Lower Arrernte language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lower Arrernte |
|
|---|---|
| Lower Aranda, Lower Southern Arrernte Alenjerntarrpe |
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| Region | South-Eastern Northern Territory, northern South Australia |
| Extinct | 2011e25 |
| Language family |
Pama–Nyungan
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| AIATSIS | C29 |
Lower Arrernte was an Indigenous Australian language. It was also known by names like Lower Southern Arrernte and Alenjerntarrpe. This language was spoken in the Finke River area. This is near the Overland Telegraph Line station at Charlotte Waters. This spot is just north of the border between South Australia and the Northern Territory. It was also spoken in the Dalhousie area in South Australia. The language became extinct in 2011. This happened when its last speaker passed away. But now, there is an exciting project to bring the language back to life.
What Happened to Lower Arrernte?
By 2007, only one person could speak Lower Arrernte fluently. This means they could have a full conversation in the language. That person was Brownie Doolan Perrurle (1918–2011). He was often called Brownie Doolan.
A linguist named Gavan Breen worked with Brownie Doolan. A linguist is someone who studies languages. Breen recorded their talks. From these recordings, he created a dictionary of Lower Arrernte. This dictionary had about a thousand words.
Brownie Doolan's mother, father, and grandmother spoke the language. They lived south of Finke/Aputula in the Northern Territory. This was near Mt Dare in South Australia. Brownie Doolan worked as a stockman in the 1940s. Later, he became an Aboriginal tracker for the police. He worked for both Finke and Kulgera police. When Brownie Doolan died in 2011, the Lower Arrernte language became extinct.
Bringing the Language Back to Life
As of 2020, Lower Southern Arrernte is one of 20 languages chosen for a special project. This project is called the Priority Languages Support Project. First Languages Australia is leading this work. The Department of Communications and the Arts helps fund it.
The project has an important goal. It aims to find and document languages that are critically endangered. These are languages with very few or no written records. They might not have any recordings either. But the project focuses on languages where there are still living speakers. This helps to save these languages for the future.
