Recording Australian language
It is estimated that more than 250 Indigenous Australian languages and 800 dialects were spoken in Australia when the HMB Endeavour arrived in 1770. Today, just over 100 Indigenous Australian languages are still spoken, with most of these in danger of being lost.
Despite the role European colonisation had in this loss, records made during early contact between European arrivals and Indigenous Australians serve as a vital resource in the recovery and preservation of Indigenous languages.