Dinka Language Institute, Australia
The Dinka Language Institute, Australia, (DLIA) is a non-political, non-religious, non-profitable association founded in Victoria, Australia in 2000. The DLIA is an association of Dinka literacy workers, linguists, language development workers and Dinka language IT specialists who work together for the maintenance, preservation and development of the Dinka language.
Mission statement
The Dinka Language Institute will assist the Dinka community in Australia to maintain and develop their language and culture.
This will be facilitated through the preservation of, and research into Dinka language and culture.
The institute will promote the benefits of literacy within the community, and develop initiatives to enable adults and children to maintain their mother language.
The institute will promote a greater understanding of Dinka culture within the wider Australian community.
Objectives
The primary concern of the DLIA is Thuɔŋjäŋ, the Dinka language. The key objectives of the association are the:
- preservation and development of the Dinka language and culture;
- promotion of the importance of first language literacy amongst the Dinka living in Australia;
- development of programs to address Dinka illiteracy;
- facilitation of the development of, and access to, settlement information in the Dinka language, including information on social security, the legal system, domestic violence, child abuse, child support, employment, education and health;
- development of language and curriculum resources to support the teaching of the Dinka language;
- development of training programs to enhance language skills of Dinka teachers;
- collection, preservation and digitization of Dinka cultural materials and oral heritage; and
- development and provision of Dinka cultural awareness training programs for key service providers.
Current projects
The Dinka Language Institiute has initiated a number of projects in order to work towards achieving the institute's objectives.
These projects include:
- A Dinka literacy course.
- The development of a Dinka literacy textbook, that would allow the Dinka to learn to read and write their own language;
- The development of a Dinka language textbook that would allow non-Dinka to learn the Dinka language;
- The digitization of Dinka poetry, folktales, proverbs, songs and oral histories. Material collected and preserved will be made available via a Dinka language;
- Development of a Dinka-English dictionary;
- Development of a concise Dinka grammar; and
- English–Dinka translation services.
History
The Dinka Language Institute is an educational association that was founded in Egypt, in 1995, by the Dinka refugee community in Egypt. The institute was set up in order to develop programs to preserve Dinka language and culture. The institute had its roots in the Dinka Cultural Society, formed in 1990 in Khartoum, Sudan.
The Dinka refugee community in Egypt has been resettled in many countries through a UNHCR resettlement program. Dinka refugees have resettled in Australia, Canada, Britian, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Members of the Dinka community began to arrive in Australia in 1996, which a high concentration of arrivals in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. A Dinka Language Institute was set up in Melbourne, in 1999.
The objectives of the Dinka Language Institute, Australia, is broader than its predecessor. The primary objective is the preservation and maintenance of Dinka language and culture; although the Australian institute will make use of the internet anf communications technologies to preserve Dinka language and culture and foster linguistic, anthropological and sociological research.
Contact details
The editors of the Agamlöŋ Online website can be contacted by using the website’s feedback form.
For further information about the Dinka Language Institute, Australia, contact:
Morwel Ater Morwel
Dinka Language Institute
C/- African Community Development Centre,
93A Paisley St,
Footscray VIC 3011.
Ph: 0431 404 031