I only speak one language, English.  Other than a year of high school French lessons when I was 13, I have never had the need to learn another language.  I have not been forced by circumstance, war, colonisation, accident, physical change, emigration, marriage, association, or invasion to learn another language.  I have not had the opportunity, the teachers, the time, or the leisure to dedicate myself to a different language.  My parents were both English speakers; I had no relatives who brought another language to the family, and my friends and our cultural circle were all English-speaking Australians.

I’m not certain how I feel about this.  I don’t think it makes me a privileged person who expects the rest of the world to understand me, and I sometimes wish that another language was part of my culture.  Some may think me an Unfortunate who has not had the honor of learning to speak to others in their own language, understand the secrets that are hidden within their culture, and to participate in their society as a welcome friend, rather than just a tourist.

Of course, we cannot learn every language spoken across the world and there are so many things to engage us throughout our lives that many of us will never learn another language.  We can still appreciate the beauty and value of language, the diversity and importance of language in culture, and the importance of language in passing on knowledge and traditions within indigenous peoples all over the world, especially if there is no written language form.

Indigenous Australians use language to pass on information from one generation to the next.  One of the most important matters is how and where to find food and water as they moved through the landscape, the bush tucker that sustained them.  Land management is also critically important, and people sang stories of the seasons and how to control, cultivate and harvest the flora and fauna of the land. Controlled burning is still a skill the indigenous rangers carry and practice.  This information and knowledge does not always translate easily to another language and if the stories are not passed on, in language, and learned, then the information can be lost forever.

I hope that we are able to appreciate the value of language and recognise its importance in culture, even if we do not speak it ourselves. I hope that we are generous enough to accept the knowledge that is offered for the betterment of our current society so that we can move forward together.