T16: palawa kani

AIATSIS code: 
T16
AIATSIS reference name: 
palawa kani

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Name
Thesaurus heading language
palawa kani language T16
Thesaurus heading people
Palawa people T16
ABN name
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ABS name
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Horton name
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Ethnologue name
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ISO 639-3 code
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Tindale name
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Tindale (1974)
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O'Grady et al (1966)
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Glottocode
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Other sources
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Synonyms
Trawlwulwuy
Comment
Comments: 

Historical records of languages in Tasmania are sparse, resulting in the decision of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre to develop a composite language, palawa kani ('Aborigines talking'). This language incorporates materials documented since the early colonial period with surviving spoken words, texts and songs (Mansell, 2012:14).

Crowley and Dixon (1981:402-403) compare collected vocabularies from fifteen regions. This database assigns reference names for Tasmania based on this regional list. See also Northern T1; Oyster Bay T2; North-western T3; Northern Midlands T4; South-eastern T5; Macquarie Harbour T6; Ben Lomond T7; Big River T8; Cape Portland T9; South-western T10; Robbin Island T11; Circular Head T12; Port Sorrell T13; Piper River T14 and Little Swanport T15. Language data from historical sources about all Tasmanian language varieties form the basis of palawa kani (T16).

 

 

References: 
  • Bowern, Claire. 2012. The riddle of Tasmanian languages. Proceedings of the Royal Society. 279, 4590-4595. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1842.
  • Crowley, Terry, and R. M. W. Dixon. 1981. Tasmanian. In Handbook of Australian languages vol. 2, eds R. M. W. Dixon and B. J. Blake, 395-421 + map p. Canberra: ANU Press.
  • Crowley, Terry. 1993. Tasmanian Aboriginal language : old and new identities. In Language and Culture in Aboriginal Australia, eds Michael Walsh and Colin Yallop, 51-71. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
  • Mansell, Michael. 2012. Submission to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Hobart: Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
  • Plomley, Norman J.B. 1976. A word-list of the Tasmanian aboriginal languages. Launceston: The Author in association with Government of Tasmania.
  • Ryan, Lyndall. 2012. Tasmanian Aborigines, A history since 1803. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
  • Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. c2005. Learning palawa kani, Teacher's Guide and CD-ROM. Hobart: Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
  • Taylor, John Albert. 2010. Dictionary of Palawa ('Tasmanian Aboriginal') Place Names. MS 4970.
Status: 
Confirmed
Location
State / Territory: 
TAS
Location information: 

Tasmania

Maps: 
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Links

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ABC News - Palawa Kani
Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation
ABC News - Fanny Cochrane Smith's Tasmanian Aboriginal songs and language preserved forever
The Orb
Awaye! Word Up: Tessa Atto
Programs
Activities: 
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People: 
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Indigenous organisations: 
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Speakers
Year Source Speaker numbers
1975Oates-
1984Senate-
1990Schmidt-
1996Census-
2001Census-
2004NILS1-
2005Estimate-
2006Census-
2011Census-
2014NILS2555
2016Census-
2018-2019NILS3251-500

Speaker numbers were measured differently across the censuses and various other sources listed in AUSTLANG. You are encouraged to refer to the sources.

Speaker numbers for ‘NILS 2004’ and ‘2005 estimate’ come from 'Table F.3: Numbers of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages (various surveys)' in 'Appendix F NILS endangerment and absolute number results' in McConvell, Marmion and McNicol 2005, pages 198-230 (PDF, 2.5MB).

Documentation
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Manuscript note: 
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Grammar: 
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Dictionary: 
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Classification
Source Family Group Sub-group Name Language-dialect relationships
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