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AIATSIS Code: L3

AIATSIS reference name: Kaurna


[Comment]

Comment:

Status: Confirmed

[Name]

Standard names used in different sources



Other names/spellings used for this language

Tindale (1974): Kaura (misprint for Kaurna), Coorna, Koornawarra, Nantuwara ('Kangaroo speakers,' name given to northern hordes), Nantuwaru, Nganawara, Meljurna ('quarrelsome men,' said of northern hordes of Kaurna), Kurumidlanta (Pangkala term, lit. 'evil spirits'), Milipitingara (MS), Midlanta (another name given by Pangkala), Widninga (Ngadjuri term applied to Kaurna of Port Wakefield and Buckland Park), Winaini (horde north of Gawler), Winnay-nie, Meyu (['meju] = man), Wakanuwan (name applied by Jarildekald to this and some other tribes, including Ngaiawang), 'Adelaide tribe,' Warra (means 'speech' a name for language), Warrah, Karnuwarra ('hills language,' a northern dialect, presumably that of Port Wakefield), Jaitjawar:a ('our own language'), Padnaindi (horde name), Padnayndie, Medaindi (horde living near Glenelg), Medain-die, Merildekald (Tanganekald term also loosely given to Peramangk), Merelde (Ramindjeri term applied most frequently to the Peramangk but also to the Kaurna).

O'Grady et al (1966): Kaura, Coorna, Koornawarra, Nganawara, Kurumidlanta, Milipitingara, Widninga, Winnaynie, Meyu

Other sources:

[Classification]

AIATSIS classification (tentative): Pama-Nyungan family  Thura-Yura group   subgroup  
SourceFamilyGroupSub-groupNameRelationshipLanguage-dialect relationships
Ethnologue (2005)      
Dixon (2002)   SPENCER GULF BASIN AREAL GROUP  Kaurna, Nantuwara Kadli Teichelmann and Schürmann (1840) dialects: Kaurna, Nantuwara, Ngadjuri, Narangka, Nukunu
Walsh (1981)  Pama-Nyungan South-West Yura Kaurna 
Oates (1975)  Pama-Nyungan Southern Western Desert Type Yura Gaurna 
Wurm (1972)  Pama-Nyungan Southwest (or Nyungic) Yura Kaurna 
O'Grady, Voegelin & Voegelin (1966)  Pama-Nyungan Southwest Yura Kaurna 


[Location]

State: SA

Location: Adelaide Plain (Amery 1995)

Cape Jervis to Port Wakefield along eastern shore of Gulf St. Vincent; inland to near Crystal Brook, Snowtown, Blyth, Hoyleton, Hamley Bridge, Clarendon, Gawler, and Myponga; from the east side of the Hummock Range to Red Hill where northern hordes were sometimes known as the Nantuwara. Inland the Jultiwira or stringy bark forests of the Mount Lofty Ranges marked their boundary (Tindale 1974)

The Map in Amery 2000 extends to north of Crystal Brook.

Maps:
Tindale, Norman. 1974. Tribal Boundaries in Aboriginal Australia. Canberra: Division of National Mapping, Department of National Development.

Berndt, Ronald , Berndt, Catherine and Stanton, John. 1993. A world that was : the Yaraldi of the Murray River and the Lakes, South Australia. Carlton, VIC: Melbourne University Press at the Miegunyah Press.

Amery, Rob. 2000. Warrabarna Kaurna! : reclaiming an Australian language. Lisse, Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.

[Documentation]

Documentation information is based on materials held at AIATSIS and also listed in OZBIB (a linguistic bibliography of Aboriginal Australia and Torres Strait Islands). Click 'Search MURA' and 'Search OZBIB' under the 'Resource' tab to view these materials. Click here to read the details of documentation scoring system.
Documentation score (0-16) = 4

TypeDocumentation StatusDocumentation Score
Word listSmall (20-100 pages) 2
Text CollectionNone 0
GrammarSketch grammar (less than 100 pages) 2
Audio-visualNone 0



Manuscripts/field notes in the AIATSIS library:
Check Nekes MF4

Grammar:
C.G. Teichelmann & C.W. Schurmann. 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 published by the authors at the Native Location, Adelaide. Adelaide: the Authors.

Dictionary:
Amery, Rob and Simpson, Jane. 2003. Warra Kaurna: a resource for Kaurna language programs. Adelaide: Kaurna Language Program.

[Resource]

Items on this language

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OatesTindaleEthnologueWAKimberleySCAL
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[Speaker]

History of speaker numbers:

Oates 1973 Senate 1984Schmidt 1990 Census 1996 Census 2001 NILS 2004 2005 estimate Census 2006
 0  -  -  -  -  ??  -  34


Other: -

NILS language proficiency and usage scale:

1-19 years20-39 years40-59 years60+
 -  -  -  -


NILS endangerment Grade (0-5):
0

[Program]

Past and current activities: Ngarrindjeri, Narrunga and Kaurna Languages Project made a tape with songs (1990). Narungga People's Language Project has been running a language revival project. South Australia. Education Dept produced a teacher's guide in 1988.

People who recorded or did research extensively: Rob Amery, C.W. Schürmann, Jane Simpson, C.G. Teichelmann, Kaurna Warra Pintyandi


Information as on DATE: 2010-07-30 14:02:02