Language death among Australian languages

This paper looks at the history of language policy formulation and implementation in conjunction with social factors influencing attitudes to both Koorie1 people and their languages.

It endeavours to trace the process of enforced language shift, with consequent language death, in the social history of Australia.

Factors which aid or are hastening language death in the contemporary period are also discussed.

Attention is drawn to the rapidity with which language death has occurred and will continue to occur if measures are not taken to curb the current trends.