The Bunurong language website is part of a broader language project run by the Ngawak Ngul language team at the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (BLCAC), the Registered Aboriginal Party for Bunurong peoples. This team is run by the BLCAC linguist, Josh van de Ven.
Bunurong is the language of all Bunurong peoples, and as such we want to get as much involvement from the Bunurong community as possible. We hold fortnightly language meetings with Elders and community members to make sure that the work we are doing is always aligned with community aspirations and language use.
This project began with Aunty Gail Kunwarra Dawson and Aunty Dyan Summers, two Bunurong Elders. It has since grown to involving just under 30 Bunurong people in regular language meetings, with ongoing community workshops every month. Any Bunurong person can get involved in language work with us, so please contact us if you are interested in finding out more!
Our team is also supported by several academic linguists who are experts in Victorian languages. These include Emeritus Professor Barry Blake and Adjunct Associate Professor Stephen Morey at La Trobe University, Dr Bill Forshaw from the Research Unit for Indigenous Language at the University of Melbourne, and Andrew Tanner, a PhD student studying Kulin languages at La Trobe University.
Finally, our language work is supported by the ongoing contributions of our allies to support us financially, academically, or in our community outreach and teaching work. You can see the full list of our supporters on our home page. You can find out more about supporting us here.
Have a look at some of our Bunurong Elders, community members, and linguists in action!
