Editing Language revitalization (section)

== Health benefits of language revitalization ==
Language revitalisation has been linked to increased health outcomes for Indigenous communities involved in reclaiming traditional language. Benefits range from improved mental health for community members, increasing connectedness to culture, identity, and a sense of wholeness. Indigenous languages are a core element in the formation of identity, providing pathways for cultural expression, agency, spiritual and ancestral connection.<ref name=":3">Sivak, L. et al. (2019) ‘“Language Breathes Life”-Barngarla Community Perspectives on the Wellbeing Impacts of Reclaiming a Dormant Australian Aboriginal Language’, International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(20). doi: 10.3390/ijerph16203918.</ref> Connection to culture is considered to play an important role in childhood development,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-08-26 |title=A positive sense of Identity and Culture |url=https://www.aracy.org.au/publications-resources/command/download_file/id/397/filename/Full_report_-_A_Positive_Sense_of_Identity_and_Culture.pdf |website=ARACY}}</ref> and is a UN convention right.<ref>{{Cite web |title=United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children |url=http://www.unicef.org.au:80/Our-Work/Information-For-Children/UN-Convention-on-the-Rights-of-the-Child |access-date=2021-08-26 |website=[[UNICEF]]}}</ref>

Colonisation and subsequent linguicide carried out through policies such as those that created Australia's [[Stolen Generations]] have damaged this connection. It has been proposed that  language revitalization may play an important role in countering [[intergenerational trauma]] that has been caused.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zuckermann |first=Ghil'ad |chapter= 9. Our ancestors are happy: language revival and mental health |date=2020-06-18 |chapter-url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780199812776.001.0001/oso-9780199812776-chapter-9 |title=Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond|pages=266–280 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780199812776.003.0009 |isbn=978-0-19-981277-6 |access-date=2021-08-26}} Abstract only available to non-subscribers.</ref> Researchers at the [[University of Adelaide]] and [[South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute]] have found that language revitalisation of [[Aboriginal Australian languages|Aboriginal languages]] is linked to better mental health.<ref>{{cite web | last=Richards | first=Stephanie | title="Dreadful" decline in Kaurna language teaching | website=[[InDaily]] | date=25 October 2019 | url=https://indaily.com.au/news/local/2019/10/25/dreadful-decline-in-kaurna-language-teaching/ | access-date=14 December 2023}}</ref> One study in the [[Barngarla people|Barngarla]] Community in [[South Australia]] has been looking holistically at the positive benefits of language reclamation, healing mental and emotional scars, and building connections to community and country that underpin wellness and wholeness. The study identified the Barngarla peoples' connection to their [[Barngarla language|language]] as a strong component of developing a strong cultural and personal identity; the people are as connected to language as they are to culture, and culture is key to their identity.<ref name=":3" /> Some proponents claim that language reclamation is a form of empowerment and builds strong connections with community and wholeness.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/living-languages |title=Living languages |website=AIATSIS |access-date=24 August 2021}}</ref>