Language & Landmarks: Australia's Uluru

G’day mate, and welcome to Australia, named in the second century by the Egyptian geographer Ptolemy long before its “discovery” by the Dutch in the 17th century. Ptolemy mapped the known coasts of Asia and believed that there must be a Terra Australis Incognita, Greek for an “unknown southern land” which balanced the weight of the Northern Hemisphere and prevented the world from tipping over! The name Australis (meaning southern) stuck. A land filled with unique flora and fauna, it has been inhabited for over 42,000 years by indigenous people generally referred to as Aborigines. In Latin, the word ab origine means original or from the beginning.

Pictured above, is one of the most amazing and meaningful Australian landmarks, located in the heart of the country. It is a place sacred to these indigenous people. Uluru, the aboriginal name for what the British once called Ayers Rock, is the world’s largest monolith, or single stone. This gigantic sandstone formation rises over 1000 feet and spans nearly 2 miles. Now leased to the government by the native peoples as a part of a National Park, the area around Uluru is protected as a U.N. World Heritage Site. This majestic red rock and its environs play a central role in traditional beliefs and stories, explaining the creation of the land and all living things on it. Some of the stories and secrets connected with Uluru can only be told by designated storytellers, other stories are totally restricted to outsiders. Various native groups have influenced the values, beliefs and even the vocabulary of Australia. How else could one identify animals like kangaroo, dingo, koala, wombat and other wildlife that exist nowhere else in the world? The sound of Australian English is also unique. In 1788 Great Britain established penal colonies “down under” to relieve its own overcrowded criminal justice system. They sent convicts from places like non-English speaking Wales, Scotland or Ireland, and the East End of London whose working class people spoke a dialect called Cockney. These criminals were joined by free settlers and their families fleeing poverty and unemployment, bringing with them a more colorful speech and accent which is recognizable in Australian usage and pronunciation today. Languages: from Greek to Latin to Aborigine to Cockney. Connecting, blending, and intertwining to form the Australian experience. What foreign language is “at work” in my world? How can I better appreciate the impact it has on my life?

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