Rising to the Language Supply Challenge in Times of Rapid Migration 🌍

The dynamic nature of migration is reshaping Australia’s linguistic landscape in unprecedented ways. One of the most striking challenges we've encountered over the past six months is the sourcing of rare and newly emerging languages within rapidly migrating populations.

As people move across borders, they bring their language, their culture. However, the rarity of some languages poses significant hurdles for businesses, educational institutions, and government bodies striving to communicate effectively and inclusively.

One such instance is the ‘Damara’ language. Like many other languages in the southern part of the African continent, Damara makes use of click consonants—acoustically salient speech sounds formed by the sudden opening of a closure resulting in a sharp inflow of air towards a secondary occlusion at the back of the mouth. Today, there are approximately 30 languages that use click consonants.

The Damara language, native to the Damara ethnic group within Namibia, is spoken by 8.5% of the Namibian population, which translates to about 218,000 people out of 2.567 million (as of 2022).

To put that into a local context, according to the ABS, as of 2020, Australia had 1,720 people from Namibia residing in the country. This implies that approximately 146 Namibian people in Australia may speak Damara.

Think about that - 146 people out of a population of 26 Million – that’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Going above and beyond

We are renowned for going above and beyond for our clients. We work tirelessly to ensure our clients have access to a broad range of languages given the linguistic changes in Australia’s population.

In June 2024, we received our first request for the Damara language. The number of native speakers, not just in Australia but globally, is very low. Finding a skilled interpreter with demonstrable interpreting capabilities between Damara and English was a huge feat, and the request was time critical.

Kudos to Jacqui Gigliotti for working tirelessly round the clock to secure, vet, and onboard a native Damara speaker for our client.

Coincidentally, since the first request, we've received several more, indicating a growing Damaran community within Australia. Needless to say, we’re ready.

Why this matters

This goes well beyond finding translators or interpreters—it's about ensuring accuracy, cultural relevance, and emotional resonance. How do we capture the nuances of a language spoken by a small community? How do we embrace the linguistic heritage of migrants in Australia while facilitating their integration into our society? How do we, as a vendor, together with our clients, ensure we deliver a positive experience in our customer’s native language? It’s all critical.

Yes, technology is important, but it can only do so much. There will always be languages and scenarios where technology cannot (and should not) replace a human interpreter or translator.

That’s why engaging a new generation of linguists and building partnerships with native speakers are essential steps in addressing these challenges for the future.