Preserving languages: Wik Mungkan

The Cape York Leaders Programme and The Rockhampton Grammar School were interested in establishing a pilot language programme for First Nations students at the School. This provides support for students to maintain their ancestral languages as an important part of their personal and academic lives, and to support the establishment of ancestral language fluency and literacy as recognised academic and professional skills leading to career pathways.

Earlier this year the Pama Language Centre was approached by RGS and the Cape York Leaders programme to work with them to design and deliver a pilot language programme for two Wik Mungkan students at RGS. The first Wik Mungkan Language Engagement workshop was delivered at the School in Term 2.

Keziah Yunkaporta (Year 11) and Shakaya Wolmby (Year 8) joined the workshop along with Pama Language Centre Wik Mungkan Language Experts Phyllis and Eloise Yunkaporta and linguists Ragnel Jansdotter, Dr Jessica Yang and Dr Alan Ray.

Shakaya said this opportunity meant a lot. “It’s important because it deepens the knowledge I have and when I am older I can teach young kids. It helps keep culture alive,’’ Shakaya said.

Wik-Mungkan is a Paman language variety. The majority of Wik Mungkan speakers reside at Aurukun, a community established on the west coast of Cape York in 1904 and is now home to approximately 1300 people with a number of clan and language affiliations.

The shire of Aurukun includes Wik, Wik-way and Kugu country. The Wik Mungkan language is the first language of most people born and living in Aurukun.

Pama Language Centre General Manager Karin Calley said the primary goal of this first workshop was to establish the needs, learning styles and interests of the students.

After initial discussions on the workshop’s opening day, the group then focused on literacry followed by singing in Wik Mungkan. Ms Calley said the students would continue working on writing in Wik Mungkan in their weekly online tutorials.

“The students will also be working with the Pama Language Centre language experts and linguists to begin developing course materials for a communication and literacy based Wik Mungkan curriculum,’’ Ms Calley said. Comprehension questions developed by the team during the Term 2 workshop, for the Wik Mungkan picture book Jonah a’ Gavin Aak Kech Iiy Pul, will be incorporated into a comprehension quiz for the book.

Ms Calley said the RGS students had already begun contributing to the development of a learning resource for other Wik Mungkan learners.

A further workshop will be held in Term 3 with a focus on a song writing and recording workshop with with Pama Language Centre’s libretist Joshua McHugh.

Pama Language Centre works with First Nations Language Champions of Cape York Peninsula to record, revive, revitalise and maintain our ancestral languages. Song is an important medium for learning and sharing fragile languages.