Auslan: First Language Learner 7–10 Sequence / Levels 9 and 10 / Understanding / Language awareness
Content description
Understand the range of factors that influence the profile, diversity and distribution of Auslan use in the wider Australian society, and consider the concept of Auslan vitality in comparison with that of other languages
Elaborations
understanding that strong and healthy languages are those used by many people across generations in most domains to communicate about most topics
mapping the distribution of Auslan users across Australian states and demographics, using data from censuses and other sources to present findings in graph/visual representation forms
exploring the vitality of different languages by obtaining information from the UNESCO interactive online atlas and/or Ethnologue to compare numbers of speakers/signers of different languages
recognising that some languages have no written form and have historically been passed on face to face/orally, making them less well recorded and documented
understanding that some languages used in Australia, such as English, have large numbers of users, while others, such as many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, are endangered or in the process of being revived or reclaimed
describing the role religion has played in influencing the usage and spread of Auslan, for example, through religious orders, early Deaf Societies and Bible translation projects
reflecting on the role of Auslan interpreters in raising awareness and understanding of Auslan in the wider community, and considering ways in which they influence the function and nature of Auslan, for example by the introduction of neologisms
identifying language documentation tools, such as ELAN, as important ways of recording, transmitting and maintaining the vitality of a language
recognising that languages may be perceived as ‘weak’ or ‘strong’ based on community values and the existence of documentation and literature in the language
