SBS launches My Grandmr s Lingo - a new interactive animation exploring the endangered Indigenous language of Marra

SBS launches My Grandmother's Lingo - a new interactive animation exploring the endangered Indigenous language of Marra

Thursday 6 October, 2016

News Release

SBS launches My Grandmother's Lingo - a new interactive animation exploring the endangered Indigenous language of Marra

SBS today launches a new online interactive animation My Grandmother's Lingo which tells the personal story of Angelina Joshua, a young Aboriginal woman dedicated to preserving her endangered Indigenous language.

Drawing on the expertise of SBS Online and NITV, the innovative documentary features voice-activated gaming technology and unique animations to unlock the chapters in Angelina's story, and simultaneously raises awareness of Australia's Indigenous languages - specifically Marra, a language now spoken by only three people in the remote East Arnhem Land community of Ngukurr where Angelina lives.

Ben Naparstek, SBS Head of Editorial Online & Emerging Platforms, said: SBS is dedicated to telling unique stories in innovative ways and My Grandmother's Lingo is a great example of this - combining interactive storytelling with digital technology to encourage further understanding of Indigenous languages amongst all Australians.

Tanya Denning-Orman, NITV Channel Manager, added: Digital technology is playing a vital role in the survival and revival of Indigenous languages, empowering communities to share their remarkable stories of preservation, whilst capturing languages for future generations.

More than 90 per cent of Australia's Indigenous languages are critically endangered, and it's predicted that without intervention, Indigenous language knowledge will cease to exist in the next 10 to 30 years. [1]

Centred around her work at the Ngukurr Language Centre and empowered by her family, Angelina is now fighting to learn and preserve Marra for future generations and spread the knowledge of the language across Australia.

Angelina said: My grandmother's language is important, and it's up to us to keep it alive; to teach it. My grandmother was a very fluent Marra speaker. But a couple of years ago she passed. It was hard losing her - I thought, Where am I going to learn now?' This old lady taught us everything in Marra.

I started working at the Language Centre, and it's become my responsibility to learn Marra and teach Marra. My hope for the future is that people in the community will be able to speak their own languages.

Joining Angelina in creating My Grandmother's Lingo are two other young Indigenous talents: animator and illustrator Jake Duczynski (Gamilaroi) and DJ and musician Kuren (Curtis Kennedy, Wiradjuri).

To complement the interactive animation, SBS Learn has produced a schools education pack encouraging teachers and students to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Aimed at years 7+, the pack features engaging classroom activities linked to the Media Arts curriculum and the newly released Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages. The resource is available online at http://www.sbs.com.au/learn/mygrandmotherslingo.

The online interactive experience can be accessed here: https://www.sbs.com.au/lingo

For more information on My Grandmother's Lingo, visit the Program Page here: http://www.sbs.com.au/programs/mygrandmotherslingo

Notes to Editors

SBS Learn is an online hub housing all SBS Outreach initiatives and resources. The SBS Outreach team aims to extend the reach and impact of SBS content - through creation of multiplatform media that stimulates informal learning and provides opportunities for schools to engage with and utilise our content for education.

[1] Australian Human Rights Commission, 2009 Social Justice Report, p. 58. Available https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/social_justice/sj_report/sjreport09/pdf/sjr_2009_web.pdf

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LINK:	http://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/news-media-releases/view/id/1297/h/SBS-l...
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