Vernacular Language Posters: A focus for the process of developing local language awareness

This workshop describes the Vernacular Language Poster (VLP) projects being undertaken across Queensland. It is divided into three sections: i) the purpose of these projects; ii) engaging and consulting with Indigenous communities; and iii) elicitation of vernacular language varieties. i) The languages spoken by most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in Queensland have developed from language contact and widespread language shift. In many areas, rich and complex post-contact language situations have resulted, where the influence of (Standard) Australian English is never far away, but a wide range of variation is in evidence. Yet this linguistic diversity can be overlooked, as contact languages are rarely afforded a place in non-Indigenous contexts. VLP projects aim to develop an awareness and appreciation of local language contact varieties. ii) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and community members are the holders of language expertise in these projects. Acknowledgement of this is made “public” through: consultation; sharing of language observations and elicitation of language examples; and, ultimately, publication of the local VLP. These processes assist Indigenous stakeholders to develop shared understandings of their language situations and also ways of talking about them with others. The final posters provide an accessible and engaging resource for ongoing discussions and awareness-raising at local levels and beyond. iii) VLP projects provide focus for extensive language elicitation. There is a subsequent challenge in creating space for varieties that may not have previously been: used, or even discussed, in public; conceptualised as discrete linguistic entities; or valued as worthy of study. As the goal is to represent the local vernacular, discussions and observations are fostered about what is linguistically typical locally. A range of multimodal activities have been utilised to assist with initial language-awareness-raising. Finally, drafting and checking processes provide opportunities to revise and refine aspects of the language included.