‘Should have been my birthright’ - the journey to reclaim a lost language‘Should have been my birthright’ - the journey to reclaim a lost language
All In The Mind
Languages are so much more than words and sounds — they encode culture and shape our identity. So how do you connect to your culture, if language is lost? While many Indigenous languages have already been lost, and more are at risk of extinction, in Australia, people are increasingly trying to revitalise certain Indigenous languages. ABC Radio National presenter and Gamilaraay woman Rudi Bremer is on her own journey of reconnecting with her mother tongue, and it's bringing up a mixed bag of feelings — from a profound sense of loss, to deep contentment and belonging. Guests: Jade McHughes, PhD candidate and Ngarrindjeri woman Trinity Clarke, Language worker and Kuku Yalanji woman Credits: Reporter/presenter: Rudi Bremer, Gamilaraay woman Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar Producer: Kaylene Langford, Guringai woman Producer: Rose Kerr Senior producer: James Bullen You can hear more from presenter Rudi Bremer on Word Up and Awaye! To explore more great episodes from the award-winning psychology podcast All in the Mind with host Sana Qadar, download the ABC Listen app (Australia) or search 'ABC All in the Mind podcast' wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find more episodes on mental health, trauma, attachment theory, wellness hacks, and family relationships. You'll also hear interviews with experts like Esther Perel, Billy Garvey and Ethan Kross. All in the Mind is created for ABC's Radio National by specialist journalists and reporters at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
30:16•4 Jul 2026
Reclaiming a Mother Tongue: Why Language Feels Like a Birthright
Episode Overview
- Reclaiming an Indigenous language in adulthood can trigger both joy and anger, especially when it feels like something that should have been learnt in childhood.
- Language loss in Aboriginal communities is closely linked to missions, stolen generations and punishments for speaking, leaving lasting emotional and cultural scars.
- Learning and teaching language can support cultural healing, strengthen identity and help people feel they truly belong, including young people in youth justice.
- Practical language work needs to focus on creating fluent speakers and everyday use, not just on static resources like dictionaries and apps.
- Indigenous kinship, responsibilities and relationships are deeply encoded in language, and English often flattens or distorts those meanings.
“"Well, really, it should have been your birthright. It should have been our birthright to learn our mother tongue and for it to be our first language."”
What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This episode of All In The Mind turns that question toward cultural recovery, following Indigenous women reclaiming the languages that, as one guest says, "should have been our birthright". The focus is on Gamilaraay woman and ABC RN presenter Rudi Bremer, who jokes that she speaks her language "as well as a toddler" despite hosting an Indigenous language show for nine years. Her story is anything but light, though.
Rudi describes the joy and anger of starting classes in her 30s, realising she wanted to learn as a child at home with her grandmother, not in an adult classroom. That clash between contentment and grief runs right through the episode. Narangjeri woman and PhD candidate Jade McHughes explains how language loss is tied to missions, stolen generations and punishments for speaking Aboriginal tongues.
She talks about teaching in youth justice centres and the way language learning can fill what she calls "a hole in my heart that I didn't know why it was there". Her research looks at cultural healing through language, but she also keeps it real about the frustration and politics around who is seen as "allowed" to teach.
Gugu Yelanji language worker Trinity Clark brings a younger voice, describing how Snapchat videos of her nannies became DIY language lessons while she was at boarding school. She now works on curriculum to create fluent speakers, arguing that dictionaries and apps are "not living" – people and Country are. Throughout, host Sana Kadar keeps things conversational and curious, making complex ideas about kinship, identity and mental wellbeing feel accessible.
If you've ever felt cut off from your roots, or wondered why words matter so much to how we see ourselves, this gentle, funny and sometimes fiery conversation might speak straight to that quiet gap inside. So, which parts of your own story might be waiting in a language you haven't learned yet?
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