Communicating with Victoria's Emerging African Language Communities: Issues and Responses, 27 June 2008
In this seminar ICEPA research associates Associate Professor Helen Borland (School of Communication, Culture and Languages and Associate Dean International in the Faculty of Arts Education and Human Development) and Dr Charles H.B. Mphande (International Community Development and Public Advocacy, School of Social Sciences) presented findings of their research on African language usage and communication preferences in some of the major emerging African language communities and discussed implications and responses for addressing issues of information poverty and the digital divide. Participants at the seminar included a number of representatives from non profit groups and federal and state government, as well as community members and academics. Discussion explored challenges in the provision of equitable and accessible Information Communication Technology (ICT) facilitated communication for refugee and humanitarian immigrants, such as those who have been arriving in Australia in the past decade from Africa.
The research undertaken for the Victorian Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Victorian Multicultural Commission has highlighted the complexity of the sociolinguistics of language use within some African background communities. In these communities, where linguistic diversity and individual bilingualism/multilingualism is the norm, the status, educational policies and nature of the use of different languages in the home country context has affected the extent that adult language users have access to literacy skills in each/any language and formal education and related skills, such as those required to use ICTs.
The following speaker presentation is available for download:
Communicating with Victoria's Emerging African Language Communities.pdf (62kb)
The Numbers of Speakers of African Languages Emerging in Victoria (Borland, H. and C. Mphande 2006) report, produced for VOMA, Department for Victorian Communities, is available at: http://www.multicultural.vic.gov.au/web24/rwpgslib.nsf/GraphicFiles/AfricanLanguages/$file/AfricanLanguages.pdf
About the Speakers
Helen Borland is currently Associate Professor in the School of Communication, Culture and Languages and Associate Dean International in the Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development at VU. Since 2006 she and Dr Mphande have been working on research for the Victorian Multicultural Commission on patterns of language and literacy usage in Victoria's African language communities.
Charles H.B. Mphande came to VU from the University of Malawi to undertake a PhD (completed in 2006) in Critical Communication and Community Development Studies. In 2007 Charles was appointed as lecturer in International Community Development and Public Advocacy in the School of Social Sciences at VU.
