#NYEABC 2019: Celebrating the Year of Indigenous Languages

'This New Years Eve we take a look at some of the many Indigenous languages around Australia and traditions of celebration and well wishes for 2020.

The International Year of Indigenous Languages is a United Nations observance in 2019 that aims to raise awareness of the consequences of the endangerment of Indigenous languages across the world, with an aim to establish a link between language, development, peace, and reconciliation.

(1) Yandani ngugunu yadgalah - Welcome good friends and Happy New Yearfrom everyone at Gutharraguda, Shark Bay WA.

(2) Each afternoon Raylene Cooper’s grandchildren come to play at her house in Kalgoorlie. Great-grandmother Laurel Cooper visits and teaches her family Wankatja language and signs.

This New Year, the Coopers are continuing to pass on their Wankatja language to keep their culture and language alive.

(3) This New Years, Nathan Moran shares the importance of Memel, commonly known as Goat Island, in Sydney Harbour.

Sydney's waterways play a key part in our New Years Eve celebrations, but the area also holds significant cultural value as in the area’s Dreaming story.

(4) Each New Years proud Bundjalung man Luther Cora and his family come together to dance, sing and tell stories.

(5) Eileen Bray is a Gija language teacher, translator and artist working in Warmun, East Kimberley. Her traditional country lies within Purnululu, home of the Bungle Bungle Range.

Video transcript:

Yandani ngugunu yadgalah

Welcome good friends

Malgana Ngurra Gathaagudu

Malgana home two waters

Ngali wannga thudarru ngarnija

Mandarrinu

We talk sing eat laugh

Nyinda wurla wujarnu

You come a stranger

Nyinda yajarla

You now friend

Jinamanah barraja

Tread lightly on this land

Barranga warani

Soon return

Welcome good friend, to our Malgana home, two waters

Yandani (welcome), my nameís Nick

And weíre standing in Gathaagudu, Shark bay

Home of our Malgana saltwater people

I believe that everyone on this planet ís was descendent from an ancient culture that ís connected, and language was a key part of communication and the sense of identity for those people.

The welcome to country for us is you know, we talk, we sing, we dance, we eat, we laugh.

My wish for the New Year is for more of our indigenous language to be taught around Australia, to build a deeper understanding, respect and connection between all people and country.

Have a happy new year yajarlaís (friends)

My name's Raylene Cooper, I'm at my house in Kalgoorlie.

Every afternoon my grandkids come here after school and Nana Cooper comes over and she talks to the kids about language.

Pina (ear), kuru (eye).

Ngayunha yini Ngonion, (my name is Ngonion) that's my Wankatja name and my English name is Laurel Cooper.

My mother she's from the desert.

She used to do signs, I still use the signs and still talk my language and teach my children to talk the language too.

Ngalipa pukulpa. We're happy.

We don't have to say a word, we can easily just use our hands to talk.

It's good to sign because you don't have to talk as much.

Ngalipa pukulpa (we're happy). Happy New Year!

Bujari Gamaruwwa, Memel good day from Memel also known as Goat Island.

My name is Nathan Moran, I'm the CEO of Metro Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Boora Birra, the Great Eel created all of the waterways we enjoyed today.

And then in the creation story actually lays to rest where we stand right

now being Memel, the eye of the Great Eel.

It's an ethos of all the First Nations that our culture should be shared,

you should practice the local language and culture of the area.

So in a comparative of what New Year's Eve is to us,

every six to eight seasonal changes, there will be gatherings,

celebrations in my language, Biripi and Thungutti Kipparra ceremony.

Yabun is our word for dance, celebrate and ceremony.

Dalarinji means it's ours, it's yours, it's everyone's.

Those words really summarise how important Memel is to us and the importance

that we share this culture with everyone.

My name is Luther Cora.

We are the Yugambeh Aboriginal Dancers and our family is the Bungarre family.

We are traditional people from the Gold Coast area and Tweed Heads area, which is the Yugambeh language group and the Bundjalung Nation.

Our language for welcome, we say jingeri.

This dance is about the eagle and the eagle is very important to our family.

The eagle is our totem. We call the eagle 'mibunn'.

At New Years we like to come together, dance, sing and tell stories.

Happy New Years.

Ngarranggarni, Ngarranggarni means our story was passed down to us by

our parents, grand-parents.

I speak Gija.

Thatís the language I been grow up, even though I went away to school,

I came back and was still speaking my Gija language here.

My wish for the New Year is to respect each other like one big family in

the community.

Gooloo-gooloo means happy.

Letís us all celebrate and be happy together

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