Staff from the Darwin Support Office have been busy practising their language skills in Yolŋu Matha over the past month, with Lynette Birriran’s guidance. Community Engagement Officer (and proficient Yolŋu Matha speaker) Eddy Alder worked closely with Lynette to develop four sessions which helped our staff introduce themselves, answer the phone, and better understand the Yolŋu kinship system. There was also plenty of practice breaking down long words and pronouncing tricky sounds like ‘ŋ’.

There are plans to develop these sessions into a language course that a community group could potentially take on as an Activity Generated Income (AGI) activity. Activities that generate income like this contribute to the economic development of our communities.  

We hope to hear our Balanda staff trying out their new phrases on the phone or in the community very soon! Thank you to our community members for sharing their knowledge of Yolŋu Matha.