A PLAN by the Australian government to force Aborigines to learn English caused fierce debate recently.
The initiative was put forward by Australia’s indigenous affairs minister, Mal Brough, who said the compulsory teaching of English would help Aboriginal children living in remote and economically deprived communities to escape poverty and inequality.
Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard said Aborigines have no hope of being part of mainstream Australian society unless they can speak English.
The number of Aboriginal languages that existed in Australia prior to colonization is estimated to be about 600. Currently there are 200 different Aborginal dialects across Australia, with about 20 in constant use. Many Aborigines speak dialects mixed with English that may be incomprehensible to an inexperienced listener.
“These children, like all Australian children, will benefit from a strong grasp of English which allows them to make choices in their lives which they simply don’t have when they only speak a language which only a handful of people can understand,” Brough said.
The proposal has been met with a mixed reaction. Indigenous MP Linda Burney says the government must first stem the loss of native Aboriginal dialects before making English compulsory for indigenous children.
Burney, who was the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the New South Wales parliament, said the government needed to have a bilingual approach. “Aboriginal children need to learn English, but it cannot be at the expense of their mother language,” Burney said, “Kids need to learn English, but they must also have their culture reinforced.”
She said compulsory English was an ironic suggestion from Prime Minister John Howard’s government given they had already vetoed bilingual programs.
But Brough said he was not suggesting that Aboriginal people should give up their own language but that they should follow the example of migrants to Australia, such as Greeks and Italians, who are bilingual.
Howard said the children of non-English speaking immigrants learnt English through their contact with the school system and so should indigenous children.
“In the case of indigenous people, none of them come to Australia as mature-aged people. They were all born in this country, in that sense they’re different from migrants,” he said.
“The children of Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants are forced to learn English because they go to school. Equally, Aboriginal children should learn English because they should be required to go to school.”
