Palawa kani
Encyclopedia
Palawa kani is a reconstructed language
; an ongoing project which aims to create a generic language, resembling the extinct languages once spoken by the Tasmanian Aborigines
(Palawa).
The original Tasmanian languages
became extinct in 1905 when the last native speaker died. As part of community efforts to retrieve as much of the original Tasmanian culture as possible, efforts are made to (re)construct a language for the indigenous community. Due to the scarcity of records, Palawa kani is being constructed as a composite of the estimated 6 to 12 original languages.
Theresa Sainty and Jenny Longey were the first two "language workers" to work on the project in 1999.
Another source of material for the project is community knowledge where a surprising amount of words, phrases and snippets of lore have survived. The reconstruction project also uses linguistic data of related mainland native languages if necessary.
Jim Bacon
.
Palawa kani is also used on a number of signs in Tasmanian National Parks and Kunanyi has been accepted as an official name for Mount Wellington
and the Asbestos Range National Park is now known formally as Narawntapu National Park
.
with an SVO structure. It appears to have nouns, verbs and adjectives. Adjectives precede the noun and neither nouns nor adjectives are marked for number, e.g. nayri kati "good number(s)". Negations precede the verb, e.g. putiya makara "not stop".
No capital letters are used in native texts, but when used in English, place names such as Kunanyi are often capitalised.
Possessives can take directional affixes such as -tu "to(wards)", e.g. mana-mapali-tu "to our" or -ta "on" e.g. nika-ta "on their".
in nature and has no irregular forms. In composed numerals, stress falls onto the first numeral.
...
...
The second sample is from the interpretation boards in Kunanyi Park
.
Linguistic reconstruction
Linguistic reconstruction is the practice of establishing the features of the unattested ancestor of one or more given languages. There are two kinds of reconstruction. Internal reconstruction uses irregularities in a single language to make inferences about an earlier stage of that language...
; an ongoing project which aims to create a generic language, resembling the extinct languages once spoken by the Tasmanian Aborigines
Tasmanian Aborigines
The Tasmanian Aborigines were the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Before British colonisation in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Parlevar. A number of historians point to introduced disease as the major cause of the destruction of the full-blooded...
(Palawa).
History
Tasmanian languages
The Tasmanian languages, or Palawa languages, were the languages indigenous to the island of Tasmania. Based on short wordlists, it appears that there were anywhere from five to sixteen languages on Tasmania....
became extinct in 1905 when the last native speaker died. As part of community efforts to retrieve as much of the original Tasmanian culture as possible, efforts are made to (re)construct a language for the indigenous community. Due to the scarcity of records, Palawa kani is being constructed as a composite of the estimated 6 to 12 original languages.
Theresa Sainty and Jenny Longey were the first two "language workers" to work on the project in 1999.
Sources
The project employs various sources such as:- the journal of George Augustus RobinsonGeorge Augustus RobinsonGeorge Augustus Robinson was a builder and untrained preacher. He was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1849...
- the records of the French d'Entrecasteaux expedition of 1793
- word lists compiled by Brian Plomley
- the recordings of Fanny Cochrane SmithFanny Cochrane SmithFanny Cochrane Smith, was a Tasmanian Aborigine, born in December 1834. She is considered to be the last fluent speaker of a Tasmanian language, and her wax cylinder recordings of songs are the only audio recordings of any of Tasmania's indigenous languages.-Life:Fanny Cochrane's mother and...
, one of the last native speakers
Another source of material for the project is community knowledge where a surprising amount of words, phrases and snippets of lore have survived. The reconstruction project also uses linguistic data of related mainland native languages if necessary.
State of the language
Developed in conjunction with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, community ownership of the language is maintained for the time being. The language project is entirely community based and the language is not taught in state schools but at various after school events, organised camps and trips. There is obvious enthusiasm for the language especially among younger people and an increasing number of people are able to use the language to some extent, some to great fluency. Lutana Spotswood famously gave a eulogy in palawa kani at the funeral of the Tasmanian PremierPremiers of the Australian states
The Premiers of the Australian states are the de facto heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. They perform the same function at the state level as the Prime Minister of Australia performs at the national level. The territory equivalents to the...
Jim Bacon
Jim Bacon
James Alexander Bacon, AC was Premier of Tasmania from 1998 to 2004.-Early life:Bacon was born in Melbourne; his father Frank, a doctor, died when Jim was twelve, leaving him to be raised by his mother Joan. He was educated at Scotch College and later at Monash University, but he did not graduate....
.
Palawa kani is also used on a number of signs in Tasmanian National Parks and Kunanyi has been accepted as an official name for Mount Wellington
Mount Wellington (Tasmania)
Mount Wellington is a mountain on whose foothills is built much of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is often referred to simply as 'the Mountain' by the residents of Hobart, and it rises to AHD over the city....
and the Asbestos Range National Park is now known formally as Narawntapu National Park
Narawntapu National Park
Narawntapu is a national park in Tasmania, Australia. It lies on Tasmania's north coast, adjoining Bass Strait, between Port Sorell in the west and the mouth of the Tamar River in the east...
.
Grammar
Palawa kani is an isolating languageIsolating language
An isolating language is a type of language with a low morpheme-per-word ratio — in the extreme case of an isolating language words are composed of a single morpheme...
with an SVO structure. It appears to have nouns, verbs and adjectives. Adjectives precede the noun and neither nouns nor adjectives are marked for number, e.g. nayri kati "good number(s)". Negations precede the verb, e.g. putiya makara "not stop".
No capital letters are used in native texts, but when used in English, place names such as Kunanyi are often capitalised.
Pronouns
The word mapali "many" doubles up as a plural suffix for some pronouns and possessives.| mina | I, me |
| nina | you |
| he/she | |
| waranta | we |
| you | |
| nara-mapali | they |
Possessives can take directional affixes such as -tu "to(wards)", e.g. mana-mapali-tu "to our" or -ta "on" e.g. nika-ta "on their".
Possessive Pronouns
Possessives follow the noun, for example milaythina mana "our land".| mana | my |
| nanya | your |
| his/her | |
| mana-mapali | our |
| your (pl.) | |
| nika | their |
Verbs
- kipli : eat
- krakapaka : die
- laykara : run
- liyini : sing
- makara : stop
- mulaka : hunt
- ningina : get
- takara : walk
- tapilti : go
- tunapri : 1 understand, know 2 remember
- yangina : swim
Other vocabulary
- kanaplila : dance
- kani : language
- katin : number (noun)
- katina : beach
- kitana : little girl
- kunnikung : pigfaceCarpobrotusCarpobrotus is a genus of ground-creeping plants, with succulent leaves and large daisy-like flowers. The name refers to the edible fruits. It comes from the Greek "karpos" and "brota" .There are about 25 species in this genus, having a disperse distribution worldwide...
- lakri : tree fern
- laymi : never
- luna : woman
- lutana : moon
- luwana : girl
- luwutina : children
- luyni : stone, rock
- mapali : very, plenty
- milaythina : land
- muka : sea
- mukra : dog
- munawuka : chicken
- mungalina : rain
- nala : earth
- nayri : good, happy
- nika : this
- nuyina : spirit
- oanyi : rainbow
- pakana : people
- palawa : native tasmanian
- payathanima : wallabyWallabyA wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
- pliri : boy
- poatina : cavern
- purinina : Tasmanian DevilTasmanian DevilThe Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936...
- putiya : no, not
- rayakana : song
- raytji : white, European
- redpa : mosquito
- ringina : burrow (noun)
- rrala : strong
- temma : hut
- timita : possumPossumA possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
- tiya : shit
- tiyuratina : wind
- warina : a type of mollusc
- waypa : man
- wura : duck
- wurangkili : sky
- yula : Short-tailed ShearwaterShort-tailed ShearwaterThe Short-tailed Shearwater or Slender-billed Shearwater , also called Yolla or Moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested...
(mutton bird)
Place names
- kunanyi : Mount WellingtonMount Wellington (Tasmania)Mount Wellington is a mountain on whose foothills is built much of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is often referred to simply as 'the Mountain' by the residents of Hobart, and it rises to AHD over the city....
- kutalayna : Jordan River (Tasmania)
- larapuna : Eddystone
- lumaranatana : Cape Portland CountryCape Portland, TasmaniaCape Portland is both a geographical feature and a location near the north eastern tip of Tasmania. It points west across Ringarooma Bay...
- lungtalanana : Clarke Island
- lutriwita : TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
- narawntapu : Asbestos Range
- preminghana : Mount Cameron West
- putalina : Oyster Cove
- tayaritja : Furneaux Islands
- truwana : Cape Barren Island
- wargata mina : Judds Cavern
- wukalina : Mount WilliamMount William National ParkMount William is a national park in Tasmania , 234 km northeast of Hobart....
Numerals
The number system is decimalDecimal
The decimal numeral system has ten as its base. It is the numerical base most widely used by modern civilizations....
in nature and has no irregular forms. In composed numerals, stress falls onto the first numeral.
- pama : 1
- paya : 2
- luwa : 3
- wulya : 4
- mara : 5
- nana : 6
- tura : 7
- pula : 8
- tali : 9
- kati : 10
- pamakati : 11
- payakati : 12
- luwakati : 13
...
- payaka : 20
- luwaka : 30
- wulyaka : 40
...
- pamaki : 100
- payaki : 200
- luwaki : 300
- wulyaki : 400
- maraki : 500
- nanaki : 600
- turaki : 700
- pulaki : 800
- taliki : 900
- pamaku : 1000
- payaku : 2000
- luwaku : 3000
- wulyaku : 4000
- maraku : 5000
- nanaku : 6000
- turaku : 7000
- pulaku : 8000
- taliku : 9000
Phrases
- he yangina in muka : he swims in the sea
- milaythina nika milaythina mana : this land is our country
- mina putiya tunapri raytji kani : I don't understand English
- mina kani palawa kani : I speak palawa kani
- mina takara on milaythina mana : I stand on my land
- mukra mana laymi putiya nayri : my dog is never not good
- mukra mana nayri mapali : my dog is very good
- nina tunapri mina kani : do you understand what I'm saying?
- ningina paruwi mimara : get that bug
- tapilti ningina mumara prupari patrule : go and get wood to put on the fire
- taypani pinikita : come quickly
- waranta mulaka payathanima : we're hunting wallaby
- waranta putiya makara : we won't stop
- waranta tapilti nayri : we're going, ok?
- ya : hi, hello!
- ya pulingina : welcome!
- ya tawatja : good day!
Text samples
This sample is a eulogy by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Language Program first used at the 2004 anniversary of the Risdon Cove massacre of 1804.| ya pulingina milaythina mana mapali tu | Greetings to all of you here on our land |
| mumirimina laykara milaythina mulaka tara | It was here that the Mumirima people hunted kangaroo all over their lands |
| raytji mulaka mumirimina | It was here that the white men hunted the Mumirimina |
| mumirimina mapali krakapaka laykara | Many Mumirimina died as they ran |
| krakapaka milaythina nika ta | Died here on their lands |
| waranta takara milaythina nara takara | We walk where they once walked |
| waranta putiya nayri | And their absence saddens us |
| nara laymi krakapaka waranta tu manta waranta tunapri nara. | But they will never be dead for us as long as we remember them. |
The second sample is from the interpretation boards in Kunanyi Park
Mount Wellington (Tasmania)
Mount Wellington is a mountain on whose foothills is built much of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is often referred to simply as 'the Mountain' by the residents of Hobart, and it rises to AHD over the city....
.
| milaythina nika milaythina-mana | This land is our country |
| pakana laykara milaythina nika mulaka | Aboriginal people ran over this land to hunt |
| pakana-mapali krakapaka milaythina nika | And many died here |
| tapilti larapuna, tapilti putalina | From Eddystone Point, to Oyster Cove |
| tapilti kunanyi, tapilti tayaritja | From Mount Wellington to the Bass Strait Islands |
| waranta takara milaythina nara takara | We walk where they walked |
| nara taymi krakapaka waranta-tu waranta tunapri nara | And they will never be dead for us as long |
| milaythina nika waranta pakana | As long as we remember them |
| waranta palawa, milaythina nika | This country is us, and we are this country |