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. |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| 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.
Awabakal is a Pama–Nyungan language, most closely related to the Worimi language, within the Yuin–Kuric group of Pama–Nyungan.
Awabakal was studied by the Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld from 1825 until his death in 1859. The speaker of Awabakal who 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.
The language is currently being revived. A new orthography and reconstruction of the phonology has been undertaken. To date, several publications have been produced.
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.
Like many other similarities of Australian aboriginals with south Indian people (Tamils), these vowels also have similarities with Tamil language vowels.
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?).
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