Kaurna language

Kaurna
Kaurna language
Kaurna Warra
Region	South Australia
Ethnicity	Kaurna
Extinct	Extinct as afirst languagesince 25 December 1929, with the death ofIvaritji
Revival	Subsequently revived, with a growing number of L2 speakers
Language family	Pama-Nyungan Thura-Yura Kadli? Kaurna
Language codes
ISO 639-3	zku
Linguist List	zku
Glottolog	kaur1267
AIATSIS	L3
ELP	Kaurna
Kaurna is classified as Critically Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Kaurna(/ˈɡɑːnə/or/ˈɡaʊnə/) is aPama-Nyungan languagehistorically spoken by theKaurnapeoples of theAdelaide PlainsofSouth Australia.The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their ownparnkarradistrict of land and local dialect. These dialects were historically spoken in the area bounded byCrystal BrookandClarein the north,Cape Jervisin the south, and just over theMount Lofty Ranges.Kaurna ceased to be spoken on an everyday basis in the 19th century and the last known native speaker,Ivaritji,died in 1929.Language revivalefforts began in the 1980s, with the language now frequently used for ceremonial purposes, such asdual namingandwelcome to countryceremonies.

Classification

Robert M. W. Dixon(2002) classified Kaurna as adialectof the Kadli language, along withNgadjuri,Narungga,andNukunu,and "Nantuwara",withkadlimeaning "dog" in these varieties. However this name has not gained wide acceptance and is not recorded as a language in theAIATSIS AUSTLANGdatabase.

Luise Hercusand J. Simpson (2002, 2006) classify Kaurna as within the subgroup ofThura-Yura languages.

History of the name

The name "Kaurna" was not widely used until popularised by South Australian MuseumEthnographerNorman B. Tindalein the 1920s.The term "Kaurna" was first recorded by Missionary SurgeonWilliam Wyatt(1879: 24) for "Encounter Bay Bob's Tribe". At the same time he recorded "Meeyurna" for "Onkaparinga Jack's Tribe ".

Kaurna most likely derives fromkornar,the word for "people" in the neighbouringRamindjeri/ Ngarrindjeri language.Mullawirraburka(Onkaparinga Jack, also known to the colonists as "King John" ), was one ofLutheranmissionariesChristian TeichelmannandClamor Schürmann's main sources.Encounter Bay Bob,as his name suggests, came fromEncounter Bay(Victor Harbor) and was most likely a fully initiated elder Ramindjeri man. Thus "Meyunna" is probably anendonymand would linguistically be preferable as the name for this language group, as suggested in the mid-1990s.However, they are now universally known as the Kaurna people.

Name variants

Library of Congress Subject Headingsgives the following variant names (all followed by "language" ): Adelaide; Coorna; Gauna; Gaurna; Gawurna; Kaura; Kawurna.

TheEndangered Languages Projectnames the following alternatives: Kaura, Coorna, Koornawarra, Nganawara, Kurumidlanta, Milipitingara, Widninga, Winnaynie, Meyu, Winaini, Winnay-nie, Wakanuwan, Adelaide tribe, Warra, Warrah, Karnuwarra, Jaitjawar:a, Padnaindi, Padnayndie, Medaindi, Medain-die, Merildekald, Merelde, Gaurna, Nantuwara, Nantuwaru, Meljurna, Midlanta.

Early records of the language

Kaurna Pidgin
Native speakers	None
Language family	Kaurna–based pidgin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	pidg1255
ELP	Kaurna

See also:Piltawodli

French explorerJoseph Paul Gaimardrecorded the first wordlist of the language, containing 168 words, after calling in at theGulf St Vincenten route toWestern Australiain 1826, before thecolony of South Australiahad been established. His sources were listed as Harry and Sally.

Schürmann and Teichelmann, who ran a school atPiltawodli,gained most of their knowledge of the language from three respectedelders:Mullawirraburka( "King John" / "Onkaparinga Jack" ),Kadlitpinna( "Captain Jack" ) andItyamaiitpinna( "[King Rodney" ). The two missionaries recorded around about 3000 words, a sketchgrammar,hundreds of phrases and sentences along with English translations, traditionalsonglines,and textual illustrations of differences among dialects. They also created Kaurna translations of six Germanhymnsas well as theTen Commandments.

Other Europeans such asWilliam Wyatt,William Williams,William CawthorneandMatthew Moorhousewere interested in the people and learnt some of the language; several wrote about the "Adelaide Tribe" in their memoirs.Williams created a list of 377 Kaurna words, published in theSouthern Australianon 15 May 1839 and republished inThe South Australian Coloniston 14 July 1840.His work entitledA vocabulary of the language of the Aborigines of the Adelaide district, and other friendly tribes, of the Province of South Australiawas self-published in 1839, to be sold in London as well as Adelaide.Others who recorded some knowledge of Kaurna included James Cronk,Walter Bromley,George Augustus Robinson,Hermann Koeler, Louis Piesse,Edward Stephensand James Chittleborough.

In the 19th century, there was also a Kaurna-basedpidginused as a contact language.

The former range of the language was mapped byNorman Tindaleand laterRobert Amery,and is managed by the Kaurna people.

Language revival

Kaurna had not been spoken as a native language since the Kaurna people had been pushed out of their traditional lands since thecolonisation of South Australiain the 19th century, with the population in decline due to various factors.Ivaritji(c.1849 – 1929) was the last known speaker, but it was probably last only widely spoken in the early 1860s.

In the 1980s, Kaurna people who had moved back into theAdelaide Plainsarea began to learn and use their language again.Robert Amery,head of Linguistics at theUniversity of Adelaide,who has devoted much of his life and career to Indigenous languages, in particular Kaurna: "After more than 25 years of painstaking effort, there are now several Kaurna people who can conduct a conversation in Kaurna without resorting to English too quickly, and we are seeing the first semi-native speakers of Kaurna emerging".Kaurna is now frequently used to giveWelcomes to Country.

Sustained efforts to revive the language in from 1989 included the writing of several Kaurna songs originally written in theNgarrindjeri,Narunggaand Kaurna languages. A second songbook,Kaurna Paltinna,was published in 1999. Following one-off workshops in 1990 and 1991,a Kaurna language program was introduced intoKaurna Plains Schoolin 1992. Elizabeth City High School and Elizabeth West Adult Campus introduced the teaching of the language in 1994, and other schools have followed suit.TAFEcourses to train Kaurna language teachers were developed by Mary-Anne Gale. Kaurna linguistics courses have been taught at theUniversity of Adelaidesince 1997.and both Kaurna and non-Kaurna have been studying and speaking the language.

The records, including an extensive vocabulary and grammar, compiled by Teichelmann and Schürmann in the 1840s have proven valuable in projects to reconstruct the language.

TheKaurna Learners' Guide(Kulurdu Marni Ngathaitya) was published in 2013, and Kaurna radio shows have been broadcast since 2012. The Kaurna Dictionary Project at theUniversity of Adelaide,funded by a federal government grant, is under way to revise the spellings. Amery has been overseeing much of the work. It is intended that the final version will be released in print and in electronic form, including aphone app.In 2021, a printed Kaurna dictionary was published, as well as a Ngarrindjeri one. Amery and his wife, Ngarrindjeri linguist Mary-Anne Gale, have helped to drive the project.

There has been a growing number of Kaurna speakers in the 21st century.

The first students of courses specially tailored to the teaching ofAboriginal language,run byTauondi Aboriginal CollegeinPort Adelaide,enabling those who have learnt the language to pass on their skills to communities, graduated in July 2021.With the teachers and students often in the older age group, by July 2022 two of the first graduates had died. There is a need for more funding and more teachers.

Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi

Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi(meaning "creating Kaurna language" ) is a group developing and promoting the recovery of the Kaurna language. It was established in 2002 by two Kaurnaelders,Lewis Yerloburka O'BrienandAlitya Wallara Rigney,and linguistRobert Amery.The group now includes other Kaurna people, teachers, linguists and language enthusiasts. It was created from a series of workshops funded by aUniversity of Adelaidegrant in 2000, and is hosted by the department of linguistics at the University of Adelaide.KWP-run language classes through both theKaurna Plains Schooland the university.

KWP has created a uniform dialect of the language, making new words such asmukarntu(mukamukabrain +karntulightning), meaning "computer", and other words for things such as modern appliances, transportation, cuisine, and other common features of life that have changed for the Kaurna people while the language was dormant.The Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi Aboriginal Corporation (KWK) was registered in 2013 to support the reclamation and promotion of the language of the Kaurna nation, including training and teaching.

Dictionary

In 2022 adictionarywritten by Rob Amery and co-authors Susie Greenwood and Jasmin Morley was published. It includes not only the words included on the handwritten lists made by Teichelmann and Schürmann 160 years earlier, but also 4,000 new words that were created in consultation with localeldersand Kaurna speakers. The cover was designed by Kaurna artist Katrina Karlapina Power.EntitledKaurna Warrapiipa, Kaurna Dictionary,the dictionary contains translations both ways (Kaurna andEnglish). and is published byWakefield Press.

Kaurna names

Renaming and dual naming

Efforts to reintroduce Kaurna names, beginning in 1980 with the naming of Warriappendi School,in 1980 by AuntieLeila Rankine,have been made within the public domain.

Since theAdelaide City Councildrew up a Reconciliation Vision Statement in 1997, they committed to adual namingproject, working with Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi, to cover thecity centreandNorth Adelaide,including the fivepublic squaresandAdelaide park lands.Victoria Square,in the centre of Adelaide city, is now also known asTarntanyangga,all 29 Parks around the city have been assigned a Kaurna name, and theRiver Torrensis now also namedKarrawirra Parri.The renaming of 39 sites was finalised and endorsed by the council in 2012.Others include Piltawodli (nowPirltawardli), "brushtail possumhome "; Warriparringga (Warriparinga) "windy river place".The full list of square and park names, along with meanings and pronunciations, is available on the Council website.

Between 1980 and 2012, around 1000 entities were assigned Kaurna names, including people, pets, organisations, buildings, parks, walking trails, anallele(a hereditary gene or chromosome), brand names, and the Kari Munaintya tram and Tindo solar bus.

Some place names are known from historical sources, but not officially used as yet, such as Patpangga (Rapid Bay) "in the south"; Pattawilyangga (Patawalonga,Glenelg) "swamp gum foliage"; and Yertabulti (Port Adelaide).

Public artworks, beginning in 1995 with the Yerrakartarta installation outside the Intercontinental Hotel onNorth Terrace, Adelaide,have also incorporated words, phrases and text drawn from the Kaurna language, and the universities and other organisations have also taken on Kaurna names.TheTandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Instituteuses the original name for Adelaide.

The annualTarnanthiFestival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art takes its name from the Kaurna word meaning "to rise, come forth, spring up or appear".

Other Kaurna-derived names

Many prominent South Australian place names are drawn from the Kaurna language:

• Kauandilla (Cowandilla) fromkauandameaning "north" plus locative suffix-illa;
• Kanggarilla (Kangarilla) fromkanggarimeaning "shepherding" plus locative suffix-illa;
• Kondoparingapossibly fromkundomeaning "chest" plusparrimeaning "river" plus locative suffix-ngga;
• Maitpangga (Myponga);
• Ngaltingga (Aldinga) fromngalti(meaning unknown) plus locative suffix-ngga;
• Ngangkiparringga (Onkaparinga) fromngankimeaning "woman" plusparrimeaning "river" plus locative suffix-ngga;
• Nurlongga (Noarlunga)nurlomeaning "corner/curavature" plus locative suffix-ngga,probably in reference to Horseshoe Bend on theOnkaparinga River;
• Patawalongafrompatta,a species of gum tree (possibly theswamp gum), pluswilyameaning "foliage" plus locative suffix-ngga;
• Waitpingga (Waitpinga) meaning "wind place"
• Willangga (Willunga)
• Wilyaru (Willyaroo) meaning a fully initiated adult man.
• Yatalamost likely fromyartalameaning "water running by the side of a river; inundation; cascade".
• Yernkalyilla (Yankalilla) 'place of the fallen bits'
• Yurridla (Uraidla) meaning "two ears", derived from adreamingstory in which theMount Lofty Rangesare the body of a giant.

English-Kaurnahybridisedplacenames include:

• GlenungafromScots languageglenand Kaurna locative suffix-ngga.
• Paracombefromparameaning "river/stream" and Celtic languagecombe(similar to Welsh 'cwm') meaning "narrow way". Similar to South Australia's 'Picadilly', there exists a direct analogue in England,Parracombein Devon, which likely contributed to the adoption of the name.

Possible Kaurna placenames include:

• Piccadilly.Although usually assumed to be named afterPiccadilly, London,it is likely to be ananglicisationof the Kaurnapikodlameaning "two eyebrows", being a part of the same dreaming story that gave rise to "Uraidla".
• Yankalilla.Although almost certainly anIndigenous word,there are conflicting etymologies. The most likely is that it is derived from theRamindjeriyangaiakemeaning "hill", but with the Kaurna locative suffix-illa,or possiblyyernkalyillameaning "place of the fallen bits".

Phonology

Vowels

Kaurna has three different vowels with contrastive long and short lengths (a, i, u, a:, i:, u:), and three diphthongs (ai, au, ui).The three main vowels are represented by ⟨a⟩, ⟨i⟩ and ⟨u⟩ respectively, with long vowels indicated by doubling the vowel. Historically, Kaurna has had ⟨e⟩ and ⟨o⟩ used varyingly in older versions of its orthography, but these are not reflected in the phonology of the language.

	Front	Back
High	iiː	uuː
Low	aaː

Consonants

The consonant inventory of Kaurna is similar to that of other Pama-Nyungan languages (compare withAdnyamathanha,in the sameThura-Yuragrouping). In the orthography, dental consonants are followed by⟨h⟩and palatals by⟨y⟩,and retroflex consonants are preceded by⟨r⟩,with the exception of⟨rd⟩/ɾ/.Pre-stopped consonants are preceded by⟨d⟩.Below are the consonants of Kaurna (Amery, R & Simpson, J 2013).

		Peripheral		Laminal		Apical
		Labial	Velar	Dental	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Stop		p	k	t̪	c	t	ʈ
Nasal	plain	m	ŋ	n̪	ɲ	n	ɳ
	pre-stopped			d̪n̪	ɟɲ	dn	ɖɳ
Lateral	plain			l̪	ʎ	l	ɭ
	pre-stopped			d̪l̪	ɟʎ	dl	ɖɭ
Tap						ɾ
Trill						r
Approximant		w		j			ɻ

Phonotactics

• All words must begin with aperipheralorlaminalconsonant (seeConsonantsabove), excluding the pre-stopped nasals.
• All words must end with a vowel.
• In addition to the pre-stopped consonants, consonant clusters of a nasal followed by a stop are allowed.

Prosody

Kaurna places primary stress on the first syllable.

Grammar

Kaurna has relativelyfree word order.

Nouns

Noun cases and suffixes

Kaurna uses a range of suffixed case markers to convey information including subjects, objects, spacio-temporal state and other such information. These sometimes have variations in pronunciation and spelling. Below is a table of some of these cases.

		Suffix
Ergative,Instrumental,Temporal		-rlu, -dlu(when following -i-)
Absolutive		-Ø
Dative		-ni
Genitive		-ku, -rna(variants)
Purposive		-itya
Aversive		-tuwayi
Locative		-ngka(or⟨-ngga⟩) for bisyllabic roots -ila(or⟨-illa⟩) for trisyllabic roots
Comitative		-ityangka, -lityangka
Allative	to places	-ana, -kana
	to people	-itya, -litya
Ablative	from places	-unangku, -anangku, -nangku
	from people	-ityanungku
Perlative		-arra, -tarra
Semblative		-rli
Possessed		-tidi
Privative		-tina

Number

Kaurna has 3 numbers:singular,dual(-rla, -dla) andplural(-rna).

See also

• Kaurna people
• Language death
• Matthew Moorhouse
• Pirltawardli

References

General references

• Amery, Rob (compiler) (2003)Warra Kaurna. A Resource for Kaurna Language Programs.Kaurna Warra Pintyandi, Adelaide.ISBN0-9751834-0-0
• Amery, Rob (2002) 'Weeding out Spurious Etymologies: Toponyms on the Adelaide Plains.' In Luise Hercus, Flavia Hodges & Jane Simpson (eds)The Land is a Map: Placenames of Indigenous Origin in Australia,165-180.
• Teichelmann, C. G.; C. W. Schürmann (1982) [1840].Outlines of a grammar, vocabulary and phraseology of the Aboriginal language of South Australia spoken by the natives in and for some distance around Adelaide.Tjintu Books.ISBN0-9593616-0-X.
• Wyatt, William (1879)Some Account of the Manners and Superstitions of the Adelaide and Encounter Bay Aboriginal Tribes with a Vocabulary of their Languages.

Further reading

• Amery, Rob (2016).Warraparna Kaurna! Reclaiming an Australian language(PDF).University of Adelaide Press.doi:10.20851/kaurna.ISBN978-1-925261-25-7.
• "Aboriginal people of South Australia: Kaurna".State Library of South Australia.– Guide to online resources
• Chapter 1: The Kaurna,inKudnarto,ane-bookby Bill Woerlee

External links

• David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Researchat theUniversity of South Australia
• Kaurna – English Dictionary,University of Adelaide
• Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi