Languages ess lewen systems o’ knowledge

Lairngwages ess lewen systems o’ knowledge, shared lorngf’ communities en pass et douwn from generaetion to generaetion. lairngwage ess wun vital part o’ ukluns strorng culture, en hoos uklun. While dair was plenty support f’ the dar lairngwage f’ be revitalised en f’ preserve et f’ future generations orn Norf’k, had plenty views orn wutawae f’ do dar. D’ Norfolk Island Council o’ Elders mek wun non-political language strategy f’ mitigate dar issue en giw direction to dar community’s usen et en dar revitalization o’ ukluns lairngwage.

Een August 2020, dar Council o’ Elders set up wun sub-committee orn lairngwage. Dar committee had one objective; f’ revitalize d’ Ilens lairngwage’. Sens den dar sub-committee start wun wide consultation process starten lorngf’ wun on-line lairngwage survey (wut had oer 300 respondents) en wun two-day lairngwage workshop had oer 30 sullun cum. Dems views en arnsa form dar basis o’ dar strategy. Moreover, 96.3% o’ dem survey respondents supported dar Council of Elders laingwage revitalization proegram.

Dar revitalization o’ dar Norf’k lairngwage gwen tek decades en ess impractical f’ think dar initial strategy gwen cuwa orl dem current needs furet; but gwen set dar fuss en moes important step een place f’ tek dar Norf’k lairngwage orf dar UNESCO list o’ endangered lairngwages.

F’ mek deer happen, dar Council of Elders start dar establishment o’ wun Lairngwage Commission f’ cum ess d’ main body f’ matters bouwt dar Norf’k lairngwage ‘The Lairngwage Commission hawa act as dar official authority orna lairngwage en en up publishen wun official dictionary o’ Norf’k when se dun.

Dar Norfolk Island Language Commission begin dems work orn 30 June 2022 en bin work moos weekly f’ dun wun new spallen system o’ Norf’k en dem sentences needed f’ dar dictionary. Dem members o’ dar fuss committee was – Louise Tavener (chair), Wesley Quintal, Kane Anderson, Merv Buffett, Jane Rutledge, Ngaire Sheridan, Joe Adams, Allan Bataille. Dar second term o’ office start 30 June 2024 f’ nada 2 years. D’ Lairngwage Commission sullun orn ess Louise Tavener (chair), Wesley Quintal, Kane Anderson, Coral McGrath, Jane Rutledge, Paul Harrington, Joe Adams, Allan Bataille. Myse deepess thanks go gen dee committee members – wi bin ess en still ess wun great team en wi se achieve ukluns goal.

Een ukluns workings acknowledgement was giwen gen d’ work done by Shirley Harrison, Greg Quintal, Eena Ette, Alice Buffett, Archie Bigg, Colleen Crane, Gaye Evans, Mervyn Buffett, Rachel Nebauer, Suzanne Evans en plenty tada sullun, hoo bin work f’ document en preserw dar Norf’k lairngwage. Yorlye gwen el see plenty een dar dictionary ess ukluns traditional way o’ written a words.

Dar Lairngwage Commission gut plenty respect en gratitude gen Professor Peter Muhlhausler, f’ his devotion, support en continued academic linguistic work lorngf’ ukluns Norf’k lairngwage. Hi bin giw dar lairngwage Commission plenty assistance een dar creation o’ dar new spallen system o’ Norf’k en dar dictionary.

D' lairngwage system wi se mek gwenna be dar official version o’ Norf’k taught eena school, used eena signage, een official documentation en works requiring Norf’k gwen forward. Dar entf’ tull ewribody hawa chaenge dems wae o’ spallen en wae dem use et. Sullun still gwen el write gen wun nada ulla orn social media en spall dem words wae dem bin. Nothing gwenna chaenge dar.

Gut plenty vibrant, creative ways f’ preserve en protect ukluns lairngwage - multimedia, oral recordings, literature, poetry, stories, theatre, essays, films etc. En d’ way dee arenas el be enriched and encouraged ess eff sullun gutta confidence enna freedom f’ express creatively. Wi hoep ukluns production o dar’ Norf’k dictionary gwenna halp lorngf’ dar en encourage sullun crors Norf’k f’ use et more.

Ukluns thanks also hawa go gen Jodie f’ orl d’ work shi bin do orn deer dictionary. Yorlye gwen see wut a beyutiful jorb shi se do orn. Plenty work een en ess truly wun f’ be uklun be prouwd of.

D' Norfolk Ilen Lairngwage Commission ess moes happy f’ present gen d’ Norfolk Island Council of Elders dar finished Norf’k Dictionary ready f’ yorlye publish. I gut wun quote dair lorngfet too. Thankyou for yorlyes confidence een uklun f’ produce des vital document f’ Norf’k.

Louise Tavener, Chair – Norfolk Island Language Commission

IN ENGLISH 

Des night dar Norfolk Ilen Council o’ Elders president David Buffett was was giwen dar fuss copy o’ dar Norfolk Ilen Lairngwage dictionary and endorsed it.

Languages ess lewen systems o’ knowledge, shared lorngf’ communities en pass et douwn from generaetion to generaetion. Language ess wun vital part of ukluns strorng culture, en hoos uklun. While there was much support for the language to be revitalised and preserved for future generations on Norfolk Island, there were some differing views on how this should be achieved. The Norfolk Island Council of Elders created a non-political language strategy to mitigate this issue and give direction to the community’s use and revitalization of the Island’s language.

In August 2020, the Council of Elders established a sub-committee on language. This committee had one objective; ‘to revitalize the Island’s language’. Since this time, the sub-committee undertook a broad consultation process commencing with an on-line language survey (with over 300 respondents) and a two-day language workshop attended by over 30 members of the community. The views and responses formed the basis of the strategy. Moreover, 96.30% of the survey respondents support the Council of Elders language revitalization program.

The revitalization of the Norf’k language will take decades and it’s impractical to think that the initial strategy will address all the current needs for language revitalization; it will however, set the first and most important steps in place to remove the Norf’k language from the UNESCO list of endangered languages.

To meet this output, one activity that the Council of Elders enacted was the establishment of a Language Commission to become the principal body for matters pertaining to the Norf’k language. ‘The Language Commission has the duty of acting as an official authority on the language and was tasked with publishing an official dictionary of the language.

The Norfolk Island Language Commission commenced their work on 30 June 2022 and have worked tirelessly to completing a new spelling system of Norf’k and culminating in a Norf’k dictionary. The members of the first committee were – Louise Tavener (chair), Wesley Quintal, Kane Anderson, Merv Buffett, Jane Rutledge, Ngaire Sheridan, Joe Adams, Allan Bataille for the first term year. In this term of office beginning 30 June 2024 for 2 years the Language Commission comprises Louise Tavener (chair), Wesley Quintal, Kane Anderson, Coral McGrath, Jane Rutledge, Paul Harrington, Joe Adams, Allan Bataille. My deep thanks go to these committee members – we have worked as a great team and achieved our goal.

In our workings acknowledgement was given to the work by Shirley Harrison, Greg Quintal, Eena Ette, Alice Buffett, Archie Bigg, Colleen Crane, Gaye Evans, Mervyn Buffett, Rachel Nebauer, Suzanne Evans and many others, who have worked towards documenting and preserving the Norf’k language. You will see that much of our spelling system we have used is of the traditional way of writing.

The Language Commission hold much respect and gratitude to Professor Peter Muhlhausler, for his devotion, support and continued academic linguistic work with our Norf’k language. He has given the Language Commission every assistance in the creation of the new spelling system of Norf’k and the dictionary.

The language system we have created will be the official version of Norf’k taught at the school, used in signage, in official documentation and works requiring Norf’k going forward. That is not to say that everyone is required to change their way of spelling in their everyday lives. People can continue to write to each other or on social media and spell the words the way they have used for many years. Nothing will change that.

There are many, many vibrant, creative ways to also preserve and protect our language - multimedia, oral recordings, literature, poetry, stories, theatre, essays, films etc. And the way in which these arenas are enriched and encouraged is by individuals having confidence and freedom to express creatively. We hope that our production of the Norf’k dictionary will in some ways assist in that and encourage greater use of Norf’k island wide.

The Norfolk Island Language Commission is today very happy to present to the Norfolk Island Council of Elders the completed Norf’k Dictionary. Thankyou for your confidence in us to produce this vital document.

Louise Tavener, Chair – Norfolk Island Language Commission

Tonight the Norfolk Island Council of Elders president David Buffett was presented with the first copy of the Norfolk Island Language dictionary and endorsed the dictionary.