Yalinguth vs Butchulla

Yalinguth (“yesterday” in Woi Wurrung) is a mobile app/ audio augmented reality experience that connects people to place and history through geo-located soundscapes and stories told by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. In keeping with oral traditions, and to minimise screens, Yalinguth is expressed entirely through sound. The overall premise of Yalinguth is guided by the words of the Elders that “we need to go back, to go forwards”. Yalinguth aims to connect students, tourists, and the local community with important firsthand historical accounts, increasing people’s knowledge of the Aboriginal history of Victoria. The purpose is to increase empathy, respect, community connection, and to celebrate the Elders who paved the way for Aboriginal Rights in Victoria and Australia. With this, Yalinguth aims to contribute to the processes of truth telling, healing and reconciliation. Yalinguth contains two separate audio walks in Melbourne, Australia: the first to launch was the birthplace of the rights movement, Gertrude Street in Fitzroy; and the second along the Birrarung/Yarra River in the Melbourne CBD. Yalinguth can only be heard once you are at these locations and is best experienced with headphones.

This app is an introduction to the Butchulla language of the region that encompasses K’gari (Fraser Island), Burrum River to the North, Double Island Point to the South and inland to Mount Bauple, Queensland, Australia. The content of this app was produced in partnership with the Korrawinga Aboriginal Corporation and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. With the use of the app, our community will be able to learn the language of this country and connect further with our culture to strengthen the revival of the Butchulla language. This ‘touch and listen’ app contains a variety of images, words and recorded audio in a variety of categories including body, family and people, animals, placenames, counting, birds, objects and much more. This app would not have been possible without the help and continued support of Miromaa Aboriginal Language and Technology Centre, a not-for-profit organization supporting language documentation and conservation programs nationally and internationally. The data in this app was derived from the Miromaa software program.