Dr Rob Amery

Biography/ Background

Marni ninna budni (Welcome)

This is Rob Amery's homepage at the University of Adelaide. My main research focus is Australian Indigenous languages, their maintenance and revival. I began working in Aboriginal communities in 1980 in health, first as a nurse and then as an Aboriginal Health Worker Educator. I became involved in education issues when I went to Yirrkala, North East Arnhemland in 1985 where I researched Dhuwaya, a new koine variety of Yolngu Matha spoken by the younger generation, and implications for the Gumatj-English bilingual education program in operation within the school.

In 1993 - 1994 I served as Project Officer for the innovative Australian Indigenous Languages Framework (AILF) project which introduced Indigenous languages into senior secondary studies in accredited programs for the first time in Australia's history. Go to http://www.ssabsa.sa.edu.au/language/subjects.htm and http://www.ssabsa.sa.edu.au/support/language/aulg/aulg-menu.htm

Over the last two decades I have been working with the Indigenous languages of Adelaide and surrounds, especially Kaurna, the language of the Adelaide Plains. The language is being re-learnt on the basis of 19th century materials and is beginning to be used again for a range of purposes. I have worked closely with the Kaurna community, the Department of Education and Children's Services (DECS), Kaurna Plains School and other institutions to implement Kaurna language programs. I completed my PhD on the reclamation of Kaurna in June 1998 (see publications). In 2002 we established Kaurna Warra Pintyandi (KWP) to monitor and further the development of the Kaurna language. Go to http://www.adelaide.edu.au/kwp.

Teaching Interests

I teach the following courses:

LING 1101 Foundations of Linguistics
LING 1102 Language & the Ethnography of Communication LING 2007/3007 Australian Indigenous Languages LING 2009/3009 Kaurna Language & Language Ecology LING 2012/3012 Phonology
LING 2035/3035 Morphology & Syntax
LING 2030/3030 Language & Communication Planning

Cross-Cultural Communication (new course in 2009)

Research Interests

• Kaurna Language and Linguistics (Kaurna is the original language of Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains.
• Language Reclamation and the Formulaic Method.
• Indigenous Languages in Schools.
• Language Planning and Language Revival.
• Language Modernisation and Development.
• Linguistic Vitality.
• Endangered Languages.
• Linguistics and Health (communicating Western health concepts in Indigenous languages).

Community Engagement

In 2007, Dr Rob Amery was awarded a UNESCO Certificate of Achievement for his work in Linguistics. Specifically, his award was in recognition of "the documentation both of the Kaurna language and aspects of the traditions of the Kaurna Plains people and the development of language revival resources".

Files

• List of Publications - PublicationsMay2008.DOC [93.0K] (application/msword)

Expertise for Media Contact

Categories	Aboriginal & Indigenous issues, Language and literacy
Expertise	Kaurna language; Language revival; Language reclamation; Indigenous languages; Endangered languages; Kaurna placenames; Indigenous languages in education
Notes	Consultant linguist and convener of Kaurna Warra Pintyandi which meets regualrly each month at the University of Adelaide to discuss requests for names and translations; Developed the national senior secondary Australian Indigenous Languages Framework; Moderator for Australian Languages, SACE Board. UNESCO Club Achievement Award 2007. Lansdowne Fellow, Victoria University, BC, Canada, 2004.

Entry last updated: Sunday, 1 Nov 2009