What is it about?
In her journal article, Death by a Thousand Cuts: Indigenous Language Bilingual Education Programmes in the Northern Territory of Australia, 1972-1998, Christine Nicholls discusses how politically-driven purge of Northern Territory Aboriginal bilingual programmes has been detrimental for Aboriginal teachers, communities and most of all, school children.
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Why is it important?
If we care about bio-diversity, then we need to care equally for linguistic diversity on a global scale. See David Crystal's book Language Death for more - language death/extinction, like species death/extinction is AVOIDABLE....
Perspectives
I worked for eleven years to build up the sustainability of the bilingual education programmes, but it was white-anted by five white men, and was struck off unconscionably. In the interim the educational standards in the Northern Territory have fallen dramatically, and this continues to this day. Check out the two 4 Corners programs on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) for more on this sad state of affairs.
Christine Nicholls
The Australian National University (ANU)
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Death by a Thousand Cuts: Indigenous Language Bilingual Education Programmes in the Northern Territory of Australia, 1972–1998, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, March 2005, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/13670050508668604.
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