Digital technologies and language resources - finding common ground

Over the last four decades, Batchelor Institute has been involved in keeping Aboriginal languages and cultures strong and discovering new ways of bringing Western and traditional Aboriginal knowledge practices together, through initiatives such as the ‘Aboriginal Languages Fortnights’ and the establishment of the Centre for Aboriginal Languages and Linguistics (CALL), and through ongoing work of training and supporting Aboriginal educators. The integration of different knowledge systems has also produced a number of educational and linguistic resources which support the use, preservation and promotion of Indigenous languages, and has often included the use of digital technologies and the engagement of Aboriginal Elders from many communities. This paper, which is based on a panel presentation by the four authors, will discuss some of the issues arising from this blending of technologies and knowledges, and consider the implications for Indigenous communities and the wider academic context of research and teaching.