The documentation of Gurindji Kriol
The Endangered Language Documentation Programme (ELDP) provides grants worldwide for the documentation of endangered languages and knowledge. Grantees create audiovisual collections with transcription and translations of endangered languages and practices. These collections are preserved and made freely available through the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR).
Gurindji Kriol (GK) is an endangered mixed language (ML) spoken in Australia. It fuses Gurindji (Pama-Nyungan), with Kriol (English-lexifier) to create a unique system. GK is an important language to younger Gurindji people, entailing both modern and traditional Aboriginal ideologies. It is also significant linguistically, displaying a rarely observed mixed structure. GK provides a unique opportunity to document a ML. MLs often represent a prolonged stage of language change which precedes language shift. Thus the existence of MLs often goes by unobserved. In the case of GK, documentation is urgently required, with Kriol finding increasing currency with Gurindji teenagers.
Primary investigator: Felicity Meakins
Project Details
Location: Australia, Australia and New Zealand, Oceania
Organiser(s):
Endangered Languages Documentation Programme
Project partner(s): University of Manchester
Funder(s):
Arcadia
Funding received: £94,667.00
Commencement Date: 01/2004
Project Status: Completed
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