A series of studies of aspects of language and culture in different parts of Aboriginal Australia, this book deals with subjects including why a young Aboriginal woman in rural Australia might plead guilty to a crime she didn't commit; the picture of “language ownership" that can be drawn from recent research on land rights; what is known of the first white settlers' attempts to learn the language of the Sydney region; the first dictionaries compiled in South Australia; and how Aboriginal languages are now being used in the media and education.