Development and Use of Aboriginal English: Maintenance of Identity in an Adopted Language

The phenomenon of the maintenance of Aboriginal English despite significant counter-pressures in the wider society shows an unwillingness, on the part of its speakers, to allow themselves to be linguistically identified with Australian English. This chapter explores elements in the indigenization of English by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speakers in Australia, relating to the way in which the speakers drew selectively on the varieties transported by the colonizers and to the way in which they used English to embody essential cultural conceptualizations. Apart from being an essential communication medium in an English dominant society, it is suggested that Aboriginal English serves at least three culturally significant functions for its speakers: authenticity, creative expression, and cultural continuity.