Y2: Kalaw Kawaw Ya | AIATSIS Collection

AIATSIS code:

AIATSIS reference name:

Kalaw Kawaw Ya

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Name

Thesaurus heading language	Kalaw Kawaw Ya language Y2
Thesaurus heading people	Western Torres Strait Islander people Y2
ABN name	Kalaw Kawaw Ya language
ABS name	Kalaw Kawaw Ya/Kalaw Lagaw Ya
Horton name	Kalaw Kawaw Ya
Ethnologue name	Kala Lagaw Ya [Kalaw Kawaw]
ISO 639-3 code	-
Tindale name	-
Tindale (1974)
O'Grady et al (1966)	Kowrarega, Karualaig
Glottocode	-
Other sources
Synonyms	Kalaw Kawaw Ya/Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kala Lagaw Ya, Gudang, Kaurareg, Moait, Moalaig, Bo:gu, Buglial, Bulgai, Dauan Saibai, Kowrarega, Karualaig, Dauan, Boigu, Saibai, Torres Strait Islander language, Torres Strait Islander people

Comment

Comments:

Kalaw Kawaw Ya Y2 is a variety of the Western Torres Strait language known as Kala Lagaw Ya Y1.

Other varieties are Kala Lagaw Ya Y1, Mabuyag Y239, Kulkalgaw Ya Y4, and Kawalgaw Ya Y5. See also Torres Straits Creole P2 and Meriam Mir Y3.

Note that ABS does not make a distinction between Kalaw Lagaw Ya (Y1) and Kalaw Kawaw Ya (Y2) and thus Census data probably covers both varieties.

References:

Ober, Dana, and Rod Kennedy. nd. Kalaw Kawaw Ya dictionary. (AILEC 0485).
Round, Erich and Lesley Stirling, 2015. Universals of split argument coding and morphological neutralization: Why Kala Yagaw Ya is not as bizarre as we thought. Australian Journal of Linguistics 35(3):251-281.

Status:

Confirmed

Location

State / Territory:

QLD

TSI

Location information:

Saibai, Dauan and Boigu (Ober et al. AILEC 0485)

Maps:

Links

Search MURA people®

Search MURA language®

ABC Open - Marrin Gamu

Torres Strait Island Language Plan

Awaye! Word Up: Leonora Adidi

Programs

Activities:

People:

Marina Babia, Ephraim Bani, Anna Shnukal, Saibai Island Council (Mariana Babia, Cultural Officer), Brisbane Kala Kawaw Ya Project

Indigenous organisations:

Dauanlgaw Torres Strait Islander Corporation
C/- Dauan Island Council
Dauan Island via Thursday Island QLD 4875:
Saibai Mura Buway (Torres Strait Islanders) Corporation
Saibai Island via Thursday Island QLD 4875:

Speakers

Year	Source	Speaker numbers
1975	Oates	-
1984	Senate	-
1990	Schmidt	-
1996	Census	-
2001	Census	816
2004	NILS1	-
2005	Estimate	800
2006	Census	1216
2011	Census	985
2014	NILS2
2016	Census	957
2018-2019	NILS3

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

Type	Documentation Status	Documentation Score
Word list	Large (more than 200 pages)	4
Text Collection	None	0
Grammar	None	0
Audio-visual	More than 10	3

Manuscript note:

tape transcription/field note available

Grammar:

Dictionary:

Bani, Ephraim. 1986. Kalaw Kawaw Ya/English dictionary.

Classification

Source	Family	Group	Sub-group	Name	Relationship
Ethnologue (2005)	Pama-Nyungan	Kala Lagaw Ya		Kala Lagaw Ya [Kalaw Kawaw]	Kala Lagaw Ya [dialects: Kalaw Kawaw]
Dixon (2002)		TORRES STRAIT GROUP		Kalaw Kawaw Ya	West Torres (also: Kalaw Kawaw Ya, Kala Lagaw Langgus, Yagar Yagar) - Ford and Ober (1986) dialects on each island: Mabuiag, Badu, Dauan, Saibai, Boigu, Moa, Yarn, Sue, Yorke and Coconut
Wurm (1994)
Walsh (1981)
Oates (1975)	Pama-Nyungan	Mabuiag	Southern Mabuiag	Dauan, Boigu, Saibai
Wurm (1972)	Pama-Nyungan	Mabuiagic		Dauan
O'Grady, Voegelin and Voegelin (1966)	Pama-Nyungan	Mabuiagic	Kaurareg, Muralag is also Y1 Kalaw Lagaw Ya	Dauan-Saibai