What practices and ideologies support small-scale multilingualism? A case study of Warruwi Community, northern Australia

Abstract

At Warruwi, a remote Australian Indigenous community, people use a range of Indigenous languages on a daily basis. Adults speak three to eight Indigenous languages and these high levels of multilingualism are out of step with current trends which see most Australian Indigenous communities shifting to a single variety be it a variety of English, a contact variety or a traditional Indigenous language. The three Indigenous languages most widely spoken at Warruwi are quite dissimilar as they belong to separate language families. This article discusses three characteristics of language use at Warruwi that are likely to play a role in supporting the levels of multilingualism found there: the diversity of individual linguistic repertoires, receptive multilingual practices whereby interlocutors address one another in different languages and language ideologies that are quite different to those found elsewhere. Characteristics of multilingualism at Warruwi are compared with those reported for other communities with small-scale multilingualism. Francois’ (

Child-caregiver interaction in two remote Indigenous Australian communities

“…McConvell ( 2008 ) also discusses a general trend for language shift in Indigenous Australia, where children appear to be largely monolingual (speaking a variety of Kriol). This compares to the situation previously in Australia, where community members tended to be multilingual in two or more traditional languages as well as English (e.g., Brandl and Walsh, 1982 ; Singer and Harris, forthcoming ).…”

“…In Yakanarra it appears to be largely an intergenerational practice, and so perhaps is a product of language shift, but this is not the case in all communities (e.g., in Maningrida, Arnhem Land—see Elwell, 1982 ). Indeed, this kind of code-switching is known to have been a stable linguistic practice traditionally with distinct pragmatic and social functions (Wilkins and Nash, 2008 ; Singer and Harris, forthcoming ).…”

3. Laarimbu and Qiimunso

“…Recent work by Singer and Harris (2016) has employed a similar approach, seeking to acknowledge Indigenous views of languages as discrete and differentiated, while also examining individual and social multilingualism beyond traditional sociolinguistic frameworks. Specifically, they engage with literature on 'small-scale', 'traditional', or 'egalitarian' multilingualism-the maintenance of multiple languages in social contexts where functional specificity of different codes is not maintained (as in classical models of diglossic multilingualism).…”

A small speech community with many small languages: The role of receptive multilingualism in supporting linguistic diversity at Warruwi Community (Australia)

“…Elsewhere in Australia linguistic diversity has declined sharply. Yet, at Warruwi at least nine languages are spoken amongst 400 people (Singer and Harris, 2016). How are so many languages still being maintained in this community?…”