The Summer Institute of Linguistics and Aboriginal-Islander research

Abstract

The Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in Australia works in the field of linguistics and Bible translations. In a secular academic world, SIL's Bible translation emphasis is not easily understood, particularly as all its linguists are not involved in studying for higher degrees. But SIL shares with other groups and individuals like Sally White common ground in a sense of justice, an identification with minority groups who had been deliberately or unconsciously ignored and a conviction that a person's language and culture should be respected as basic to that individual's identity. After 35 years in the field, people might ask whether SIL has made a significant contribution to the preservation and knowledge of Aboriginal languages and to the wellbeing of Aboriginal people? This paper is an attempt to answer that question by narrating examples of SIL involvement with Aboriginal and Islander people in relation to language.