02-05-2025
Arrernte street signs keeping language strong for traditional owners of Alice Springs
Before dawn on a cool April morning, Alice Springs residents woke to find dozens of new street signs glinting in the sunrise.
Painted in brown and white, the signs weren't there the day before.
Each one bore a name in Arrernte, the traditional language of the area, and was installed just below the original street name.
Eastern Arrernte woman Camille Dobson, one of the project's organisers, said seeing her language on street corners filled her with pride.
"It's not just for our Arrernte people. We want to include everybody, and we want to give people the opportunity to learn more about how wonderful our culture is," she said.
Camille Dobson works with the Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics.
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ABC Alice Springs: Chris Murrkarany Fitzpatrick
)
The original signs remain untouched — the new ones sit alongside as cultural guides.
Each includes a QR code linking to audio of the correct pronunciation and background on the name's meaning.
"Everyone can hear how to say it properly, know what it means, and see that we do write in our language — it keeps the language strong,"
Ms Dobson said.
These Arrernte street signs were all installed in just one day.
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Supplied: Caddie Brain/Indigimoji
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Many Alice Springs streets already carried Arrernte names, often from local plants, animals or landmarks, but the spellings were inconsistent or incorrect.
In the 1970s, when many of the town's streets were first named, officials often guessed the spellings phonetically using English letters, which resulted in signs Arrernte speakers could barely recognise.
Arrernte linguist Joel Liddle has long been frustrated by the errors.
"They're just kind of nonsensical utterances," he said.
Joel Liddle is an Eastern Arrernte man.
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ABC Alice Springs: Chris Murrkarany Fitzpatrick
)
"Tmara Mara Street [is] Apmere Mwerre Street … Erumba Street [is] Yerrampe Street … Gnoilya Street is Akngwelye Street."
He said representing the correct language was important for Aboriginal peoples, as it "instils pride in Indigenous people and it builds cultural strength".
Durida circuit is a misspelling of nturrerte, the Arrernte word for spinifex pigeon.
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Supplied: Caddie Brain
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Safeguard for the future
Elder and linguist Veronica Perrule Dobson, who wrote the Arrernte dictionary, said the project was about pride and visibility.
"The land still belongs to our people," she said.
"We don't seem to have any rights to have things written in languages our people can understand.
"We prefer to have the proper names written up, so people can learn it and know where these streets are."
Eastern Arrernte elder Veronica Perrule Dobson wrote the Arrernte dictionary.
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ABC Alice Springs: Chris Murrkarany Fitzpatrick
)
The signs were installed without Alice Springs Town Council's approval, and while the council as a whole has not taken a formal position on the signs, none have been removed.
Mayor Matt Patterson said he had no problem with the signs.
"I've said we should do this for a long time," Mr Patterson said.
"I think this is a small step in what could be a big picture of celebrating our history — and it's educational to everyone."
Alice Springs mayor Matt Patterson says he has no problems with the signs.
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Supplied: Matt Paterson
)
Mr Liddle hopes the project continues to grow.
"We wanted to bring the names on the signs to life," he said.
"
Languages of Central Australia are really important, and writing them using the proper orthography is a great way to safeguard them for future generations.
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