Awabakal language

Awabakal
Hunter River–Lake Macquarie
Native to	Eastern New South Wales, Australia
Region	Lake Macquarie, Newcastle
Ethnicity	Awabakal people
Extinct	Sometime late in the 19th century. The language is currently in early stages of revival.
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Yuin–Kuric Kuri Worimi Awabakal
Dialects	Awabagal Cameeragal Wonarua
Language codes
ISO 639-3	awk
Glottolog	awab1243
AIATSIS	S66

Awabakal (also Awabagal) is an Australian Aboriginal language that was spoken around Lake Macquarie and Newcastle in New South Wales. The name is derived from Awaba, which was the native name of the lake.

Classification

Awabakal is a Pama–Nyungan language, most closely related to the Worimi language, within the Yuin–Kuric group of Pama–Nyungan.

History

File:An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal.djvu

An Australian Aboriginal language, as spoken by the Awabakal

Awabakal was studied by the Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld from 1825 until his death in 1859. The speaker of Awabakal that taught him about the language was Biraban, the tribal leader. Threlkeld and Biraban's Specimens of a Dialect of the Aborigines of New South Wales in 1827 was the earliest attempt at exhibiting the structure of an Australian language. The 1892 An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal, the people of Awaba, or lake Macquarie contains a grammar and vocabulary.

Modern revival

The language is currently being revived. A new orthography and reconstruction of the phonology has been undertaken. To date, several publications have been produced.

Phonology

Awabakal ceased to be a spoken language since long before the creation of recording equipment, and part of the revival process has been the reconstruction of the phonology. Therefore, the exactness of the language's sounds will never be historically precise. This process has, however, produced one which will be satisfactory for the purpose of revitalisation.

Vowels

a – similar to English cut	/a/
aa – long father	/aː/
ai – eye	/aɪ/
au – cut and bull together quickly. Similar to Scottish English "cow"	/aʊ/
e – air but short	/æ~e/
ei – way	/eɪ/
i – pit	/i/
ii – need	/iː/
o – or but shorter	/œ/
oo – or but longer	/œː/
u – food but shorter	/u/

Like many other similarities of Australian aboriginals with south Indian people (Tamils), these vowels also has similarities with Tamil language vowels.

Consonants

b,p – closer to English p than b – The lips are tense.	[p͈] – labio-tensive
k – Like English k but further back	[q]
l – value	[l̻] – laminal, possible palatised in some situations
m – like English m	[m͈] – labio-tensive
n – something like onion	[n̻] ~ [n̺] – laminal when beginning a syllable, apical when word final
ng – sing, ring	[ŋ] – possibly further back, [ɴ], like the k
r – trilled or rolled r	[r]
t – something like tune in Australian English	[t̻] – laminal stop, slightly aspirated, sometimes similar to an affricate
w – like English w, lips not as close together	[β̞]
y – like English y, tongue not as close to the top palate	[j] – but the tongue is mid-centralised

Grammar

Nouns

There exist three noun classes. The first has 4 declension patterns. A noun can exist in any of 13 cases.

1st class – Common nouns, descriptors, demonstratives and Minaring (what?). 2nd class – Place names, words of spatial relations and Wonta (where?). 3rd class – Persons' names, kinships terms and Ngaan (who?).

The default, unmarked case of nouns is the absolutive. Unlike English and many European languages, in which an unmarked noun in the nominative case, and is (in the active voice) the subject of the sentence, Awabakal merely references a particular noun with this case.

Descriptors

There is a category of words in Awabakal called descriptors. They can stand as referring terms and are in these cases similar to nouns, like adjectives or intransitive verbs/predicative verb-adjective phrases. They can be declined into nominal cases.

Numbers

There are four number words.

• Wakool – one
• Bulowara – two
• Ngoro – three
• Wara – four or five (also the word for the palm of the hand → a handful of)

Pronominal enclitics

Pronominal enclitics are suffixes which have several functions and can be attached to verbs, descriptors, appositions, interrogatives, negatives and nouns. The numbers are: singular, dual and plural with a feminine/masculine distinction in the first person. They mark verbs for person, number, case and voice. The "ergative" enclitcs imply an active transitive situation and the "accusative" implies a passive intransitive situation. There are three true pronouns which could be called a nominative or topic case. There are only found at the beginning of an independent clause. These pronominals are found in ergative, accusative, dative and possessive cases.

Demonstratives

There are 3 degrees. They are declined for 10 cases.

• 'this' near the speaker
• 'that' near the addressee(s)
• 'that' there (but at hand)

Appositive demonstratives

Here too, there are 3 degrees. These terms indicate place. They decline for 13 cases.

Verbs

The default verbative voice of Awabakal verbs is neutral. I.e. they do not give a sense of active or passive. The pronominal enclitics indicate which voice the verb should be analysed as being in. There are 3 present tenses, 8 future and 7 past, with various voice, aspect and mood modifications.

Example:
Kariwangku minaring tataan?
kariwang+tu minaring + eat+taan?
magpie+ERG what(ABS) eat+PRES?
What does the magpie eat?

Minaringku kariwang tataan?
minaring+ku kariwang ta+taan
what+ERG magpie(ABS) eat+PRES?
What eats the magpie?

Negatives

There are 10 forms of negatives which work with different types of words or phrases.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are not commonly used in comparison to many languages. Sentences can often be connected without their use. These also have various combinations and case declinations.

Interrogatives

• Ngaan – who?
• Minaring – what?
• Wonta – where?
• Yakowai – how?
• Yakowanta – when?
• Korakowa – why not?
• Wiya – say (how about) ...

Examples

Wonto ba kauwȧllo mankulla unnoa tara túġunbilliko ġurránto ġéen kinba,

2. Yanti bo ġearun kin bara ġukulla, unnoa tara nakillikan kurri-kurri kabiruġ ġatun mankillikan wiyellikanne koba.

3. Murrȧrȧġ tia kȧtan yantibo, koito baġ ba tuiġ ko ġirouġ Teopolo murrȧrȧġ ta,

4. Gurra-uwil koa bi tuloa, unnoa tara wiyatoara banuġ ba.

—Introduction of the Gospel of Luke

Bibliography

• Threlkeld, Lancelot Edward (1827). Specimens of a Dialect of the Aborigines of New South Wales; Being the first attempt to form their speech into a written language.
• Threlkeld, Lancelot Edward (1834). An Australian grammar: comprehending the principles and natural rules of the language, as spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter's River, Lake Macquarie, &c. New South Wales.
• Threlkeld, Lancelot Edward (1836). An Australian spelling book in the language as spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter's River, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales.
• Threlkeld, Lancelot Edward (1850). A key to the structure of the Aboriginal language; being an analysis of the particles used as affixes, to form the various modifications of the verbs; shewing the essential powers, abstract roots, and other peculiarities of the language spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter River, Lake Macquarie, etc., New South Wales: together with comparisons of Polynesian and other dialects.
• Threlkeld, Lancelot Edward (1858). Language of the Australian Aborigines. Waugh's Australian Almanac for the Year 1858. 60-80
• Threlkeld, Lancelot Edward (1892). Fraser, John (ed.), 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.
• Arposio, Alex (2009). A grammar for the Awabakal language.""
• Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association Incorporated (2009) Awabakal Dictionary – Research Edition.

See also

• Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association
• Indigenous Australian languages

External links

• English-Awabakal dictionary
• Virtual Sourcebook of Aboriginal Studies in the Hunter Region — Threlkeld's works available online
• Bibliography of Awabakal language and people resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
• Morning Prayers in the Awabakal Dialect (1835) digitized by Richard Mammana