Lost languages or

changing the name of a rubbish dump because it is "insulting" to the original inhabitants of the area sounds like a reasonable thing to do doesn't it? Our local council thinks so anyway.

I am not so sure myself. We are reaching the point of ridiculous when demands are being made on multiple fronts to "recognise" and "acknowledge" and "accept" and "observe" and "uphold" in relation to "aboriginal", "native", "tribal" and "indigenous" affairs. 

The local council is going to change the name of the area in which the local rubbish dump is situated. The demand was apparently made by some "local aboriginal elders" who "speak the language".

I am not sure who these people are. Nobody speaks the aboriginal language that was spoken when the first white settlers arrived. That was lost long ago. All that remains are a few words. It is very likely even those may not be recognised by those who spoke the language two hundred years ago.

Yes, language changes. We all know that. In this instance however the language has been lost. Claims to have "revived" it are simply false. There is no way it can have been revived or rescued or even reinvented. It has gone. Those who claim to speak it now are speaking a language which has not been reinvented but invented. It has been created from other indigenous languages and by borrowing words from European languages - mostly English. It is not a language in everyday use. It never will be. At best it might be a sort of ceremonial language.  It is not in daily use because it does not meet the needs of anyone living in twenty-first century urban communities. 

Those making the demand for change may well have some aboriginal heritage but they would not be considered "aboriginal" by many aboriginal people in remote areas. These are people who may be able to trace their ancestry back to one or perhaps two aboriginal ancestors some generations back. I know of one woman who claims to be a "proud K.... woman". Her family tree shows one aboriginal woman, her great-great-great grandmother. Every other person was a white settler from Ireland, Holland and Malta as well as Chinese-Malay. She ignores all the latter in favour of the former and is "active" in trying to "preserve (her) culture". 

Perhaps it is a good thing she takes such a great interest in these things. It may well help to preserve some genuinely important and fascinating history. Unfortunately making claims that cannot be backed up by hard evidence and making demands as a result of those claims is not preserving anything. It is destroying what little remains.