Victorian Aboriginal Languages / Levels 7 to 10 / Understanding / Role of language and culture
Content description
Reflect on how ways of using language are shaped by communities’ ways of thinking, behaving and viewing the world, and the role of language in passing on knowledge
Elaborations
explaining the role of Aboriginal languages and cultures in passing on knowledge such as sustainable care of the environment, rules for living, ways of behaving, spiritual and cultural functions and History
reflecting on Indigenous taxonomies and the ways they divide the natural and cultural world and comparing these to other systems of classification
analysing concepts related to cultural values in Aboriginal languages, including naming systems, for example, the use of kinship terms, nicknames, substitute words and pronoun systems, comparing to ways of referencing relationships in their own language(s) and culture(s)
exploring how aspects of traditional culture and society have been preserved through language, and discussing the importance of maintaining Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, for their speakers and for all Australians
analysing and discussing core cultural concepts reflected in Aboriginal languages, such as respect, avoidance, reciprocity, obligation, responsibility
understanding that culturally significant attitudes and beliefs conveyed through Aboriginal languages are related to the past, to land, plants and animals and to celebrations
identifying and comparing how emotions or attitudes, such as respect, affection or embarrassment, are shown/displayed across different languages and cultures
comparing elements of communication such as the role of silence or use/avoidance of eye contact in different cultural contexts and exchanges
recognising that there are multiple views on and partial explanations for events and issues
reflecting on the ways culture is interpreted by others, for example, by identifying how stereotypes influence perceptions of other groups or individuals
understanding that each Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person inherits language as part of their birthright, along with membership of a particular group and attachment to Country or Place, and that they become custodians and owners of land, water or sea and of language
