Revitalising the Dharawal language in the Illawarra has been a long-time project for Indigenous educator Jodi Edwards.
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For the past six-and-a-bit years the University of Wollongong PhD student has been gathering languages and words.
Miss Edwards' ultimate goal is for the Dharawal language to be taught and spoken in Illawarra schools.
As a Yuin woman with kinship connection to Dharawal country, she is working on continuity of cultural practices in the Yuin and Dharawal Nations through her PhD.
She has a Masters in Language Education and a Graduate Diploma in Natural Cultural Resource Management which has fuelled her passion to share cultural knowledges and practices for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
"I've been on a 15-year plan that started six years ago to have Dharawal language taught and spoken in preschools and primary schools and high schools back in the Illawarra - so that we could have our language back," Miss Edwards said.
This goal has been boosted by two main developments in 2019.
"This year is the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages. Aboriginal languages is being looked at by schools and other places as a result. This is a real boost to my vision," she said.
Miss Edwards' goal was also helped by the NAIDOC Week (July 7-14) theme of 'Voice.Treaty.Truth'.
"One solid thing about voice is looking at language and having that voice in language to strengthen the voice is very important."
While the yet-to-be-restored stolen language is still quite contentious with the elder groups, they do agree there are three main dialects.
There is the northern Dharawal dialect, there is a southern Dharawal dialect and there's the Wadi Wadi.
I've been on a 15-year plan that started six years ago to have Dharawal language taught and spoken in preschools and primary schools and high schools back in the Illawarra - so that we could have our language back.
- Jodie Edwards
"That's why the revitalisation process is so important. I want to make sure those utilising the language in schools or in workplaces are using the correct dialect," Miss Edwards said.
"On Google there are organisations based in America or in England that have taken words that have been proposed as Dharawal words and they have set them up as flash cards and what not so people can buy them.....but they are not authentic and they're not approved.
"I've set out to find words and language that has or will be approved."
To do this Miss Edwards initially talked to elders and got their permission to look at the language and "bring it back more fluently".
"As a kid I heard all types of word but I wanted more fluency and something we could teach in schools," she said.
"There was another language that was proposed as being Dharawal that isn't accepted by elders. So I've had to go through a process of looking at what was written and see what has been documented in the archives.
"I feel we are getting closer and closer to what will be a sort of goldmine once it comes out."
Miss Edwards fears an issue could arise in Aboriginal people being allowed to teach the Dharawal language in schools.
She has made a commitment to elders that at the very least Aboriginal people will teach the language in schools.
"It makes it really complicated when schools want to get their teachers to teach the language but they don't want to use an Aboriginal or they don't have an Aboriginal person in their school to teach the language," Miss Edwards said.
"They want the language but they don't want to or can't put on an Aboriginal person to teach it so that's an issue we are going to have to address if the plan is to succeed."
Getting kids to speak the language is the main goal but Miss Edwards also hopes down the track the national anthem could also be sung in an Aboriginal language.
"For the last eight, nine years my daughter [Tahlia King] has sang the national anthem in Dharawal at a number of events both locally, nationally and internationally. I believe we could adopt something similar across the country."