested through Kaurna icons on playing cards, adaptation of games, adoption of Kaurna names, developing Kaurna terms for English concepts and so on. In the absence of first-language speakers, Kaurna is reintroduced by finding niche uses for the language. In this paper we share innovative strategies used alongside long-standing practices, such as song, language classes, and immersion activities to reintroduce a sleeping language within the Kaurna community and reach out to an English-speaking audience, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.