S66: Awabakal

AIATSIS Code: 
S66
AIATSIS Reference name: 
Awabakal

tab group

Name
ABN Name
Awabakal language
ABS Name
Other Australian Indigenous Languages, nec (Awabakal)
Horton Name
-
Ethnologue name
Awabakal
ISO 639-3 code
awk
Tindale name
Awabakal
Thesaurus heading
Awabakal language (S66) (NSW SI56-05)
Tindale (1974)
Awaba (place name of Lake Macquarie), Awabagal, 'Lake Macquarie, Newcastle' tribe, Kuringgai (see above), Minyowa (horde at Newcastle), Minyowie, Kuri (general term meaning 'man' in several tribes north of and around Sydney.
O'Grady et al (1966)
Awabagal, Lake Macquarie
Glottocode
awab1243
Other sources
Awarbukal, Arwarburkarl [ALRRC] 'the Hunter River-Lake Macquarie language', HRLM [Wafer & Lissarrague 2010]
Synonyms
Awabagal
Other Australian Indigenous Languages
Awaba
Kuri
Kuringgai
Lake Macquarie
Awarbukal
Arwarburkarl
Newcastle tribe
Comment
Language comment
Arposio (2008:10) describes Awabakal as a dialect within a larger language group including Gadhang / Kattang E67 to the north and extending southwards from Newcastle down the coast to the northern shores of Botany Bay, reflecting Fraser's (1892) 'Kuringgai' group. Lissarrague (2006) describes the Hunter River – Lake Macquarie language S99 spoken by people now known as Awabakal, Kuringgai S62, Wanarruwa S63 and possibly Kayawaykal E1. In her later work (Wafer & Lissarrague 2008:159–160) Awabakal is treated as a dialect name of the 'Hunter River – Lake Macquarie language'. Wafer and Lissarrague (2008) also address the confusion over the relationship between the Hunter River – Lake Macquarie language S99 and the 'Lower North Coast language' (i.e. Gathang E67, Birrpay E3, Warrimay E2 and Guringay E95), indicating these are two distinct languages, and Wafer and Lissarrague (2010) disambiguate the different uses of the term 'Kuringgai’ S62.
References

Arposio, Alex. 2008. A grammar for the Awabakal language. Cardiff, N.S.W.: Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association.
Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association. 2010. Nupaliyan palii Awabakalkoba = Teach yourself Awabakal. Cardiff, N.S.W. : Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association.
Fraser, John ed. 1892. An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal, the people of Awaba or Lake Macquarie. Sydney: Charles Potter, Government Printer.
Lissarrague, Amanda. 2006. A salvage grammar and wordlist of the language from the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie. Nambucca Heads, N.S.W. : Muurrbay Language and Culture Centre.
Tindale, Norman B. 1974. Aboriginal tribes of Australia: their terrain, environmental controls, distribution, limits, and proper names. Berkeley: University of California Press/Canberra: Australian National University Press.
Wafer, Jim, and Amanda Lissarrague. 2008. A handbook of Aboriginal languages of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Nambucca Heads: Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative.
Wafer, Jim, and Amanda Lissarrague. 2010. The Kuringgai puzzle. In Indigenous language and social identity: papers in honour of Michael Walsh, eds B. Baker, I. Mushin, M. Harvey & R. Gardner. Pacific Linguistics 626. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
Status
Confirmed
Location
State
NSW
Location information
Hunter's River, Lake Macquarie &c (in Threlkeld 1834 as quoted by Lissarrague 2006:12). Lake Macquarie, south of Newcastle, N.S.W. (not Port Macquarie) (Tindale 1974). ... around Newcastle and the mouth of the Hunter River, around Lake Macquarie, down to around Wyong-Tuggerah Lake, and up the lower Hunter Valley to somewhere just beyond or around Maitland. (Awarbukarl Cultural Resource Assoc. 2010:4). Lake Macquarie and the Hunter River (Haslam, in Arposio 2008:12).
Maps
-
Catalogue
Search MURA the AIATSIS catalogue, for items about this language
Search OZBIB
Speakers
Speaker table
Oates 1973Senate 1984Schmidt 1990Census 1996Census 2001NILS 20042005 estimateCensus 2006
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Speaker NILS table
1-19 years20-39 years40-59 years60+
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NILS endangerment grade
-
Documentation
Document Score: 
9
Documentation table: 
TypeDocumentation StatusDocumentation Score
Word listSmall (20-100 pages)2
Text CollectionMedium (100-200 pages)3
GrammarLarge grammar (more than 200 pages)4
Audio-visualNone0
Manuscript Note: 
tape transcription/field note available (vocabulary)
Grammar: 
Threlkeld, L.E. 1892. An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal, the people of Awaba or Lake Macquarie (near Newcastle, New South Wales): being an account of their language, traditions and customs. Sydney: Charles Potter, Government Printer. Lissarrague, Amanda. 2006. A Salvage Grammar and Wordlist of the Language from the Hunter River & Lake Macquarie. Nambucca Heads: Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Cooperative. Arposio, Alex. 2008. A grammar for the Awabakal language. Cardiff, NSW: Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association. Arposio, Alex. 2008. An introduction to the Awabakal langauge. Cardiff, NSW: Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association. Arposio, Alex. 2011 [2010]. Palii Ngarabangaliingeyn Awabakalkoba: Understanding Awabakal language. Newcastle: Miromaa Aboriginal Language and Technology Centre.
Dictionary: 
Threlkeld, L.E. 1892. An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal, the people of Awaba or Lake Macquarie (near Newcastle, New South Wales): being an account of their language, traditions and customs. Sydney: Charles Potter, Government Printer. Maynard, John. 2004. Awabakal word finder: an Aboriginal dictionary and dreaming stories companion. Southport, QLS: Keeaira Press. Roberts, David Andres. English-Awabakal Dictionary. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/centre/awaba/awaba/group/amrhd/awaba/language/dictionary/index.html. Awarbukarl Cultural Resource Association. 2009 [2008]. Awabakal dictionary: research edition. Cardiff: Awarbukarl Cultural Resource Association Incorporated.
Programs
Activities: 
Awabakal Cultural Resource Association is carrying out language revival work and currently developing a computer-based language learning material, Miromaa (2007). Many Rivers Aboriginal Language Centre is running the Awabakal & Wonnarua (HRLM) Language Revitalisation program and is currently producing ‘A Learner's Guide to the language from the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie (HRLM)’ based on Lissarrague's published grammar (2007). Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association has produced a ‘plain English’ grammar and language learning guide for descendants of Awabakal speakers.
People: 
Amanda Lissarrague, Alex Arposio, Awabakal Cultural Resource Association(Daryn McKenny), Many Rivers Aboriginal Language Centre, Percy Haslam, Reverend Dr John Fraser, L.E. Threlkeld
Indigenous organisations: 
-
Classification
Classification table: 
SourceFamilyGroupSub-groupNameRelationship
Ethnologue (2005)Pama-NyunganWorimiAwabakalAwabakal [dialects: Awabagal, Cameeragal, Wonarua]
Dixon (2002)CENTRAL NEW SOUTH WALES GROUPAwabagal/Gadjang subgroup*AwabagalAwabagal Threlkeld (1834) further dialects: Cameeragal, Wonarua
Wurm (1994)Pama-NyunganYuin-KuricAwabakal
Walsh (1981)Pama-NyunganYuin-KuricKuriAwabakalGadang [dialects: Gadang, Awabakal, Birbay, Warrimi]
Oates (1975)Pama-NyunganYuin-KuricKuriAwaba
Wurm (1972)Pama-NyunganYuin-KuricKuriAwabakal
O'Grady, Voegelin & Voegelin (1966)Pama-NyunganYuin-KuricKuriAwabakal