Australian Aboriginal English

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Australian Aboriginal English (AAE) or Aboriginal English refers to different variants of the English language as spoken by Aborigines in Australia , which are influenced by the pronunciation, vocabulary and idioms of the Aboriginal languages. These variants, which developed differently in different parts of Australia, range from close to standard English to less standardized forms ( basilects ).

Australian Aboriginal English must be distinguished from English-based Creole languages in Australia such as Kriol and Torres Strait Creole , which are considered separate languages in linguistics .

history

See also: History of Australia

The Australian continent was settled by the first humans about 50,000 years ago, the ancestors of today's Aborigines . The first Europeans under the leadership of James Cook reached Australia in 1770, followed in 1788 by the first settlements around what is now Port Jackson in New South Wales . The Aborigines around this time comprised approximately 300,000 people across Australia who spoke about 250 languages ​​and probably as many dialects .

With the British occupation of the land around Port Jackson, Aborigines came into greater contact with English speakers for the first time. For the interaction of the Aborigines with the European settlers in Australia, a mixture of English and the Aboriginal languages ​​in the region of today's Sydney was initially used, which eventually stabilized into a pidgin , the New South Wales (NSW) pidgin.

The colonization of Australia fundamentally changed the social, economic and societal situation of the Aborigines. The following factors in particular had an impact on the language situation of the Australian Aborigines:

  • The number of Aboriginal speakers decreased due to the physical extermination of the Aborigines and the introduction of deadly diseases.
  • A large number of the Aborigines were separated from their ancestral lands, e.g. B. through expulsions or through targeted settlement of Aborigines on the edge of white settlements or missions .
  • About 35,000 Aboriginal children were forcibly separated from their families between 1900 and 1972 through a state program, placed in state institutions or forcibly adopted into white families (the so-called " stolen generations ").

As a consequence, some of the Aboriginal languages ​​disappeared completely, other languages ​​have only a few speakers. Due to the intensive contact with white Australians and the uprooting of Aboriginal groups, indigenous languages ​​lost their meaning, instead the knowledge of pidgin languages ​​was more important for communication. After all, an entire generation of Aborigines had grown up without contact with their own family, culture or language through the state's forced upbringing program.

As the Aboriginal languages ​​disappeared or waned, so did NSW Pidgin and English as a means of communication. While NSW pidgin was still a second language for Aborigines and English-speaking Europeans in the first generation, there were subsequent generations who only spoke variants of English. So, from NSW Pidgin, a variant of Australian English developed, which is preferred by Aborigines in southern Australia as their first language, Aboriginal English.

In the north of Australia language development took a slightly different direction: Pidgin languages ​​also developed, which eventually became Creole languages: Kriol and Torres Strait Creole. In the south of Australia, no Creole language developed, but with Aboriginal English no independent new language, but a new variant of English. The Aboriginal English is moving - depending on the social context and the speakers involved - more or less close to the standard of English.

definition

Although Aboriginal English serves as a means of communication throughout Australia, it has been the subject of debate in both linguistic literature and among laypeople, ranging from seeking precise linguistic definitions to rejecting the term at all. For example, the linguist Gerhard Leitner, who interviewed many Australians as part of a research project on Aboriginal English in Australia, explains that some of his interviewees reject Aboriginal English as a rubbish language . In the Macquarie Dictionary from 1981, an important dictionary of Australian English, one does not find the expression at all, perhaps also because the authors wanted to avoid lexicon-like entries. In 1997, however, the entry appears for the first time. There, Aboriginal English is referred to as a number of language variants close to Australian English that are influenced by the pronunciation, vocabulary and idioms of many Aborigines.

There is consensus in the linguistic literature that Aboriginal English can be viewed as a variant of English.

In addition, some linguists note that there is no such thing as the one and only Aboriginal English . Regional distribution must also be taken into account, because Aboriginal English in Alice Springs is different from that in Queensland.

The linguist RMW Dixon even goes so far as to say that a plurality of Aboriginal - English dialects can be found within a regional community and even within a family . Dixon sees Aboriginal English as one extreme of the so-called dialect continuum . Within this continuum, Standard English is on one side and Aboriginal English on the other. Dixon also notes that each speaker covers a certain area of ​​the continuum that depends on the social circumstances of a speech act and is used variably.

pronunciation

The pronunciation of Aboriginal English is characterized by the influence of indigenous languages. Some of the vowels in English, such as B. / i / and / ɪ /, no different phonemes in Aboriginal languages. Likewise, many Aboriginal languages ​​make no distinction between / ɛ / and / æ /. The consonants of the English language are often replaced in Aboriginal English by other consonants that are more common in the Aboriginal languages. The fricatives / f / and / v / are susceptible to being replaced by stops like / p /, i.e. H. one finds / pɔl / for fall and / hæp / for have in Aboriginal English. / θ / as in thing tends to be replaced by / t / or / s /, / ð / as in that by / d /. The r-sound in Aboriginal English is also influenced by the pronunciation in Aboriginal and Creole languages. Where this influence is very strong, / r / is realized in Aboriginal English by a trill.

grammar

morphology

Some of the most noticeable characteristics of Aboriginal English are:

  • Omission of the suffix - s to verbs to mark the 3rd person singular: he get wild (Standard English: he gets wild )
  • optional use of past tense forms, in rural areas where Creole languages ​​are stronger, bin is inserted as a past marker instead

It is also common practice in Aboriginal English not to use - s throughout the plural .

pronoun

Although he (he) and him (him / him) are masculine pronouns in Standard English, they are also used for feminine or neutral objects in Aboriginal English , especially in northern Australia. The distinction between he as nominative and him as accusative and dative is not observed everywhere; him is also found as the subject of a verb. In some Aboriginal languages, in addition to the singular and the plural, there is also the dual as a category. Because today's standard English does not know this category, various forms are used that are either borrowed from English or Aboriginal languages ​​or the Creole languages. One of these forms is e.g. B. mintwofella , which goes back to a combination of me and two [ fellow ]:

mintwofella bin go hunting (English 'we [two] went hunting')

These forms can also be used as possessive pronouns in some regions .

Sentence structure

Forms of be are often left out: He blind (Standard English: He is blind ). In standard English, questions are indicated by a changed sentence order ( Do you like bananas? ), Whereas in Aboriginal English questions are indicated by increasing intonation ( You like banana? ).

vocabulary

Loan words from the Australian Aboriginal languages

Aboriginal English contains loanwords from the Australian Aboriginal languages, but some research suggests that the set of loanwords is less extensive than previous research suggests. Examples of loanwords are e.g. B. called: mirrigan (dt. 'Dog'), gubbah (dt. 'White') or koorie (engl./dt. 'Aborigine').

The loanwords also differ from region to region. B. Depending on the region of Australia, the following words for white (non-Aboriginal):

English words with their own meaning in Aboriginal English

More common than loanwords from Aboriginal languages ​​are English words that are used in Aboriginal English with their own meaning. Examples are:

word meaning
alltime always
camp (own) house, home
language or lingo Native language
lie pretend, pretend
big mob many, many
skirt Rock, stone (including small pebbles)
sorry business Death ceremony

In the case of family relationships, too, there are terms that have their own meanings that differ from standard English : For example, the word mother in many variants of Aboriginal English not only denotes one's own mother, but also the mother's sisters (i.e. the aunts on the mother's side).

Neologisms

In Aboriginal English there are also complete new formations ( neologisms ), often words based on standard English . These neologisms include a variety of expressions for various relatives, such as the following:

word meaning
budda Brothers
budj , bruz male relative of the same age
auntie girl Relatives of the same age or younger
jetta Aunt or elderly relative
sistagirl (same age) relatives

Communication norms and intercultural communication

Although Aboriginal English is a variant of English, the way Aborigines communicate is fundamentally different in many areas from the way that Australians of European descent communicate. An important finding of linguistic research is, for example, that Aborigines find it shameful when they are taken out of their group and asked or asked for information by whites individually. This often leads to respondents answering in silence. This can be problematic, especially in the school and legal environment, if the silence is seen as an admission of guilt. So much so that there are even examples of cross-cultural misunderstandings in the courtroom that caused accused Aborigines to find themselves guilty despite being innocent.

Furthermore, the fact that words in Standard English and Aboriginal English differ in their meaning leads to linguistic misunderstandings. This problem - as well as the different communication standards - has now been recognized. Many states in Australia, e.g. B. Queensland have set up rules for dealing with court cases. This also includes the right of the Aborigines to have a translator for Aboriginal English . Still, the disproportionate frequency of Aboriginal prison sentences has not decreased.

research

Some studies on pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary are available for Aboriginal English . The focus of research in the 2000s also shifted to other topics: discourse analysis , concept formation, literacy , bilingual and bidialectal education as well as Aboriginal English in intercultural communication .

See also

literature

General descriptions

  • JM Arthur: Aboriginal English. A cultural study. Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1996.
  • Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 .
  • Gerhard Leitner: Australia's language ecology . In: Rudolf Bader (Ed.): Australien. An interdisciplinary introduction . Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier (WVT), Trier 2002, ISBN 3-88476-440-3 , pp. 205-236.
  • Gerhard Leitner: Australia's Many Voices: Ethnic Englishes, Indigenous and Migrant Languages . Policy and Education. Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 3-11-018195-9 .
  • Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Aboriginal English . Walter de Gruyter, Boston / Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-1-5015-1146-2 .

Historical background

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gerhard Leitner: The Aborigines of Australia , 3rd edition. Beck, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-406-72993-5 , p. 11.
  2. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English: phonetics and phonology . In: Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 , pp. 124-125.
  3. ^ Gerhard Leitner: Australia's linguistic ecology . In: Rudolf Bader (Ed.): Australien. An interdisciplinary introduction . Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier (WVT), Trier 2002, ISBN 3-88476-440-3 , p. 215.
  4. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English: phonetics and phonology . In: Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 , pp. 125–126.
  5. ^ Gerhard Leitner: Australia's Many Voices. Ethnic Englishes, Indigenous and Migrant Languages. Policy and Education. Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, pp. 110–111.
  6. ^ A b Jean Harkins: Bridging two worlds. Aboriginal English and crosscultural understanding. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia 1994.
  7. ↑ JM Arthur: Aboriginal English. A cultural study. Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1996.
  8. ^ Kate Burridge & Jean Mulder: English in Australia and New Zealand. An Introduction to Its History, Structure, and Use. Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1999.
  9. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Aboriginal English: Adopted code of a surviving culture. In: David Blair & Peter Collins (Eds.): English in Australia. Benjamin, Amsterdam [u. a.] 2001, 201-222.
  10. ^ Diana Eades: A case of communicative clash: Aboriginal English and the legal system. In: John Gibbons (Ed.): Language and the law. Longman, London [u. a.] 1994, pp. 234-264.
  11. ^ RMW Dixon: The Languages ​​of Australia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [u. a.] 1980.
  12. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English: phonetics and phonology . In: Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 , pp. 132-135.
  13. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English: morphology and syntax . In: Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 , pp. 427-431.
  14. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English: morphology and syntax . In: Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 , pp. 431-433.
  15. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Aboriginal English . Walter de Gruyter, Boston / Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-1-5015-1146-2 , pp. 78–79.
  16. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English: morphology and syntax . In: Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 , p. 429.
  17. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English: morphology and syntax . In: Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 , p. 435.
  18. ^ Gerhard Leitner: Australia's Many Voices: Ethnic Englishes, Indigenous and Migrant Languages . Policy and Education. Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 3-11-018195-9 , pp. 129-130.
  19. ↑ Diana Eades: Aboriginal English , last accessed on February 24, 2020.
  20. ^ Gerhard Leitner: Australia's Many Voices: Ethnic Englishes, Indigenous and Migrant Languages . Policy and Education. Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 3-11-018195-9 , pp. 130-131.
  21. ↑ Diana Eades: Aboriginal English , last accessed on February 24, 2020.
  22. ↑ Diana Eades: Aboriginal English , last accessed on February 24, 2020.
  23. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Aboriginal English . Walter de Gruyter, Boston / Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-1-5015-1146-2 , p. 104.
  24. ^ Gerhard Leitner: Australia's Many Voices: Ethnic Englishes, Indigenous and Migrant Languages . Policy and Education. Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 3-11-018195-9 , p. 154.
  25. ^ Gerhard Leitner: The Aborigines of Australia , 3rd edition. Beck, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-406-72993-5 , pp. 82-83.
  26. ^ Ian G. Malcolm: Australian Creoles and Aboriginal English: morphology and syntax . In: Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann (Ed.): Varieties of English 3. The Pacific and Australasia . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019637-5 , p. 438.