Young people in Aboriginal village develop their own language

Tuesday, July 16, 2013  

Young people in an Aboriginal village in Australia have developed their own language, The New York Times reports.

Warlpiri rampaku includes features of Walpiri, an indigenous language, English and Kriol, a language based on English that's used by different groups of Aboriginal people. But linguists say the young people in the village of Lajamanu created their own words and grammar that make Warlpiri rampaku an entirely new language.

“These young people have developed something entirely new,” linguist Peter Bakker told the Times.

The language arose in the last 30 years after the Australian government forced the entire village to move to a new location. Residents walked back to their original home at least twice but were forced to return.

Younger people started the new way of speaking when village leaders decided to stay put in the 1970s. Only people under the age of 35 speak Warlpiri rampaku, the TImes said.

Get the Story:
A Village Invents a Language All Its Own (The New York Times 7/16)