Naming new places such as schools and hospitals is an important step in keeping those languages alive, the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria says.

To mark the annual International Mother Language Day, the Indigenous organisation has renewed calls for dual naming to become standard practice.

Assembly co-chair and Bangerang and Wiradjuri elder Aunty Geraldine Atkinson said dual naming is a simple step to show respect and help culture thrive.

"This country is home to the oldest living culture in the world, yet today some First Nations languages are on the brink, we risk losing them when we could be breathing new life into their use," Aunty Geraldine said.

"Embracing First Nations languages in place names is one very easy way to help our languages live on."

In 2022 in Victoria there were two high-profile instances of renaming places by governments.

A local council in Melbourne's north chose to rename itself from Moreland - a name connected to slavery, dispossession and racism - to Merri-bek from the local Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung language.

"Last year we saw Moreland become Merri-bek, which was a really nice move," Aunty Geraldine said.

"But we also had the premier say he was going to rename Maroondah Hospital.

"It's the only hospital in the state with a First Nations name, but it will be erased to make way for the very symbol of colonisation - it will be called the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. What a blundering misstep."

Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations chief executive Paul Paton said Indigenous languages in Australia comprise only two per cent of languages spoken in the world, but represent nine per cent of the world's critically endangered languages.

"For centuries, language has been used to form communities, create social cohesion and to mark outsiders," he said.

"For Aboriginal people it has marked us as outsiders on our own country and its removal has been used as a way to colonise us."

Al Fricker, from the National Indigenous Knowledges Education Research Innovation Institute at Deakin University, said the loss of languages shows the direct impact of colonisation and governments are not doing enough to address the issue.

Of the 120 remaining First Nations languages, 100 are either endangered or critically endangered.

"Not since the 1970s has Australia invested in language preservation and revitalisation," Dr Fricker told AAP.

"This is when we led the world and had the role of teacher-linguist in the remote schools to support language health."

He said using First Nations languages for place names was a great first step and urged all governments to follow up with funding, education and programs to ensure they are not lost forever.

The United Nations' International Mother Language Day recognises that languages and multilingualism advance inclusion and help ensure nobody is left behind.

Australian Associated Press