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Language Planning and

Language Revival
Rob Amery
Published online: 26 Mar 2010.

To cite this article: Rob Amery (2001) Language Planning and Language
Revival, Current Issues in Language Planning, 2:2-3, 141-221, DOI:
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Language Planning and Language
Revival

Rob Amery
The Unaipon School, University of South Australia, City West Campus, 70 North
Terrace, Adelaide, S.A. 5000, Australia

This paper explores the interface between language planning and language revival,
based on current efforts to reclaim and reintroduce Kaurna, the language of the
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Adelaide Plains. This language probably had not been used on a daily basis for the best
part of 130 years, until recent efforts in the 1990s to revive it. Using written records,
efforts are now being made to piece the language together and to develop a written and
spoken language that addresses contemporary needs. Micro language planning is
salient in the revival context. Indeed, language planning in this context typically
involves individual learners and users of the language, small groups and very small
organisations. This paper extends the vision of language planners to include languages
hitherto regarded as ‘dead’ or ‘extinct’. Language planning has as much to offer in these
situations as it does for major world languages.

There is currently a worldwide linguistic and cultural renaissance among the

world’s Indigenous people, especially evident in developed nations such as
Australia. There are no signs of this revival abating. Sociolinguists and language
planners need to be cognisant of this and be willing to share their skills and
expertise with Indigenous communities.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interface between language plan-
ning and language revival. The term ‘language revival’ is used here as a cover
term for efforts to reintroduce a language to younger generations of speakers
(revitalisation); efforts to reinvigorate and extend a significant body of language
remaining in the community, but in the absence of fluent speakers (renewal); and
efforts to relearn a language on the basis of historical records (reclamation) (see
Amery (2000a: 17–18) and SSABSA (1996a)). I will base my exploration on the
current efforts by a small group of Kaurna language enthusiasts1 to reclaim and
reintroduce Kaurna, the language of the Adelaide Plains in South Australia. This
language probably had not been used on a daily basis for the best part of 130
years, until recent efforts in the 1990s to revive it. It has been without fluent
speakers for at least 70 years and maybe much longer. However, on the basis of
historical materials compiled in the mid-19th century, efforts are now being
made to piece the language together again and to develop a written and spoken
language that addresses contemporary needs.
In the language reclamation context, where corpus planning is extensive and
where the functional links between the language and its speech community are
tenuous, issues of authenticity and integrity come to the fore. As Bentahila and
Davies (1993) argue, language revival necessarily results in transformation of the
language (see also Jolly’s (1995) discussion of this in the Australian context). Will
the reclaimed language be accepted as an authentic form of the ancestral

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CURRENT ISSUES IN LANGUAGE PLANNING Vol. 2, Nos 2&3, 2001

141
142 Current Issues in Language Planning

language, or will it be viewed as some kind of fabrication or artificial construct?

How will outsiders view the reclaimed language and attempts by members of
that ethnic group to begin to speak it again? Why do people embark upon such a
difficult undertaking when the majority language already serves communica-
tion needs? How does regaining a knowledge of one’s ancestral language serve
to re-empower and reinvigorate the community and heal the wounds of the
past?
In terms of reintroducing the language, this paper proposes a new approach,
the Formulaic Method. Tried and true methods, such as immersion and Kohanga
Reo ‘language nests’, are methods which work well in situations where numbers
of fluent speakers remain. Hinton’s (1994) Master – Apprentice method is ideal
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for situations where even one fluent speaker still remains, but none of these
methods will work, at least in the early stages, in situations where the language
has ceased to be spoken.
Micro language planning is salient in the revival context. While there are
macro language planning considerations that determine the context within
which we must operate, our efforts are focused on the smallest units. Indeed
language planning in this context typically involves individual learners and
users of the language, small groups and very small organisations.This paper is
interested in pushing the boundaries, to extend the vision of language planners
to include languages hitherto regarded as ‘dead’ or ‘extinct’. Language planning
has as much, if not more, to offer in these situations than it does for major world
languages.

Language Planning and Language Revival

Measures taken to bring about the revival of languages have received little
attention in the language planning literature. Language planning has, by and
large, been the preserve of large languages, or at least working towards the
creation of large languages. In fact, language planning measures have often been
applied at the expense of smaller languages or even to actively suppress them
and reduce linguistic diversity (Tollefson, 1991), though in recent years the
discourse in language planning has begun to change with more attention
directed towards language rights (see Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000). Language plan-
ning, as a discipline, grew out of the needs of developing Third World nations
who needed to make decisions about the choice of national and official languages
in complex multilingual societies with a history of colonisation. Most often the
language of the coloniser was chosen. If a non-metropolitan language was
chosen, such as Indonesian or Swahili, then language modernisation became an
immediate priority, so that it was able to take over the functions formerly enacted
through the language of the colonisers.
There are instances where deliberate language planning measures have been
applied in language revival situations. Measures were taken to strengthen the
position of French in Quebec or Welsh in Wales, for instance. There is a substan-
tial literature on the revival of Hebrew and I will spend some time outlining
language planning measures in this and several other large-scale language
revival efforts. But scant attention has been given to very small-scale ethnic
languages and languages where there are few or no remaining speakers. It is
Language Planning and Language Revival 143

these small, marginalised languages that will be the main focus of discussion in
this paper.
Nonetheless, the discipline of language planning as it is currently understood
is useful in these scarcely recognised situations. Many of the issues faced by a
language with only a handful of speakers, or no speakers, and perhaps several
hundred adherents, are exactly the same as those faced by a potential national
language having many millions of speakers. Choice of orthography, corpus elab-
oration and modernisation, etc., are issues faced by all languages, irrespective of
how large or small they are. But when it comes to languages that are being
revived on the basis of written historical materials in the absence of native speak-
ers, an additional set of problems not considered in the language planning litera-
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ture must be addressed.

Hebrew
Formal language planning measures have been a feature almost from the
inception of efforts to revive Hebrew. The Hebrew Language Council was
formed in Jerusalem in 1890 by Eliezar Ben Yehuda in accordance with his
dream to revive Hebrew as the everyday medium of communication in the life
of the Jewish community in Palestine. According to Fellman (1974: 95) ‘its main
aim was “to render the Hebrew language fit for use as a spoken vernacular” by
resurrecting and or creating missing terms for it, all the while seeking “to
preserve the Oriental character of the language”’. This language council ceased
functioning after only six months due to lack of funds and personnel. However,
it was revived 14 years later by the Teachers Union who were seeking a uniform
standardised language for use in schools. The Academy of the Hebrew
Language was established in 1953, shortly after the state of Israel gained inde-
pendence.
In the Hebrew case language modernisation needs were even more pressing
than in the case of Bahasa Indonesia or Swahili. This was because Hebrew had
ceased to be used as an everyday language for the best part of 1700 years. So
reviving Hebrew in the state of Israel entailed intensive lexical elaboration.
Terms simply did not exist for the majority of household items, foodstuffs,
personal effects, etc. Fellman (1973: 37–8) points to the difficulties faced by Ben
Yehuda, recognised as the ‘founder’ of Modern Hebrew, in his efforts to use the
language within the home:
At the time, Hebrew lacked precisely those vital terms necessary for the
performance of daily household tasks. Devora [Ben Yehuda’s wife] did not
speak Hebrew and even Ben Yehuda himself was unable to express himself
fluently and with ease…When Ben Yehuda wanted Devora to pour him a
cup of coffee with sugar, he was at a loss to communicate words such as
‘cup’, ‘saucer’, ‘pour’, ‘spoon’, and so on, and would say to his wife, in
effect: ‘Take such and such, and do like so, and bring me this and this, and I
will drink.’
In this respect the language planning needs of Hebrew were quite different from
those languages chosen as national languages elsewhere, because not only was it
necessary to introduce the language into official domains and into formal educa-
tion, but it had to be reintroduced into the home and into everyday discourse.
144 Current Issues in Language Planning

Fellman (1974: 102; 1976: 6) maintains that Hebrew is unique in this respect.
However, Kaurna and numerous other Indigenous languages being revived also
share these gaps.
While Hebrew lacks many common everyday words, it had a head start, rela-
tive to many other newly appointed official languages such as Swahili or Maori,
in technical domains. Hebrew had been used in Europe, alongside Latin, as a
language of the educated elite and professions such as medicine and law (Jones,
1983). Consequently, development of scientific, legal, economic and administra-
tive terminology was perhaps easier than it is for an Indigenous Australian
language still spoken fluently, where societal institutions are significantly differ-
ent.
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The Academy of the Hebrew Language regularly publishes dictionaries, lists

of new terminologies, journals and promotional materials (Fellman, 1974: 99). It
has been preoccupied with planning the lexical corpus and, having a relatively
receptive audience and very supportive Government, has been quite successful
in this, though little attention has been directed towards syntax and discourse
features. There is an extensive literature in Hebrew on efforts to modernise the
language. English language articles on the topic include Alloni-Fainberg (1974),
Fellman (1973: 76), Kutscher (1982) and Saulson (1979).
In terms of status-planning considerations, Hebrew already occupied a signif-
icant position in the lives of most Jewish people. It was used as a liturgical
language and was revered. Many Jewish people, especially males, had a good
knowledge of Hebrew grammar, but they had great difficulty in speaking the
language. However, if forced to, they could make themselves understood in
Hebrew. When Jewish people returned to Palestine from many different parts of
the world, Hebrew was often the only language they shared. So a Jew from Bagh-
dad was able to make himself understood via Hebrew to a Jew from Leningrad or
Madrid. When Eliezar Ben Yehuda tried to promote Hebrew as a spoken
language for everyday purposes, however, there was a strong ‘cultural cringe’
since most people did not see that Hebrew was capable of these functions.

Maori
Maori language revival has embraced language planning measures in a
concerted fashion. Under the Maori Language Act of 1987, Maori gained official
language status in New Zealand (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997: 20). Thus the language
now plays a significant role in the national life of New Zealand. This is evident in
symbolic ways through its use in the Haka, a traditional Maori greeting cere-
mony that has now been adopted by New Zealand football teams as well as by
the New Zealand military. Maori language is compulsory for all teacher trainees,
both Maori and Pakeha (non-Maori). Many more Maori place names are now
evident in signage than in the past and efforts are being made to educate the
general public about Maori place names (see Davis et al., 1990).
Major advances have taken place within the education sector, such that
large numbers of second-language speakers of Maori have been produced.
The now well-known Kohanga Reo (‘language nests’) have produced large
numbers of Maori-speaking pre-school children, but despite significant gains,
the language still remains endangered.
Maori have used legal means, through the Treaty of Waitangi, to establish a
Language Planning and Language Revival 145

firm foothold for the Maori language. Formal language planning bodies have
been established in New Zealand. The Maori Language Commission, estab-
lished in 1987, has worked to consolidate language rights, promote the language,
foster research and publish Maori resources. Despite significant gains and offi-
cial language status, much opposition is still encountered from the general
public, businesses and institutions. Karetu (1995: 210) discusses the case of a
newspaper refusing to publish an advertisement written in Maori alone. The
Maori Language Commission attempted to place a job advertisement for a bilin-
gual, bicultural secretary and obviously wanted a competent Maori speaker who
could read the advertisement with ease. Even though an English translation was
supplied to the newspaper for their own information, they refused to publish the
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advertisement without the accompanying translation.

Extensive corpus planning initiatives are taking place in Maori and the
language is being rapidly transformed into a modern language capable of serv-
ing a similar range of functions to those of any official language. Maori now has
established terms for the full range of government departments (Maori
Language Commission, 1996: 278–80).
Thousands of new terms have been developed to talk about science, comput-
ers, the functions of government, economics, etc. Te Matatiki, a 289-page dictio-
nary of contemporary Maori words probably lists in excess of 11,000 entries2 (see
Maori Language Commission, 1996) including a list of the Maori titles of govern-
ment departments, days of the week, months of the year and international place
names. It includes a term for DNA – pitau-ira from pitau ‘perforated spiral carv-
ing, young succulent shoot of a plant, circinate frond of a fern’ + ira ‘gene’ which
is itself derived from ira ‘freckle, mole’ and is also used for ‘dot’, ‘decimal point’
and ‘particle’ (in physics). The atomic particles ‘electron’, ‘proton’ and ‘neutron’
are encoded as irahiko (from ira ‘particle’ + hiko ‘electricity’), iraoho (from ira ‘parti-
cle’ + oho ‘be awake’) and iramoe (from ira ‘particle’ + moe ‘sleep, repose’) respec-
tively. Subatomic particles such as ‘neutrino’ and ‘quark’ are not listed, however.
According to Harlow (1993) much scientific terminology has been encoded using
Maori roots, without having to appeal to borrowings from English, Greek or
Latin. A general word for metal was developed by compounding konga ‘frag-
ment’ with nuku ‘earth’ to form konganuku. This was then shortened to form a
prefix konu- used to encode specific metals such as konukura ‘copper’ (konu-
‘metal’ + kura ‘red’), konukata ‘lead’ (konu- ‘metal’ + kata ‘bullet’ < ‘flint’), konutai
‘sodium’ (konu- ‘metal’ + tai ‘salt’ < ‘seawater’) and konuruke ‘uranium’ (konu-
‘metal’ + ruke from ira rukeruke ‘radioactive’). Ira rukeruke ‘radioactive; radioac-
tivity’ is itself derived from ira ‘particle’ + rukeruke ‘throw about’.
A website of new and technical terms in Maori was established in 1991 and by
1994 it had grown to over 14,000 entries. The website had the stated objective of
promoting a degree of standardisation in the way in which new terms are devel-
oped and adopted across New Zealand (Keegan, 1997a).

Australia’s Indigenous languages

There were probably some 250 or more distinct languages spoken across
Australia at the time of colonisation. Most of these 250 languages were further
differentiated into regional and social dialects and registers, so that there were
probably some 600 to 800 languages in existence from an Indigenous perspective.
146 Current Issues in Language Planning

Some of these languages have disappeared without trace, some are known by
name only. Only about 20 languages remain in a relatively healthy state and
continue to be transmitted from one generation to the next by normal means.
Others still have a generation of older speakers, or perhaps only a handful or
even one or two speakers remaining. Many other languages are no longer spoken
fluently, though often some words are used in the local variety of Aboriginal
English spoken. Some languages were documented relatively well by missionar-
ies during the 19th century or by linguists during the 20th century, while many
others are supported only by meagre word lists. For further detail see Dixon
(1989), McConvell and Thieberger (2000), McKay (1996), Schmidt (1990) and
SSABSA (1996c).
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Language planning and Australia’s Indigenous languages

The loss of Australia’s Indigenous languages has been due in large part to
repressive policies, sometimes directed at the languages themselves, but more
often as a by-product of more general social policies. For instance, in Adelaide,
following a brief ‘honeymoon’ period, Governor Grey forbade the missionaries
to preach in the Kaurna language and forcibly relocated the children to the
English-only Native School Establishment where they were housed in dormito-
ries cut off from their family and kin. Five years later, these same children were
relocated to Poonindie, far away from their ancestral lands. The now infamous
‘stolen generations’ policies removed thousands of Indigenous children from
their families, thereby cutting them off from their languages and cultures. Even
more insidious was the threat of having children removed. Many parents, grand-
parents and other kin refused to teach or even speak their languages in the pres-
ence of children, because if the children spoke the language, that was a sure sign
that they were not assimilating and reason enough to remove them from the
‘negative’ influences of their parents. Such attitudes towards Indigenous
languages were promulgated by politicians, education authorities and the
church. Aboriginal languages were characterised as ‘primitive’, even as a series
of grunts without any grammar (see Dixon, 1980). As a result, these attitudes
were internalised by society at large and sometimes by Indigenous people them-
selves. These negative attitudes still persist to this day in many quarters. The
diversity of Australia’s languages was not recognised. It is still commonplace to
be asked ‘Do you speak Aboriginal?’, as if to assume that there is just one
language. The corresponding questions ‘Do you speak European?’ or ‘Do you
speak Asian?’ would be unthinkable. I am frequently asked ‘What is the Aborigi-
nal word for ___?’.
Some missions had more progressive policies which allowed for education to
be conducted in an Indigenous language. But even the most progressive
missions usually forced the people to choose just one language from the several
spoken by the Indigenous people moved to the mission from different ancestral
lands and therefore language groups. This language was privileged over others
for the purpose of Bible translation, hymns, liturgy and education. Other
missions actively tried to suppress the use of languages through meting out
punishment and inculcating negative attitudes.
It was not until 1972 with the election of the Whitlam Labor Government that
the first Government policies to impact positively on Indigenous languages
Language Planning and Language Revival 147

were enacted. The Whitlam Government implemented bilingual education

programmes in a range of languages in the Northern Territory. Here again,
communities were forced to choose just one language from those spoken in the
area, to be taught alongside English within a given school or community, and the
ultimate aim was assimilationist. Indigenous languages were being used as a
means to promote more rapid acquisition of English. Initial literacy skills were
taught in the vernacular languages, but they were progressively phased out so
that by Year 5 the programme was taught predominantly in English thereafter.
See Gale (1990) and Harris and Devlin (1997) for a more detailed discussion. In
December 1998, the Northern Territory Government announced the axing of
bilingual education programmes.
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Bilingual education impacted only on the strongest languages and no

thought was given to languages in need of revival. In fact, a programme had
been commenced in Nunggubuyu at Numbulwar in 1975 but the principal of
the school had noticed that the children were in fact speaking Kriol as their first
language. He had the programme withdrawn in 1979 because the policy stated
that bilingual education was to be conducted using the children’s mother
tongue as the medium of instruction. He carted the Nunggubuyu books to the
dump (personal communication Richard Jeeves, 1990). Fortunately, some were
rescued by a concerned teacher and later formed the basis of a course in
Nunggubuyu literacy in 1990 for future teachers of a Nunggubuyu LOTE
(Languages Other Than English) programme introduced into the school at
Numbulwar in 1994.
For the first time, in 1987, funding was allocated by the Commonwealth
Government for language maintenance initiatives in Indigenous languages on
the recommendation of the National Policy on Languages (Lo Bianco, 1987). The
sum of $3 million was allocated to the National Aboriginal Languages Program
(NALP) over three years. This funding continues in the form of the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Languages Initiatives Program (ATSILIP) now admin-
istered by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). Prior
to this, programmes were run on goodwill or supplemented by one-off grants
obtained from other sources, such as the South Australian Jubilee. A chain of
Aboriginal language centres has been established under the umbrella of the
Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages (FATSIL). While
there is some sharing of ideas and lobbying of Government on language issues,
there is little discussion of language planning strategies, such as corpus plan-
ning, in the newsletters produced.
In 1991 Australia adopted a national language policy (DEET, 1991) which
channelled some funds from the Commonwealth Government for the support of
Indigenous languages. But again the emphasis is on the so-called ‘strong’
languages. In reality, however, much of the funding is being used to support
languages no longer spoken fluently or in their full form. There is a mismatch
between policy and what is actually happening on the ground.
The National Policy on Languages recommended that:

The study of at least one language in addition to English ought to be an

expected part of the educational experience of all Australian students,
ideally continuously throughout the years of compulsory education. In
148 Current Issues in Language Planning

addition the policy advocates strongly that all educational planners

embrace this objective and aim for students in every Australian school to be
offered soundly-based, continuous and serious programs for learning a
second language. (Lo Bianco, 1987: 120)

This recommendation was adopted as official national language policy which

proposed that ‘By the year 2000 all Australians will have the opportunity to learn
a language other than English appropriate to their needs’ (DEET, 1991: 62).
However, South Australia had already prepared its own state languages
policy which set 1995 as the year by which ‘all students [will] have the opportu-
nity to study a LOTE’ (EDSA, 1986) and proceeded to implement this through the
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Languages Other Than English Mapping and Planning Project (LOTEMAPP)

which scarcely mentioned Indigenous languages. Nonetheless, the spectre of
compulsory LOTEs in South Australian schools gave Indigenous languages an
important psychological boost.
In 1993 a national curriculum initiative was commenced which resulted in the
accreditation of a framework for the teaching of Indigenous languages at senior
secondary level. Mercurio and Amery (1996) discuss reasons for the neglect of
this area for so long. The Australian Indigenous Languages Framework (AILF)
attempts to accommodate the full spectrum of diversity (see SSABSA, 1996a). To
do this, several different programme types were established. In 1994, the first
accredited programmes were begun in just five languages, one of which was
Kaurna.
This, then, is the broader context within which efforts to revive Kaurna and
other Indigenous languages must be considered. While national or state
language and education policies can have far-reaching effects in terms of encour-
aging or stifling language revival activity, when it comes down to it what actu-
ally happens depends to a great extent on the vision, will and motivation of
individuals. Great things can happen despite the system. It would be nigh impos-
sible to plan at the national level to revive languages X, Y and Z, even if prerequi-
site resources such as a reasonable grammar, extensive word lists and texts were
known for these languages.
The main aim of language planning in these circumstances is the ecological
one, to reunite the language, which has lain dormant for a period of time, with
its community of potential speakers, or as Mühlhäusler et al. (forthcoming)
say, to re-establish the functional links and support systems that sustain the
language. Ecological and motivational factors supporting the revival of
Indigenous languages in South Australia were investigated by Mühlhäusler
et al. (forthcoming).
Language ecology is a holistic approach that looks beyond the language itself
to the broader context in which the language is embedded, or in the case of a
language like Kaurna, into which it is being embedded. Indeed, for Fettes (1997;
forthcoming) an ecological approach to language revival begins with people. The
language itself is of secondary concern.
Einar Haugen, a Norwegian linguist, coined the term ‘language ecology’ in a
paper first presented in 1970. He defined it simply ‘as the study of interactions
between any given language and its environment’ and defined environment as
follows:
Language Planning and Language Revival 149

The true environment of a language is the society that uses it as one of its
codes. Language exists only in the minds of its users, and it only functions
in relating these users to one another and to nature, i.e. their social and
natural environment. Part of its ecology is therefore psychological: its inter-
action with other languages in the minds of bi- and multilingual speakers.
Another part of its ecology is sociological: its interaction with the society in
which it functions as a medium of communication. The ecology of a
language is determined primarily by the people who learn it, use it, and
transmit it to others. (Haugen, 1972: 325)

Haugen goes on further to flesh out his concept of language ecology by asking a
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series of questions, which apply in a general way to Indigenous languages, but

also stimulate additional more specific questions:

For any given ‘language’, then, we should want to have answers to the
following ecological questions:
1) What is its classification in relation to other languages? This answer
would be given by historical and descriptive linguists;
2) Who are its users? This is a question of linguistic demography, locating
its users with respect to locale, class, religion or any other relevant group-
ing;
3) What are its domains of use? This is a question of sociolinguistics, discov-
ering whether its use is unrestricted or limited in specific ways;
4) What concurrent languages are employed by its users? We may call this a
problem of dialinguistics, to identify the degree of bilingualism present
and the degree of overlap among the languages;
5) What internal varieties does the language show? This is the task of a
dialectology that will recognise not only regional, but also social and
contactual dialects;
6) What is the nature of its written traditions? This is the province of philol-
ogy, the study of written texts and their relationship to speech;
7) To what degree has its written form been standardised, i.e. unified and
codified? This is the province of prescriptive linguistics, the traditional
grammarians and lexicographers;
8) What kind of institutional support has it won, either in government,
education, or private organisations, either to regulate its form or propagate
it? We may call this study glottopolitics;
9) What are the attitudes of its users towards the language, in terms of inti-
macy and status, leading to personal identification? We may call this the
field of ethnolinguistics;
10) Finally we may wish to sum up its status in a typology of ecological clas-
sification, which will tell us something about where the language stands
and where it is going in comparison with the other languages of the world.
(Haugen, 1972: 336–7)

An ecological approach to language engages linguists in action-oriented

endeavour, to move beyond observation and description to become ‘shop stew-
ards for linguistic diversity’ (Mühlhäusler, 1996: 2).
In language reclamation, the role of linguists is vital in the process of trans-
150 Current Issues in Language Planning

forming the language from purely a material cultural artefact, in the form of writ-
ten records, into a living, dynamic entity in the minds of people. Of course, this is
primarily in the hands of members of the community who are attempting to
relearn and revive the language, but linguists can make a significant contribution
in helping to interpret the records and in reassembling the language. Crawford
(1996: 64) makes the point linguists should never forget, that ‘language shift
cannot be reversed by outsiders, however well-meaning…If language preserva-
tion efforts are to succeed, they must be led by Indigenous institutions, organisa-
tions and activists’.
Language revival entails a deliberate reshaping of the language ecology to
extend the domains of use of the language, to increase the numbers of language
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users and to develop the language itself. The process necessarily begins with
consciousness-raising. But consciousness-raising must move quickly beyond
mere talk into activity, for it is only through hands-on working with the
language and using the language that a true awareness of the possibilities and
issues involved becomes apparent. Through working with the language,
people will come to appreciate the immensity of the task and difficulties
involved. It is thus important that achievable short-term goals be set that put
language products into the hands of the people and that allow people to begin
to use the language immediately in meaningful ways. People need to be
inspired through doing.
For a language which has ceased to be spoken, niches need to be carved out. In
the experience of the Kaurna language revival group, it is easiest to begin with
symbolic use of the language.
Language planning scenarios will vary enormously from one language or
language ecology to the next depending on a multitude of factors, not the least of
which includes what remains of the language itself, the quality of the records,
whether or not records of related languages exist, whether the language commu-
nity resides in a large urban centre or a small rural community, the demographics
of the community, etc. I cannot adequately account for the multitude of possible
situations. What I can do is describe in some detail language planning initiatives
in the context of Kaurna and draw some parallels and contrasts with certain other
situations. But I will have to leave it up to other writers to flesh out the details for
their own situations and push the boundaries further than I am able to do on the
basis of efforts in Kaurna.

Kaurna Language Reclamation

Kaurna is the original language of Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains. It was
probably last spoken on a daily basis some time in the 19th century, perhaps as
early as the 1860s. No sound recordings survive of the language as it was
spoken in the 19th century. Rather, we have to rely on written documentation
recorded by a range of observers, primarily Lutheran missionaries Christian
Teichelmann and Clamor Schürmann (henceforth referred to as T&S). See
Amery (2000a: 112) for a complete listing of extant Kaurna primary sources. All
in all, between 3000 and 3500 words, a sketch grammar and hundreds of trans-
lated Kaurna sentences were recorded. Unfortunately, only a few short texts
were ever recorded.
Language Planning and Language Revival 151
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Figure 1 Kaurna Territory and Neighbouring Languages

Source: Adapted by Chris Crothers (Geography Dept, Adelaide University) from a
map on p.66 of EDSA (1989) The Kuarna People Aboriginal Studies 8–10. Education
Dept. of South Australia, Adelaide.

Kaurna people first started taking notice of their documented linguistic heri-
tage in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first known use of the language by
Kaurna people in the modern period was the naming of Warriappendi Alterna-
152 Current Issues in Language Planning

tive School by Auntie Leila Rankine, who sent Peter Buckskin off to the archives
in search of a name. The spelling of Warriappendi ‘to seek; find’ clearly indicates
that it was taken from T&S (1840). Interest in reviving Kaurna as a spoken
language was first articulated in about 1985 by Georgina Williams, who is a
Kaurna woman who worked for the South Australian Museum in the early
1980s, researching the Tjilbruke Dreaming3 track, and has been at the forefront of
efforts to re-establish Kaurna identity, recognise Kaurna heritage and revive the
language. Georgina tried to interest the School of Australian Linguistics at
Batchelor near Darwin in the Northern Territory in running a course in Kaurna
linguistics, but they would only do so if a minimum of six students were
prepared to participate. As Georgina was the only Kaurna person at that point
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willing to travel to Batchelor, the course did not eventuate. It was not until a
songwriter’s workshop in March–April 1990 that the first novel Kaurna
sentences were constructed and in a workshop in June of that same year the first
neologisms were formed.

Why attempt to revive Kaurna?

All Kaurna people speak English as a first language and have done so for
several generations. Most are monolingual English speakers. Some Kaurna
people have commented that while they know the language is theirs, learning it
is like learning a foreign language. In addition to standard English, Kaurna
people also speak Nunga4 English among themselves and with other Aboriginal
people in southern South Australia. Nunga English is an Aboriginal English vari-
ety, a social dialect, which in part draws on pre-existing Indigenous phonologi-
cal patterns and syntactic structures. Some words in Nunga English are drawn
from a range of Aboriginal languages, primarily Ngarrindjeri, Narungga and
Pitjantjatjara, though the word Nunga itself comes from Wirangu on the west
coast of South Australia. There are also several Pidgin and archaic English forms
(such as ‘gammon’), and just a few Kaurna words (see Clarke, 1994; and Foster et
al., in press, for etymologies of Nunga English words). The recent trend is for
Nunga English to diverge further from Standard English through the incorpora-
tion of more and more Indigenous lexemes. Nungas take a certain amount of
pride in having a language which is not easily understood by most non-
Aboriginal people in Adelaide. So there is already a linguistic vehicle by which
Indigenous people in Adelaide can identify as Nunga or Aboriginal, but prior to
Kaurna language reclamation efforts, there was not a distinctive means by which
they could identify as Kaurna people. Attempts to revive Kaurna are fundamen-
tally an act of identity.
Since as early as 1850, the Kaurna people have been said to be ‘extinct’ or ‘vir-
tually extinct’. In the early 20th century Ivaritji was ‘discovered’ as the last
surviving member of the ‘Adelaide Tribe’ and for a time became somewhat of a
celebrity (see Gara, 1990). Despite what the literature says, Kaurna people have
survived and are determined to show it.
So how are Kaurna people embracing the language? In what ways do they
seek to use it? Kaurna people first began to embrace the language through
naming activity in 1980, and to this day, this continues to be an important
language function. But the symbolic use of Kaurna language has expanded
Language Planning and Language Revival 153

greatly into additional domains and there is significant potential for further
expansion in the public domain.
Kaurna language revival efforts began primarily within the education sector,
and to this day schools and other teaching programmes remain the power house
driving these efforts. Even before Kaurna language programmes were started in
schools, writers of Aboriginal Studies curricula were making use of Kaurna word
lists.
The private or in-group use of Kaurna, to this point in time, remains relatively
limited and not well developed. But use in this domain requires considerable
effort.
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Status planning and corpus planning

A fundamental dichotomy in language planning measures is that of status
planning vs. corpus planning. The former concerns measures that affect or deter-
mine the position held by the language while corpus-planning measures are
those which affect and shape the language itself as a linguistic system. In the
context of language revival, status planning might include gaining official status
or a measure of official status through the reinstatement of place names, etc.,
while corpus planning includes the establishment of norms of pronunciation and
grammar, establishing a spelling system, elaboration of the lexicon, etc.
While status planning and corpus planning might be conceptualised as quite
distinct processes, such measures always work hand in hand (see Clyne, 1997:
4–5). Certain corpus-planning measures will need to be implemented in
response to certain status-planning measures. For instance, if the language
enthusiasts plan to use the language for certain purposes, for example as an
auxiliary language of religion, then liturgy, hymns, prayers, creeds, Bible trans-
lations, etc., need to be undertaken in the language being revived. On the other
hand, corpus-planning measures may have far-reaching and unwanted conse-
quences vis à vis status of the language. For instance, if norms of pronunciation
are established which reflect English phonological patterns to a large extent, then
efforts to speak the language may be held in contempt or become a laughing
stock in the eyes of native speakers of other Indigenous languages. Or if new
words are introduced into the language then the reasons why they were intro-
duced need to be carefully explained, otherwise we run the risk of rejection from
those who claim the language as their own. These examples will become clearer
in later discussion.
Status planning and corpus planning measures are discussed separately here
because the distinction is useful, but there is always a complex interplay between
the two.

Status-planning considerations
Status planning is crucial for successful language revival. Seldom is it possi-
ble, however, to gain official or national language status as was possible in the
case of Maori. In the case of languages no longer spoken, in Australia, it is
extremely unlikely that any Indigenous language will ever gain official or
national language status because of the marginalised position of these lan-
guages, low speaker numbers and, by contrast with New Zealand, the degree of
linguistic diversity. Australia has done little to accord the Indigenous
154 Current Issues in Language Planning

languages of this country the status they deserve. They are a long way from
receiving official language status, as has been achieved for Maori in New
Zealand, Guarani in Paraguay or the Indigenous languages of South Africa.
Only recently have the numbers of speakers of any specific Australian
language been counted in the census, despite the fact that numerous smaller
immigrant languages have been counted for some time. Funding for Indige-
nous languages is pitiful. The federal Government chooses to pour far more
money into English programmes designed for Aboriginal people, than it does
to support Indigenous languages.
While gaining full official or national language status may be out of the ques-
tion, there are lesser status goals that are attainable. For instance, the languages
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may be given priority status in the establishment of school language pro-

grammes. Indigenous place names may be officially reinstated through dual
naming policies. Local government may afford status to the language through
the erection of signage, commemorative murals and public artworks that incor-
porate the language.
For the Kaurna, there is no intention of replacing English entirely. Rather,
Kaurna is being introduced in an additive fashion to complement the use of
English. Ultimately, Kaurna might replace English for certain purposes, such as a
football team’s ingroup language on the field, conducting meetings within
Kaurna organisations, or home use within certain families. Most of the time,
however, the languages will coexist. Even in tightly defined domains such as
funerals, it may be possible to develop a liturgy for the entire proceedings in
Kaurna, but it is difficult to imagine a scenario where a majority of those attend-
ing the funeral will be speakers of Kaurna or even a majority of Kaurna people.
The Kaurna liturgy would most likely be accompanied by English liturgy, or at
the very least, detailed English explanations.
Prior to a renewed interest in Kaurna heritage with the establishment of the
Tjilbruke 5 Monuments Committee, the development of Aboriginal Studies
curricula and subsequent initiation of language revival activities, the status of
Kaurna was that of an ‘extinct’ language that few people even knew ever existed.
The only vestige of this language that remained in the public domain was a range
of Indigenous place names which were used, though the meanings or the source
language were not known. When meanings of Kaurna place names were prof-
fered by local history publications or books on place names (e.g. Cockburn, 1990;
Manning, 1986) the stated meanings were often demonstrably false (see Amery,
forthcoming). In short, the status of Kaurna was virtually rock bottom. Likewise,
the Kaurna people, the original inhabitants of the Adelaide Plains, were thought
to be ‘long extinct’.
Not surprisingly, Kaurna people are outraged, indignant, dismayed or
saddened at this and simply will not accept this view. The main driving force
behind language reclamation efforts is a statement of identity, to ensure that the
community at large knows that the Kaurna people have survived and that they
still have connections to the Adelaide Plains.

Reinstatement of place names

One of the goals of language planning is the standardisation of place names
and reference to geographical features. In some contexts, for example decoloni-
Language Planning and Language Revival 155
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Figure 2 Some prominent Kaurna place names on current maps

sation or revolution, the new government might seek to replace the coloniser’s
names with Indigenous or revolutionary names as in Indonesia or the then
Soviet Union. In the context of Adelaide, there is little desire to replace English
names and even less likelihood of this happening. Rather, Kaurna names are
being applied to unnamed features or are proposed for use alongside existing
names.
Some place names on the Adelaide Plains, such as Yankalilla, Myponga,
Aldinga, Willunga and Waitpinga, have always been in use. These localities
have always been known by their Indigenous names and only by their Indige-
nous names. Yankalilla, for instance, was in use by sealers based at Kangaroo
156 Current Issues in Language Planning

Island prior to colonisation and also recorded by George Augustus Robinson

on 2 June 1837 in an interview with Kalloongoo, a Kaurna woman who had
been kidnapped from the district some years earlier (see Amery, 1996b). The
name appeared in the journals of William Light, the founder of Adelaide, and
was in frequent use prior to the establishment of a settlement in the district.
However, while these names are used in the same vicinity of the original
place, it is not clear whether any of these names now refer to the same place
that they did 200 years ago. For instance, Myponga now refers to a town, a
district, the Hundred of Myponga and a reservoir. The district of Myponga is
probably not coextensive with Maitpangga as known to Kaurna people in the
early 19th century. T&S indicate that it then referred to a plain. The remaining
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entities (the town, reservoir and hundred) of course did not even exist in those
days.
In the minds of most non-Aboriginal Australians the link that these names
once had with the Kaurna people and the Kaurna culture has long been broken.
To most people they are just names, devoid of meaning and devoid of traditional
associations. Knowledge of the original feature to which they once referred has,
in most cases, been lost entirely. Even the rivers probably bore several names for
different tracts of the watercourse.
In some cases (e.g. Yankalilla6 or Onkaparinga7) the name is the key to under-
standing the landscape from a Kaurna perspective. So there is a need, not only to
reinstate the names themselves, but to rehabilitate the understandings behind
existing names. This is beginning to happen through the delivery of Kaurna
language programmes and awareness raising through local government initia-
tives and the reconciliation8 movement.
Reinstating Kaurna place names is not exactly new. In fact, George Gawler,
South Australia’s second governor (1838–1841) appears to have reinstated at
least one Kaurna name (see Amery & Williams, forthcoming). There are more
recent examples where non-Aboriginal people or government agencies have
reinstated Kaurna names without reference to the Kaurna community. For
instance, the Osmond Terrace Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre was
renamed Warinilla in 1985 after the original homestead there (pers. comm. Robin
Brandler, 7 November 1997).

Kaurna names reinstated and promoted by the Indigenous community

Knowledge of Indigenous place names of the Adelaide Plains not already on
the map is derived solely from archival material, though there is a remote possi-
bility that some additional information may be held in the oral traditions of
certain Nunga families.
Two decades ago Kaurna people started to turn to their own language as a
source of names for a variety of purposes. The establishment of Warriappendi
Alternative School in 1980 was the first instance of the bestowal of a Kaurna
name that was instigated and controlled by Kaurna people. Since then,
Kaurna people, and others, have been turning to the historical materials more
and more as a source of names. This activity has extended to the reinstatement
and institution of toponyms in Kaurna country, including metropolitan
Adelaide.
Language Planning and Language Revival 157
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Figure 3 Sites of significance in metropolitan Adelaide

Warriparinga
Warriparinga, on the Sturt River, Marion, is perhaps the first toponym to have
been reinstated by Kaurna people. This site is highly significant (Allen, 2000: 2–3;
Williams & Chapman, 1995: 89) because of its centrality in the Tjilbruke
Dreaming story which tells of the creation of springs and other sites to the south
of Adelaide and of the iron pyrites deposits at Brukunga. Warriparinga marks
the site where Kulultuwi, Tjilbruke’s nephew, was killed. As such, it is recog-
nised as the start of the Tjilbruke Dreaming track. It was from here that Tjilbruke
collected his nephew’s body, wrapped it up and carried it down the coast. The
Kaurna name was recorded by several observers as follows:
Warriparri the Sturt River (T&S, 1840: 73);
War-rey par-rey the creek that runs from the hills into Holdfast
Bay (Williams, 1840);
wari pari Sturt River meaning ‘wind river’ or ‘river of the
west wind’ (Black, 1920: 82);
158 Current Issues in Language Planning

War: pari Sturt Creek (Tindale, 1987: 8);

Walpari on Sturt Creek at Marion (Berndt & Berndt,
1993: 233);
Warriparri Sturt River meaning ‘creek fringed with trees’
(Cockburn, 1990: 209);
Warri-Pari Sturt River meaning ‘The Throat River’ (Webb,
1936–7: 308)
Warriparinga ‘windy place by the creek’ (Sturt River probably
refers to its strong gully wind) (Cooper, 1962: 35);
Warriparri ‘windy creek’ Sturt River (Cooper, 1962: 35).
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Black’s (1920) record probably indicates that it was still known by Ivaritji, recog-
nised as the so-called ‘last speaker’ of Kaurna, while Berndt’s and Tindale’s
records indicate that the name was known to their Ngarrindjeri informants in the
1930s and 1940s.
Until recently, the Warriparinga site has been officially known as Laffers
Triangle, whereas the river itself has been, and still is, known as Sturt River. In
1992, a proposal was put forward by Kaurna people, Paul and Naomi Dixon, for
the establishment of the Warriparinga Interpretive Centre, though the site itself
was still being referred to as Laffers Triangle (see Boynes, 1992). A local environ-
ment group initially known as The Friends of Laffers Triangle became known as
Friends of Warriparinga in 1992 or 1993. The name was soon applied to the entire
reconciliation project planned for the site, no longer just the planned interpretive
centre. An article reporting on an interview with Paul and Naomi Dixon in the
Salisbury, Elizabeth, Gawler Messenger (19 October 1994: 5) refers to the
‘Warriparinga area’. The site is now officially known as the Warriparinga
Reserve and the adjacent wetland established in 1998 was named Warriparinga
Wetland. Official road signs are now in place.
The site now is virtually only referred to as Warriparinga by the Kaurna
community, environment groups, the Marion City Council and the general
public alike. Many are not even aware of the existence of any other name. The
name has been fully accepted as the name for the site, almost totally precluding
the use of other names.
In April 1997, a new wetlands reserve not far from Warriparinga was named
Tartonendi9 by the Marion City Council and a plaque erected reading ‘Tarton-
endi. This Reserve is named Tartonendi which is a Kaurna word meaning “trans-
forming the land into wetlands”. The Kaurna people are the original inhabitants
of the Adelaide Plains’.

Adelaide city case study: Place naming proposal

In December 1996, I was approached by the Adelaide City Council to
research original names and the history of the Kaurna people within the
Adelaide city and North Adelaide areas under the jurisdiction of the council.
This area, including the surrounding parklands, makes a good case study in
which to investigate issues associated with Indigenous place names and their
reinstatement.
Within this area there were just three names on the map of Indigenous origins
in official use: Moonta Street, Morialta Street and Medindie Road, all of them
Language Planning and Language Revival 159

minor thoroughfares. Moonta derives from Yorke Peninsula, having Narungga

origins. Morialta is taken from Morialta Falls in the eastern foothills while
Medindie Road is named after the adjoining suburb to which it leads. Both are
probably Kaurna names. Morialta possibly derives from mari ‘east’ + yertalla ‘cas-
cade’ while Medindie may derive from mettindi ‘to steal’. Tindale (1974: 213)
refers to the ‘Medaindi (horde living near Glenelg)’ with a variant spelling
Medaindie, though he does not suggest an etymology. So none of the names in
use in 1996 (ignoring the names applied to buildings and organisations, most of
which have been adopted recently)10 were names used by Kaurna people to refer
to natural features in the area.
The only possibility of an original retention still in use is that of Pinky Flat near
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the Adelaide Oval which may derive from Kaurna pingko ‘bilby’11 (Praite &
Tolley, 1970: 139f.), though it and some other sources say it derives from English.
According to Manning (1986: 169) ‘during the depression years of the 1930s, it
was used as a camp by unemployed, and cheap wine called “Pinky” was
consumed there’. ‘Pinky’ or ‘pinkie’ appears in the Australian National Dictionary
meaning both ‘bilby’ and ‘cheap or home-made (fortified) wine’ (Hughes, 1989:
411), giving further credence to both etymologies.
However, names for geographical features in the area were recorded by
several observers. The Torrens River was recorded as Karrauwirraparri (T&S,
1840: 75), the ‘redgum forest river’. Wyatt (1879) records Korra weera, yerta and
perre ‘Adelaide, and the Torrens’, so it would appear that the land surrounding
the Torrens was known as Karrawirrayerta ‘redgum forest land’. Other names
recorded are listed in Table 1.

Table 1 Recorded Kaurna names

Kaurna name Meaning English name/location
Tandanya ‘red kangaroo rock’ Adelaide south of the Torrens
Piltawodli ‘possum home’ ‘Native Location’
Tambawodli ‘plain house’ ‘Emigration Square’
Tinninyawodli ‘rib house’ ‘the Ironstores’
Kainkawirra ‘redgum forest’ North Adelaide
Kainkawirra ‘redgum forest’ lake in Botanical Gardens
Ngamaji unknown GPO
Walinga ‘house place’ city of Adelaide

At least one of these names clearly refers to a post-colonial imposition on the

landscape. Tinninyawodli (lit. ‘rib house’) was the name given to the ‘Ironstores’
or Colonial Store. It appears that the word for ‘rib’ was extended to ‘iron’,12 prob-
ably because iron was imported into the colony in lengths resembling a rib. Other
names, such as Walinga ‘house place’ and Tambawodli ‘plain house’ referring to
Emigration Square, where there were rows of temporary huts and tents to house
new arrivals in the colony, are probably similar.
As part of the reconciliation process, a naming proposal was developed which
suggested Kaurna names for the 29 parks within the parklands area surrounding
160 Current Issues in Language Planning

the city and names for the seven city squares. I developed a set of naming princi-
ples which promoted the use of original names. Where names were not recorded,
I proposed names which related to a particular plant species found in the area or
known to have existed there. I also proposed several names which related to
current use of the park, e.g. naming Park 02 Padipadinyilla ‘swimming place’
because of the presence of the Acquatic Centre there. Furthermore, I proposed
that the squares and four high-profile parks be named after prominent Kaurna
individuals, such as Mullawirraburka ‘King John’, while the golf course greens at
the Piltawodli ‘Native Location’ site on Park 01 could be named after Kaurna
children and adults who were known to have lived there.
While few of these names are original retentions, the names applied do give a
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Kaurna perspective and serve to remind people of an Indigenous heritage

through the names of prominent leaders known to have frequented the area, and
the names of Indigenous plants that formerly dominated the landscape. It is
important, though, that the signs be accompanied by information, so that resi-
dents and visitors have the opportunity to appreciate deeper understandings of
Kaurna culture and history.
The Adelaide City Council considered five Kaurna names at its meeting of 13
March 2000 and made a formal request to the Geographical Names Board to
dual name the Torrens River as Karrawirraparri (lit. ‘redgum forest river’). It is
anticipated that this will be officially adopted following a period of consulta-
tion. Four additional names of parks (previously unnamed) were also adopted
by the council13 (Table 2). Of these four names, three are documented in T&S
(1840: 75). The fourth, Wirranendi ‘being transformed into forest’ was
constructed through regular word-forming processes from the known word
wirra ‘forest’ and the suffixes -ne ‘inchoative (i.e. to become)’ + -ndi ‘present
tense’ and applied to Park 23 in recognition of a regeneration project promoting
the growth of plant species indigenous to that particular tract of land which
takes in West Terrace Cemetery.

Table 2 Kaurna names adopted for parks in Adelaide

Kaurna name Meaning Location
Piltawodli ‘possum house’ Park 01 – North Adelaide golf
course
Karrawirra ‘redgum forest’ Park 12 – near University
footbridge
Wirranendi ‘being transformed into Park 23 – includes West Terrace
forest’ cemetery
Tambawodli ‘plain house’ Park 24 – Glover Ave and West
Terrace

On 5 February 2001, a further four Kaurna names were put forward at a meet-
ing of the Adelaide City Council for high-profile, high use parks (Table 3).
The first three of these names refer to the three main burka ‘senior men’ who
dealt with the colonial authorities in the 1830s and 1840s,14 while Kainka Wirra is
the original name for the waterhole (now the lake) in the middle of the Botanical
Gardens. The Adelaide City Council Place Naming Proposal demonstrates that
Language Planning and Language Revival 161

only a certain amount can be done in terms of reinstating the rightful original
names.
Table 3 Kaurna names proposed for four additional parks
Kaurna name Location
Mullawirraburka Womma Rymill Park
Ityamaiitpinna Womma Rundle Park
Kadlitpinna Womma Park 15
Kainka Wirra Botanic Park
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Owing to the paucity of records, the potential for reinstating authentic Indige-
nous toponyms on the Adelaide Plains is limited. However, there are a number
of important Kaurna names known from the historical record, where dual
naming would be a possibility. Some of the most prominent of these are shown in
Table 4.
Table 4 Recorded Kaurna names of places on the Adelaide Plains
Kaurna name Meaning Location
Yertabulti ‘land of sleep or death’ Port Adelaide
Kaleeya ~ Kaleteeya ? Gawler
Pattawilya15 ‘gum tree foliage’ Glenelg
Karraundongga ‘redgum chest place’ Hindmarsh
Warkowodliwodli ‘? houses’ Klemzig
Putpayerta ‘fertile ground’ Lyndoch Valley
Yerltoworti ‘? tail’ Hindmarsh Valley
Parriworta ’river behind’ Hutt River
Witongga ‘reed place’ The Reedbeds (Fulham)

There are basically two approaches in the reinstatement of Kaurna names. The
Kaurna community and their supporters can seek to make them official by work-
ing through the relevant authority having jurisdiction over naming in that area
for the purposes proposed. For instance, the Geographical Names Advisory
Committee, local council, etc., can be approached or lobbied for their placement
on the map. Alternatively, people can simply begin to use the Kaurna names and
encourage the public to follow suit. Of course, both processes can work together,
but the latter is much more meaningful. As Bill Watt of the Geographical Names
Advisory Committee pointed out on ABC Radio (25 October 1999), the technical
process of changing a name is easy. More demanding is the need to conduct the
appropriate consultation and develop a sense of ownership of the changes
within the community. In 1918, many German place names in South Australia
were removed and replaced with English and Indigenous names. However, in
some cases the community did not embrace the changes and following the cessa-
tion of hostilities many of the places reverted to their German names.
It is evident that many people in the community would like to see the restora-
162 Current Issues in Language Planning

tion of Indigenous names, but there are strong indications that they are still a
minority. Over the last few years with the restructuring and amalgamation of
local councils, names have been needed for the new entities. Several times I have
been asked for advice by councils themselves, councillors and residents who are
wanting to promote Kaurna names, and especially original names from the
respective areas. Alternatives have been put forward, but in every case
non-Indigenous names have won the day. Five years ago, the Australian Labor
Party suggested that the name for Adelaide should be changed to Kaurna in the
year 2000 (The Advertiser, 24 November 1994: 1–2), but only a small minority
interviewed by The Advertiser supported the proposal. Similarly, when Mark
Brindal MP proposed changing the name of Victoria Square in the heart of the
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city to Tandanya, most callers to the ABC talkback programme (ABC Radio, 25
October 1999) did not support the idea. So a lot of groundwork needs to be done
before Kaurna names can be reinstated in a way that is acceptable to and owned
by the community at large.
The best way to ensure the reinstatement of Kaurna names where these are
known is to simply begin to use them in our teaching programmes, our writings
and in our everyday conversations, and to familiarise the public with these sites
and their history. I recall that in 1974 during an acute accommodationcrisis at the
Australian National University, some students were allowed to occupy rooms at
Toad Hall before its completion and before it had been named officially. It was
then referred to by the administration as ‘the Fourth Hall of Residence’. One
student made an official-looking sign out of polystyrene and, as residents, we
had mail sent to us at Toad Hall. In the end, the administration had no option but
to follow suit.
It is taking some time for the Adelaide City Council proposal to be imple-
mented in its entirety, and the frustration of Indigenous people is beginning to
show. At a meeting of the Indigenous advisory group to the Adelaide City Coun-
cil on 24 January 2001, it was suggested that Indigenous people should take the
matter into their own hands and place an advertisement in the paper advising the
public that from now on Victoria Square will be known to the Indigenous
community as Tarndanyangga. This suggestion was strongly supported by all at
the meeting and people were urged simply to start using the Kaurna name them-
selves. The name was publicly announced on 26 May on the third anniversary of
National Sorry Day16 during a reconciliation event in the square which was
preceded by an article in the paper (The Advertiser, 23 May 2001).
If Kaurna names are to be accepted officially, then we need to do a lot of work
to promote them within the community. To totally replace high profile existing
names such as Victoria Square is exceedingly difficult. Of course it can be done,
as was the case with St Petersburg becoming Leningrad and Batavia becoming
Jakarta, but these were renamed following revolution and expulsion of a colonial
power. Far less threatening than total replacement is the application of a Kaurna
name alongside an existing name. Fortunately in South Australia, such legisla-
tion exists, known as the Dual Naming policy, which has been applied in the
Flinders Ranges, but not within Kaurna country as yet.17 Under the Dual Naming
policy, the Indigenous name may eventually gain more popularity than the exist-
ing English name, as is the case with Uluru which was initially introduced along-
side of Ayers Rock in the face of considerable resistance.
Language Planning and Language Revival 163

In 1991 the Victorian Labor Government adopted Geriwerd, the Jardwadjali

word for ‘mountain’ for the Grampians National Park. The name was dropped by
the newly elected Kennett Liberal Government in 1992 following the tabling of a
petition of some 57,000 signatures. Despite this, according to The Age (15 March
2000: 6), ‘the park’s ranger-in-charge, Mr Graham Parkes, said yesterday that the
park’s management, locals and tour operators continued to use Geriwerd’.
Of course, for locations such as Tambawodli or Piltawodli which currently do
not have an established English name, the process is much easier, but even here
resistance can be expected.

Authenticity and integrity of names

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In reinstating or placing Indigenous names on the map, additional language

planning considerations come into play. The place names must be correct and
appropriate. However, in the Adelaide City Council area a number of names had
been drawn from out of area and from other Indigenous languages. Similarly,
within Belair National Park, the names applied to creeks, ridges and walking
trails around 1900 are Kaurna, but those applied later, during the 1960s, are
drawn from other languages, including some from interstate languages (see
Amery & Williams, forthcoming). Norman Tindale, of the South Australian
Museum, compiled place name card files and annotated maps from many parts
of Australia, including the Adelaide Plains, with Indigenous names. Many of his
published papers on ethnography and Dreaming stories are filled with place
names. So Tindale’s work is a logical source of Indigenous place names.
However, much care needs to be taken with Tindale’s materials. Firstly, there is
an orthographic problem. Tindale used a modified IPA orthography which uses
‘Î’ where others use ‘ng’, and ‘j’ where others and the general public would write
‘y’. Tindale’s orthography is not designed for or suited to signage and necessarily
causes mispronunciation of the words. In a display at Mt Lofty Summit estab-
lished in 1997, a panel telling of the Urebilla story talks of ‘Jureidla, the two ears of
the great ancestral giant Urebilla (pronounced Yura-billa)’. Will visitors link
Jureidla with Uraidla, the name of a small town nearby, which is also derived
from yurridla ‘ear-dual’? Certainly the visitor information desk was not aware of
the connection in November 1997. Perhaps more serious in relation to names on
the Adelaide Plains is the fact that most of Tindale’s sources were Ngarrindjeri
people from the Lower Murray and Coorong. Consequently, many of the names
he imposed on the Adelaide Plains are Ngarrindjeri names or Ngarrindjeri adap-
tations of Kaurna names. For instance, he records the name for Glenelg as
Pattawilyangk with the Ngarrindjeri locative suffix -ngk as opposed to Patta-
wilyangga with the Kaurna suffix -ngga. Many other names begin with ‘r’ or ‘l’
(see Amery, 1998a: 199–202, 207–8; Tindale, 1987). Yet Kaurna words, as we
know them from all of the Kaurna sources, never commence with ‘r’ or ‘l’. Those
words that are clearly of Ngarrindjeri origins should be avoided or attempts
should be made to ensure that these words are Kaurnaised – Kaurna suffixes
should be used to replace the Ngarrindjeri suffixes. The Kaurna sources record a
number of names, such as Ngalta ‘the Murray River’ and Parnka ‘Lake
Alexandrina’ (T&S, 1840: 75) for locations deep inside Ngarrindjeri territory and
no-one would suggest that these Kaurna names should be accepted as the official
names for those locations when Ngarrindjeri names are available.
164 Current Issues in Language Planning

In May 2000, the Holdfast Bay Reconciliation Group produced a 28-page

booklet (Allen, 2000) outlining the early contact history of Glenelg. It includes
several Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri place names for sites in Kaurna country. In the
second edition I discuss the circumstances under which place names were
recorded, provided meanings where known, and have attempted to Kaurnaise
those names with Ngarrindjeri endings. This is a potent example of how
members of the Kaurna community and I are reinterpreting and rewriting
history through place names and planning the place names corpus.
Many local councils, often working in conjunction with the Kaurna commu-
nity and local reconciliation groups, are installing plaques, public artworks and
signage in recognition that their public spaces are located on Kaurna land. And
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they are engaged in naming, or renaming, some of these public spaces with
Kaurna names.
Kaurna people are understandably concerned that the use of Kaurna names is
not trivialised. Georgina Williams (in Amery & Williams, forthcoming) writes:
As a Kaurna person, I have grown up with oral traditions and understand-
ings about places and their significance, that do not necessarily appear in
the historical record. As a child, I was in the presence of old people and my
grandfather who shared the stories of the spirit beings. As a younger
woman I travelled over the country with my dad to places on the Adelaide
Plains and surrounding hills. He explained these things to me as he remem-
bered stories which had been passed on to him.
The placenames that have survived in an Anglicised form are part of the
story and law and lore of the land formations and places in which they are
situated. These placenames are the ‘skeletal remains’ of the historical
surviving reality of Kaurna First Nation peoples, once a peaceful and intact
body of lore/law of the land…
I believe that the placing of Kaurna names to places today creates identity
of a superficial nature unless they are relating to some source of relation-
ship to the land and through this to the spirit of the land. The language of
the Kaurna, and all other Aboriginal language names, should stay true to
the original nature of the land and spirit relationship or we are contributing
to even further dispossession by putting anything anywhere because some
people might think this is a ‘nice’ gesture of remembrance to a now extinct
people to meet a fashionable and acceptable fetish of the day…
Naming activity that is not rooted in the land and in the people of the
land runs the risk of being a shallow and meaningless activity that misap-
propriates our language and culture.
Other Kaurna naming activity
While a certain amount of Kaurna naming and renaming activity is happening
in the physical landscape, much more is happening in the cultural landscape.
There are numerous dimensions to this naming activity. Since the early 1980s,
numerous Aboriginal organisations based in Adelaide have been given Kaurna
names, while just a few, like Nankuwarrin Yunti, have been given Ngarrindjeri
names, and some have been given names which are a combination of Kaurna and
Ngarrindjeri. This was true in the case of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Commission Regional Council, Patpa Warra Yunti, from Kaurna patpa
Language Planning and Language Revival 165
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Figure 4 Locations of some Aboriginal organisations bearing Kaurna names

‘south’ and warra ‘language’ together with Ngarrindjeri yunti ‘together’ and
conceptualised as ‘talking together in the south’. Many of these organisations
were awarded a Kaurna name upon their establishment, but there are a number
of instances where an existing organisation has replaced its English name with
an Indigenous name, as in Patpa Warra Yunti.
Nunga sporting teams, social clubs, and cultural organisations are being
given Kaurna names. Cultural events too, are gaining Kaurna names. A repre-
sentative selection includes:
Kura Yerlo ‘near the sea’, an Aboriginal community centre at Largs Bay,
named by Lewis O’Brien in 1986;
Lartelare Kudlyo Coalition, Kaurna landowners and their supporters work-
ing for the return and rehabilitation of the Lartelare site on Kaurna land at
Glanville, named by Veronica Brodie and the Coalition in early 1995, with
kudlyo ‘black swan’ being the totem of Veronica’s great grandmother;
166 Current Issues in Language Planning
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Figure 5 Locations of some indigenous sports clubs bearing Kaurna names

Yaitya Warra Wodli ‘Indigenous language place’, the South Australian

Aboriginal Language Centre opened in 1993; initially based at Tauondi, it is
now located in Prospect; named by Snooky Varcoe;
Narna Tarkendi ‘the door is open’, Australian Indigenous Performing Arts
Coalition based at Tandanya, launched in February 1995 and named by
Katrina Power;
Paruparruappendi ‘to place oneself in an attitude of challenge’, Northern
Metropolitan Basketball team, named by Pearl Nam in 1995;
Tarni Burkanna ‘people belonging to the surf’, Nunga Boardriders Associa-
tion, Moana, named in July 1996 by Georgina Williams;
Tappa Inbandi ‘pathway to meet’, youth programme similar to Blue Light
discos, named with advice from Alice Rigney, 1991;
Yerliko Taikurringga ‘belonging to males’ or ‘(what) males have in common’,
a new Kaurna men’s group, named by Karl Telfer.
Language Planning and Language Revival 167

Some of these names, such as Kura Yerlo, were obtained or bestowed by

Kaurna people acting quite independently, but often my advice is sought for a
translation of a particular phrase. For instance, Lewis O’Brien sought an expres-
sion for ‘the winds have changed’. This particular expression was somewhat
difficult to translate directly into Kaurna. I suggested a number of possibilities. In
the end Lewis settled for Warri Yeltanna Wanggandi ‘the wind blows fresh’ as the
name of a youth group based at the Kura Yerlo community centre.
Within the education sector, too, many Kaurna names have been applied to
agencies, such as Tauondi, that deliver programmes aimed at Aboriginal
students, to Aboriginal programmes within universities (Yunggorendi and Wilto
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Yerlo), to buildings such as the Yungondi Building at the City West Campus of
the University of South Australia which houses the Unaipon School that delivers
Aboriginal Studies programmes, and to specific education programmes (such as
the Yerta Birko, a landscaping project and team of eight men at Tauondi College).
Kaurna phrases are being used as conference themes or mottos, such as Tangka
Manninendi or Pathways to Excellence at the University of South Australia.

Personal names
As Jernudd (1995: 121) observes, ‘names are intensely individual and mark
identity both of the unique person and of the person as a member of a group’. The
reintroduction of Kaurna names adds a new dimension to Jernudd’s discussion,
which focuses on bans and constraints imposed by the state and pressure from
the Other to change one’s name. Change of names within the Kaurna community
results from individual and group desire to reassert an identity. In a similar vein,
some migrants in Australia are abandoning their Anglicised names (see Jernudd,
1995: 121 for a discussion of this practice) and reinstating their original names
complete with phonology and spelling conventions of the source language for
use in the public domain.
Increasingly, Kaurna people are drawing on Kaurna vocabularies as a source
of personal names for themselves and their children. Possibly the first instance in
the modern period was the naming of Kudnarto Watson, born in 1986, who was
named after the prominent Kaurna ancestor, known only by her birth-order
name,18 at the suggestion of Georgina Williams. Since then, a number of children
have been given Kaurna names. A number of adults have adopted Kaurna names
for themselves, drawing on a perceived characteristic or role. For instance, Lester
Rigney, a young Kaurna language activist, has taken the name Irabinna ‘war-
rior’. He uses his full name, Lester Irabinna Rigney, when he authors papers,
gives a public address or lecture and in most areas of life. His daughter is named
Tarni Warra ‘the noise of the breakers’, his non-Indigenous wife has adopted
Kurraki ‘white cockatoo’, while his mother, a prominent Kaurna language activ-
ist, uses Wallara ‘clear headed, intelligent’. So far apparently no one has actually
changed his or her name by deed poll, though a number have talked about doing
it.
When Kaurna language programmes were first introduced at senior second-
ary level in 1994, I encouraged students to adopt Kaurna names, both personal
names and birth-order names, in keeping with what was known of Kaurna
naming traditions, and I drew up a list of suitable names to choose from. I did this
for pedagogical reasons, trying to increase exposure to, and use of, the language,
168 Current Issues in Language Planning

and gave no thought to the implications this might have for identity and that it
might be viewed as misappropriation. I no longer encourage non-Indigenous
students to adopt personal names, though I still promote the use of birth-order
names within the language-learning context.
Kaurna people also use Kaurna names for their pets. In a number of instances
pet dogs, cats and birds have been given Kaurna names. Kaurna words are often
used for computer passwords, etc. This, of course, is a very private use. In most
cases no one else, apart from the individuals themselves, are aware of Kaurna
words used in this way. Kaurna naming activity is documented in detail in
Amery (1998a, vol. 2: 276–302) for the period up until 1997. This naming activity
has continued unabated since then.
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Signage
Apart from place names discussed above, no signage was to be found in the
Kaurna language prior to the advent of Kaurna language programmes in the
1990s. Signs began to be posted at Kaurna Plains School, Para West Adult
Campus, Tauondi College, the Aboriginal Education Unit at Enfield and the
Faculty of Aboriginal and Islander Education, University of South Australia.
Signs, such as Meyu ‘Gents’ and Murki Turra ‘face painting’ also began to be used
at Kaurna events.
At Warriparinga, Stage 1 of the Warriparinga Project, the Tjirbruki Narna
‘Tjirbruki Gateway’ installation, was opened on 30 October 1997. A commemora-
tive board was erected which featured the text Tjirbruki narna arra’ ngatpandi
‘entering through the Tjilbruke gateway’. A set of 18 signs, many of which
feature extensive Kaurna text, were posted at Warriparinga in July 2000 at the
various entrances to the area and sites of significance. One sign also features a
Kaurna translation of Georgina Williams’ poem ‘Coming Home’.
Welcome signs in Kaurna were proposed on the major arterial roads entering
the city of Adelaide by Dot Davy, a Kaurna woman working for the Adelaide
City Council. Perhaps Kaurna signage may be displayed at high profile sites such
as Victoria Square and the Festival Theatre concourse at some time in the future.
Other proposals have been put forward for Kaurna signage on the proposed
Piradli Trail in Belair National Park, but this seems to have stalled, despite
considerable work by Nunga ranger Malcolm Lane on the text for the 17
proposed signs (see Amery, 1998a: 378–9 for details).

Murals and installations

The first Kaurna language ever to be displayed in a public place, apart from
place names and the plaque on North Terrace dedicated to Charles Witowito
Cawthorne, whom his father named with the Kaurna witowito ‘tuft of feathers
worn as an ornament by young men on the fore part of the head’, was the
Yerrakartarta mural created by Milika or Darryl Pfitzner. This mural, unveiled on
1 February 1995, is located within the Adelaide Plaza off North Terrace. In addi-
tion to the title, the mural incorporates a number of Kaurna words and a sentence
taken directly from T&S with a translation rendered in slightly more idiomatic
English. This sentence inscribed on a brass plaque reads:
Natta atto nanga; yakko atto bukki nakki. Kaurna yerta.
I know it now. Before I didn’t. This is Kaurna country.
Language Planning and Language Revival 169

In 1996, two West Australian architecture students created a ‘Ruins of the

Future’ installation. This installation included a Kaurna text written by me and a
six-minute loop tape consisting of songs and spoken Kaurna which played
throughout the Adelaide Festival. The written text, posted on a sign, comprised
the following:
BULTO TARKARIKO
Martuityangga Kaurna meyunna ngadlu wanggandi ‘Marni na budni pangkarra
Kaurnaanna.’
Yurringgarninga warranna bukkiunungko, birko Kaurna pintyandi. Warranna
bukkiunungko warranendi tarkarirlo.
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RUINS OF THE FUTURE

The Kaurna people welcome you to their country. Listen to the voices of the
past as they rebuild the Kaurna nation. The words of the past are being
transformed into the future.
A major work of public art is planned for development at the entrance of the
Festival Theatre. This mural, located in a prime location, will incorporate Kaurna
language in some form or another, as it has been written into the artist’s brief.
Piltawodli and the Journey of Healing
Piltawodli was established as the ‘Native Location’ in 1837 on the banks of the
Torrens opposite the Old Gaol. It is a highly significant site because it was here
that the roots of the ‘stolen generations’ policies in South Australia can be seen.
And it was here that most of what we know about Kaurna language and culture
was recorded from Kaurna people, such as Mullawirraburka, Kadlitpinna,
Ityamaiitpinna, Wattewattitpinna, Wauwityina, Tilti Midlaitya and others, who
built huts and lived on the site. Most of the Europeans who took an interest in
Kaurna language and culture either lived on the site or lived nearby and
frequented the site. These observers include Clamor Schürmann, Christian
Teichelmann, Samuel Klose, William Wyatt, Mathew Moorhouse, William
Williams, James Cronk and William Cawthorne. These observers account for
well over 90% of what we know of the Kaurna language. Only a few short word
lists were recorded elsewhere.
Kaurna language classes had begun visiting the Piltawodli site in 1997.
Piltawodli excursions are now a regular activity for Kaurna language classes and
teacher in-service courses as well as for international visitors. In the 1990s there
was nothing to be seen except a golf course, a restaurant and the restaurant car
park. The Piltawodli site had been first noted by Tom Gara in 1989 and its history
written up by Rob Foster (1990). We used this material extensively, together with
the writings of Schürmann, Teichelmann and Klose in our initial visits. Over the
last few years archaeologists and historians have carried out more intensive
investigations (Hemming & Harris, 1998; Harris, 1999) which have increased our
knowledge of the site substantially.
On 26 May 1999, on the second anniversary of National Sorry Day a symbolic
Journey of Healing was organised. Participants marched to five sites of signifi-
cance, beginning at the Old Gaol where the Journey was opened with a Kaurna
speech, then to the edge of the Torrens where students of Immanuel College
170 Current Issues in Language Planning

re-enacted Governor Gawler’s speech to the Kaurna people which was trans-
lated by Wyatt. The Journey proceeded to the third site, Piltawodli, where chil-
dren from Kaurna Plains School sang Kaurna songs and mock-up plaques were
unveiled. The actual plaques were finally erected the following year, on 26 May
2000 (see below). The Journey then proceeded to the steps of Parliament House
and then on to Victoria Square, where current concerns, notably the 54 recom-
mendations from the Bringing Them Home report (Commonwealth of Australia,
1997), were addressed.
The Journey of Healing in 1999 was attended by several thousand people,
including many school children. One of the main features of this reconciliation
event was a recognition of Kaurna history and of places of significance to Aborig-
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inal people in the heart of Adelaide. Briefing notes were prepared which outlined
some of the history behind these places and speakers spoke of the events of the
past and their relevance to the present. Nelson Varcoe composed and sang songs
in Kaurna and English which told this history in a particularly moving way.
The Journey of Healing event in 2000 took place at Piltawodli where a set of
plaques, mounted on granite boulders, was unveiled. The main plaque began
with a line from a Kaurna song:
Wanti nindo ai kabba kabba? Ningkoandi kuma yerta.19
Where do you push me to? You belong to another country.
This song was recorded by Matthew Moorhouse from a Kaurna man, Ngurpo
Williamsie, in the early days of colonisation who sang it in protest against the
intrusion of Europeans into his country, or against the Murray River peoples
who had been persuaded to come to Adelaide by Moorhouse and the colonial
authorities. Or perhaps it was a protest against both.
A number of other plaques, including images of Kadlitpinna, Teichelmann
and Schürmann, the schoolhouse and a letter written in Kaurna by Pitpauwe, a
12- or 13-year-old boy who attended the Piltawodli school, were also positioned
together with a map of the site.
Thus the Kaurna language is playing a significant role in the reconciliation
movement in Adelaide. This movement seeks to recognise Indigenous perspec-
tives in Australia’s history.
Cultural tourism
Cultural tourism is an extremely important and effective means of reclaiming
Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains as a Kaurna landscape, and the use of elements
of the Kaurna language plays an important part in this. Kaurna language is
taught within the Cultural Instructors and Tourism course offered by Tauondi
College. Students learn how to introduce themselves in Kaurna and learn salient
vocabulary for Kaurna artefacts, fauna and flora, ochres, seasons, kin terms, etc.
Tauondi has also established a tourism agency to provide employment for their
graduates. There is much potential for future development in this area and for
Kaurna people to promote their own interests through cultural tourism.
Performances
A Kaurna man, Joseph Williams, formed the Tjilbruki Dance Group, perform-
ing first at Warriparinga Open Day in January 1996. His brother, Karl Telfer,
together with Steve Goldsmith and several other young Kaurna men, later
Language Planning and Language Revival 171

formed the Paitya Dancers. Karl introduces these performances with an intro-
duction in Kaurna and introduces salient Kaurna terms during the performance.
It is likely that the Kaurna language will increasingly play an important role in
dance performances in the future.
Kaurna speeches of welcome
‘Welcome to land’ speeches, as they are known, have become Indigenous
protocol and are now often given in Kaurna by a range of senior Kaurna people.
The first speech of welcome was given in Kaurna by Elder Lewis O’Brien in 1991
on the occasion of a visit by world-renowned ecologist, David Suzuki. These
speeches are most often given at gatherings of Indigenous people or at meetings
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and rallies concerning Indigenous issues, but increasingly they are being given at
large public events not specifically addressing Indigenous issues in an effort to
be inclusive of Indigenous peoples and in recognition of the Kaurna people as the
original owners of the Adelaide Plains. Accordingly, the last two Adelaide Festi-
vals of Arts have been opened with Kaurna speeches and performances.
Early in 1993, I worked with Nelson Varcoe on the Kaurna translation of his
speech on the occasion of the opening of Yaitya Warra Wodli, South Australia’s
Indigenous Languages Centre. This speech included an expression taken
directly from the letter written by Itya Maii in 1841. Several of the expressions
used in Nelson’s speech have been used subsequently in the speeches given by
others.
The giving of speeches has struck a chord within the Kaurna community and
with the public. The frequency with which Kaurna speeches are given has
increased exponentially and the number of individuals who give speeches in
public has increased markedly. See Figure 6 and 7. Educational institutions,
conference organisers, planners of cultural activities, the reconciliation move-

120
104
100

80
62
60

40

20 14
9
5
1 1
0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Figure 6 Kaurna speeches in public (1991–1997)

172 Current Issues in Language Planning

14
15
12

10
7
5
5 3
1 1
0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
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Figure 7 Number of individuals giving Kaurna speeches in a given year

ment and others are requesting Kaurna speakers with increasing frequency, such
that Kaurna people cannot keep up with the demand. Kaurna people are request-
ing courses to assist them to deliver Kaurna speeches.
Kaurna songs
Kaurna songs have also proved to be very popular and are an excellent
means for the introduction of a language. Kaurna language revival activity
began with the writing of seven songs in Kaurna (Ngarrindjeri, Narrunga and
Kaurna Languages Project, 1990). A steady stream of new Kaurna songs has
been produced since then, with a flurry of activity in 1995 when we recorded
the tape for Kaurna Paltinna – A Kaurna Songbook (Schultz et al., 1999). More than
50 Kaurna songs have now been written, covering a huge range of topics and
styles. Kaurna songs are also often performed in public, at reconciliation events
or launches of cultural and educational projects. See Figure 8.

24 25
25

20

15
9
10 6
5 1 0
0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Figure 8 Performance of Kaurna songs in public (1992–1997)

Kaurna language in education

Kaurna language reclamation activities began in conjunction with education
programmes. Workshops were held for childcare workers and for teachers and
parents from Kaurna Plains School. The workshops were held within the school
context and songs and role-plays, etc., were written with school programmes in
mind.
In 1992, Kaurna was introduced as the LOTE programme at Kaurna Plains
Language Planning and Language Revival 173

School, and in 1994 as a Year 11 subject at Elizabeth West Adult Campus and Eliz-
abeth City High School. Kaurna is now taught at all levels of education from
pre-school to tertiary education. However, the numbers of learners of Kaurna is
relatively small, and the majority of learners are not Kaurna people. Nonetheless,
the Kaurna programmes collectively provide an excellent venue for language
teachers to develop their language skills and for the Kaurna language revival
group to develop the Kaurna language itself.
When the Kaurna programmes were first introduced, few materials existed.
To this day there is no established Kaurna language curriculum. Teachers have to
create many of their own materials.
Language teaching materials need to be tailored to the specific needs of Indig-
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enous languages. In particular, there needs to be a focus on place names, the local
environment, kinship and the people. Generic language teaching programmes,
which are currently being promoted by the education department, are highly
problematic. The kinds of things one might want to teach in a major world
language are not necessarily the kind of things one would want to teach in
Kaurna. For instance, there is little point in learning how to ask how much a room
costs for a night at the Hyatt Hotel or learning how to order food at a restaurant.
These are not contexts in which Kaurna is used, nor are they contexts in which
Kaurna is likely to be used in the foreseeable future, if ever.
When the South Australian Secondary School of Languages (SASSL) was
involved in the delivery of Kaurna programmes, there was a strong desire to
develop a self-contained teaching package that any good language teacher could
pick up and implement in another programme. While this might make sense
from the standpoint of planners within the education system, it ran contrary to
Nunga values. SASSL wanted a transportable programme that was not depend-
ent on personalities, but the Kaurna community wants to maintain control over
where the language is taught and seeks a personal relationship of trust with those
who deliver it.
In July 1997, a Kaurna linguistics course was introduced at the University of
Adelaide, and is one of a handful of Indigenous languages taught in the tertiary
sector. The Kaurna course is unique in teaching about historical language
sources and ways in which they are being used now. There is a high level of
involvement by members of the Kaurna community in the delivery of the course,
which supports the teaching of the language in schools through professional
development for teachers.

Use of Kaurna within Nunga families

Until now the use of Kaurna has been predominantly outward oriented. Rela-
tively little Kaurna is used to serve narrow communicative functions. Rather, the
language is used symbolically as a badge of identity. At this stage, it is not partic-
ularly important that the language is understood by others. Having said this, a
number of families have made concerted efforts to use the language at home.
Some have plastered their walls with the Kaurna names of household objects.
Some make use of a number of Kaurna phrases, especially commands and
requests. Kaurna songs are especially important in a number of Kaurna house-
holds. The songbooks have reportedly been used so much in some families that
they have fallen apart. But many members of the Kaurna community are yet to
174 Current Issues in Language Planning

embrace the language in an active way, though they might still view its use by
others with considerable pride.
The language needs to be introduced very carefully, so as not to exclude
people. It is easy for the language movement to become elitist or to be perceived
as elitist and it is important to ensure that the entire community is kept informed
of language developments, whether they have been directly involved in them or
not.
Promotion of the Kaurna language
The Kaurna language movement has received a small but increasing amount
of coverage in the local and national press and some television coverage. A story
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was run on the national ABC current affairs programme, the 7.30 Report, on 28
February 2001.
Greetings in the Kaurna language are now used on a number of websites,
including the University of South Australia, Kaurna Plains School, Port Youth,
etc., and there are plans to load much more Kaurna language onto the Aboriginal
Australia website, in an effort to promote the language more effectively.

Corpus-planning considerations
Assembling the corpus
In the context of language reclamation, one needs first to assemble the sources
and identify the corpus itself. In contrast to strong, viable languages where the
basic corpus may be taken for granted as it is possessed by numerous speakers, in
revival contexts much of the corpus, including pronouns and basic verbs, may
reside only in written records of dubious quality.
Nor can one ever divorce corpus planning from status planning. In assem-
bling the corpus, decisions must be made about what qualifies for inclusion in
the corpus and in what form a given item should be included. It is not uncommon
for word lists retrieved from archival sources to be a mixture of several different
languages. Wyatt (1879), for instance, is a mixture of Kaurna spoken in Adelaide,
the Kaurna dialect spoken at Rapid Bay and Ramindjeri from Encounter Bay.
While he makes some effort to identify these different varieties, he has wrongly
assigned many of the words in the list. Word lists recorded in the 19th century
seldom record the names of the Indigenous contributors, though in some cases
circumstantial evidence indicates that the word list has been recorded from just
one individual (e.g. Robinson, n.d. – see Amery, 1996b) or maybe two (e.g.
Gaimard, 1833 – see Amery, 1998b). Lengthier word lists compiled over a period
of time (e.g. Teichelmann, 1857; T&S, 1840; Williams, 1840; Wyatt, 1879) were
undoubtedly recorded from many individuals who most likely spoke a variety of
dialects. In fact, on several occasions T&S identify alternate dialectal forms and
provide a short text from Mullawirraburka and Kadlitpinna for the purpose of
illustrating dialectal differences. Despite this, most of the time it is impossible to
discern dialectal differences in the materials, though they must be present.
Another source, Koeler (1842), includes a range of pidgin forms in his Kaurna
word lists and provides a number of Pidgin Kaurna sentences, unaware that they
adhere to a different linguistic system from the language that he thinks he is
recording (Amery & Mühlhäusler, forthcoming). A thorough knowledge of
Pidgin English sources and sources on neighbouring languages can help to elimi-
Language Planning and Language Revival 175

nate such forms from the corpus. Of course, it is difficult to determine whether
the presence of a given form in such a list is in fact a borrowing into the language
under study or whether it is due to the observer mixing languages, having
obtained the words from a range of sources.
Invariably there are discrepancies between forms retained in oral traditions
handed down within the community and those recorded in written records.
How do we resolve these discrepancies? Which are to be regarded as the true,
authentic forms? It could be that the oral form of the language had changed over
time; often such changes are heightened in situations of language obsolescence.
Alternatively, errors may have been introduced by observers through mishear-
ing, mistranscription, introduced typographical errors, misunderstanding, etc.
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There are also likely to be numerous discrepancies among the written sources
themselves.
Who decides what qualifies for inclusion in the corpus? The ultimate decision
rests with those who identify with the language and claim it as their own, but
hopefully this decision will be informed by linguistic and sociolinguistic knowl-
edge.

Establishing norms of pronunciation

Language planners do not usually decide how words in a language should be
pronounced. They may indeed make choices between a range of existing social or
regional dialectal variants to establish a standard language pronunciation to be
promoted in the media and the education system. It is often the case that the vari-
ety spoken by the elite or powerful members of society is privileged. But in
language reclamation situations, the language planning process is more
far-reaching.
If there are no sound recordings of the language in existence and revival
attempts are based entirely on written historical sources, then the only option is
to examine each of those sources for internal consistency, draw comparisons
between the records made by different observers, and use comparative linguistic
techniques to gain insights from closely related languages. In other words, the
pronunciation has to be deduced on the basis of all available evidence. Even then
there will be a large element of guesswork.
In the Kaurna case there are some 18 known individuals who made original
records of aspects of the Kaurna language between 1826 and the 1920s, but no
sound recordings exist of the language as it was spoken in the 19th or early 20th
centuries. Very few Kaurna words have been passed down in oral history. Even
so, the pronunciation of these words sometimes provides useful clues and confir-
mation of our deductions and sometimes some unexpected findings. So how do
we know how to pronounce Kaurna words? This is discussed in some detail in
Amery (2000a: 115–18). Some of the main points are reiterated here.
We are fortunate indeed that a linguist, Luise Hercus, was able to record
several hundred words in the early 1970s from Nukunu people who were
rememberers of the language. Hercus’s sound recordings were sufficient for her
to analyse the Nukunu sound system with some confidence. Fortunately,
Nukunu and Kaurna are quite closely related and many words are shared by the
two languages. For instance, Kaurna karro ‘blood’ is equivalent to Nukunu kaaru,
as spelt by Hercus (1992), indicating a long vowel in the first syllable and a glide
176 Current Issues in Language Planning

/r/ as in English. On the other hand, Kaurna warri ‘wind’ is equivalent to

Nukunu wari ‘wind’, but Kaurna warra ‘language’ is cognate with Nukunu
warrarla ‘language’. Thus T&S in these instances used ‘rr’ to spell three different
rhotics, a glide /r/ as in English, a tap and a trill. In 1997, Lester Irabinna Rigney,
Cherie Warrara Watkins and I recorded a series of lessons on tape, including a
guide to pronunciation consisting of words illustrating the sounds of Kaurna
which had Nukunu cognates (see Amery et al., 1997).
For the sake of the integrity of the language, it is important to get this right, or
at least as accurate as we can. If Kaurna people are to be taken seriously by native
speakers of other Australian languages when they use Kaurna in public, they
need to work at pronunciation and cultivate the sounds, phonotactics and stress
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patterns characteristic of Australian languages. These include retroflex, inter-

dental and alveopalatal stops, nasals and laterals, the trill or rolled ‘r’ and the
initial velar nasal. Kaurna, like Pitjantjatjara and many other Australian
languages, has just three short and three long vowels /a/, /i/, /u/, /a: /, /i: /
and /u: / and diphthongs /ai/, /au/ and /ui/. It is extremely important that
vowels are pronounced as such and never as /æ/or /Æ/, etc., as in English. Stress
is always on the initial syllable. When Kaurna is spoken using spelling pronunci-
ations based on English intuitions, for instance yerlo ‘sea’ pronounced [jÆloU]
rather than [jalu] or purlaitye ‘two’ pronounced [pÆl@tSi] rather than [pulaici],
their efforts are diminished in the eyes of anangu (Pitjantjatjara or
Yankunytjatjara-speaking peoples from the north-west of South Australia) who
sometimes speak in mocking, critical or sceptical tones with comments such as
‘shame job’, ‘so embarrassing’, etc. Thus it is vital that the influence of English
pronunciations be minimised and that fluency and a smooth delivery be devel-
oped. There have been continual improvements in these areas with practice and
positive reinforcement, but it is an area that needs managing carefully.

Choice of orthography
This is a language planning issue which confronts every language that is
committed to writing. As a consequence, there is a large literature to draw from.
Some speech communities, such as Allemanic, may have very laissez faire atti-
tudes towards spelling and accept whatever spelling that a writer chooses to use
(personal communication, Peter Mühlhäusler).
Phonemically-based writing systems are generally favoured for previously
unwritten languages, though syllabic and logographic writing systems do have
distinct advantages. A range of principles in developing a practical orthography
are generally accepted. These include: systematicity; transparency; ease of repro-
duction on a word processor or typewriter, thus disfavouring diacritics; use of
the same characters and conventions as the national language to facilitate acqui-
sition; use of different characters and conventions from the national or neigh-
bouring languages to signal difference and maintain a separate identity.
In language revival situations there are additional factors to be considered. In
any large modern language, every native speaker knows how most everyday
words are pronounced. Thus it is not important that there be a close relationship
between sounds and their representation. Indeed, in the case of Chinese Hanzi,
or Japanese Kanji, writing bears no relationship to the spoken form. This has the
distinct advantage in that it allows written communication between speakers of
Language Planning and Language Revival 177

quite different languages. In the revival context, however, it is a distinct advan-

tage to have a spelling system that tells the reader precisely how the word is
pronounced because in the early stages, most people will not instinctively know.
While a phonemic spelling system might be optimal, it may be preferable to build
more redundancy into the spelling system in the context of language revival.
T&S’s overrepresentation of Kaurna vowels may not be such a bad thing.
For languages being reclaimed from written historical sources, there are addi-
tional problems. Authors of these written sources, such as missionaries, explor-
ers, pastoralists and government officials, used a variety of different spellings
depending on their own language background, education, training, exposure to
other languages and personal preferences. It is fortunate indeed if the language
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has been recorded by a trained linguist, but if we are relying on 18th- and
19th-century sources then transcriptions may be difficult to interpret. Some
observers’ transcriptions may be partially systematic, others will defy analysis.
In the Kaurna case we have opted to continue to spell words according to
conventions adopted by T&S (1840) or Teichelmann (1857). This is because most
of the known Kaurna words were recorded by these observers. Fewer than 200
additional words are recoverable from other sources. When these are incorpo-
rated into the main corpus, they are respelt according to T&S conventions. For
example, Cawthorne’s (1844) wocaltee has been respelt wakalti. Fortunately, T&S
were reasonably consistent in their transcriptions, though there are shortcom-
ings. They overrepresented the vowels, though they did not consistently indicate
vowel length. They failed to adequately distinguish between interdental, alveo-
lar and retroflex consonants and were inconsistent in transcribing the rhotics.
T&S were also inconsistent in their use of ‘ng’ word medially, which they use for
the velar nasal, a velar nasal + velar stop cluster and possibly also alveolar or
retroflex nasal + velar stop cluster. On the other hand, they often use double
consonants between vowels, making Kaurna words unnecessarily long (for
example, writing kammammi ‘mother’s mother’ when they could have written it
as kamami).
Some would argue that the old missionary spellings do not adequately reflect
the Kaurna sound system and that it would be better to adopt a truly phonemic
spelling system, as is in use in Adnyamathanha. The problem is that in many
cases we would have to make blind guesses at the pronunciation. The status of
the letters ‘t’, ‘l’ and ‘n’ in word-medial position is uncertain. If the word contain-
ing these letters is not attested in a neighbouring language then there is little to
indicate whether they might be interdental, alveolar or retroflexed. Similarly, the
quality of the rhotic cannot be predicted from T&S transcriptions. Their use of the
single ‘r’ usually coincides with the tap, while the double ‘rr’ usually indicates a
trill or glide, but there are a number of exceptions and there are several instances
of inconsistency where the same word is spelt with a single ‘r’ and a double ‘rr’. In
the vocabulary section, taralye ‘chip; splinter; board; timber’ (T&S, 1840: 43) is
spelt with a single ‘r’, but in example sentences in the grammar and phraseology
sections it appears with double ‘rr’ as in tarralyilla ‘on the table’ (T&S, 1840: 21),
Tarralyoanna mutyertanna wondando, yerta buttonettoai ‘Put the clothes on the
table, lest they be (or become) spoiled’ (T&S, 1840: 18) and Kura pappaltoarra
tarralye ngatpainga ‘Close by the side of the stump, put the fence’. Murrendi ‘to go;
walk; travel’ as it appears in the vocabulary, appears with both single and double
178 Current Issues in Language Planning

‘rr’ in the phraseology, even within the one exchange as in Ninna wanti mureta? –
Karra ngai murreta Yultiwirraanna ‘Whither will you go? – Up to the Stringy-bark
Forest will I go’ (T&S, 1840: 66).
Hercus and Simpson have proposed using capital letters T, L, N and R in
cases where the phonemic status is uncertain and writing the phonemes /th/,
/t/, /rt/, /lh/, /l/, /rl/, /nh/, /n/, /rn/, /r/, /r/, and /rr/ where they are
known with a reasonable level of confidence. While this is an excellent means of
writing the language for the purpose of linguistic analysis, it is not suitable as a
practical orthography where upper-case letters are needed for other purposes.
By continuing to use T&S spellings, people can continue to easily access the
primary historical sources themselves. If we were to change the spellings this
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would no longer be possible. Authenticity and integrity of the language is very

important at this stage, more so than switching to a system that might be more
accurate and more pleasing to a linguist. Here is yet another instance of the inter-
action between status planning and corpus-planning considerations.

The lexicon
Somewhere between 3000 and 3500 Kaurna words were recorded in the
historical sources, but any decent dictionary of an Australian language could be
expected to contain at least 10,000 words. Naturally there are many obvious
gaps. Filling in gaps in the lexicon is a language planning concern that is unique
to languages which have ceased to be spoken or are in an advanced state of
language obsolescence. In these situations, we know there would have been
terms in the language for most entities in the local environment, for local cultural
practices and a full range of verbs, and words denoting the qualities of entities
(usually adjectives) and the manner of actions and processes (usually adverbs),
just as there are in any natural language. In languages which are still spoken, of
course, it is simply a matter of observing or eliciting these terms and recording
the lexicon, but in the case of languages being reclaimed from archival materials,
other means must be found to flesh out the lexicon where these terms are needed.
This involves a certain amount of interpolation and extrapolation from what is
known of the language itself and what information can be gleaned from neigh-
bouring languages and other Australian languages as to what we would expect
to find.
The paucity of fish terms, despite the importance of fish in the Kaurna diet, as
shown in the archaeological record and in the eating habits of Kaurna people
today, is an obvious gap. The languages of other coastal-dwelling Aboriginal
peoples have extremely well-developed nomenclatures for this domain. The
dictionary of Djambarrpuyngu (Galpagalpa et al., 1984), a language spoken in
north-east Arnhem Land, includes no fewer than 64 head entries for sharks and
rays. Most of the words are monomorphemic, bearing no similarity to other
words in the language. While some are synonyms, there are at least 30 terms
referring to different species of sharks and rays.
We have begun to address gaps in the lexicon in an ad hoc fashion as the need
arises. Teachers of Kaurna language, Kaurna Elders and I suggest various
options which are discussed within the group, often within the context of a work-
shop or language class. Indeed, exercises or assignments are sometimes set for
language learners (e.g. translation of a section of the children’s story ‘Wombat
Language Planning and Language Revival 179

Stew’) that require the students to come up with some kind of solution that
addresses a particular lexical gap.
To date, several strategies have been used to address gaps in the lexicon.
Borrowing is generally resisted by Kaurna people, but it is sometimes hard to
avoid and in this context it is more acceptable to borrow from some languages
than it is from others. Words have seldom been borrowed direct from English.
The whole purpose in engaging in Kaurna language revival is to reclaim a
distinctive linguistic and cultural identity. Borrowing from English is the antith-
esis of this, or as Harlow (1993) observes in the Maori context ‘an admission of
defeat’. Despite this, a few English terms were borrowed, especially in our earlier
work, such as Maikoko Birko, a translation of the children’s story Tucker’s Mob
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(Mattingley, 1992). In that book I borrowed ‘brolga’ (a large silvery-grey crane

which performs an elaborate dance. Also known as ‘native companion’), ‘banana
palms’ and ‘lilies’ direct from English, but would probably make more strenuous
efforts to avoid English altogether if I undertook the task today. For instance,
‘brolga’ would be given as purrarlka, a form closer to the original source language
(see Dixon et al., 1990), just as ‘koala’ has been adopted as kuula in its original
Dharuk form. This gives the Kaurna word its own identity distinct from English,
but in this case also serves to correct the error introduced in the English form.
‘Koala’ was originally spelt ‘coola’ and ‘koolah’ by early observers of the Sydney
language (Dixon et al., 1990: 72). It would appear that an error has been intro-
duced, probably through misreading the second ‘o’ in the handwritten manu-
script as an ‘a’. The current pronunciation of the English word is derived from the
current spelling and deviates markedly from the original Dharuk pronunciation.
In a recent workshop we developed the term nurlomai for ‘banana’, derived from
nurlo ‘curvature; corner’ compounded with mai ‘vegetable food’. So nurlomai
wirra could be used in the context in which ‘banana palms’ was used in Tucker’s
Mob, where wirra ‘wood; forest; bush’ refers to the ‘grove’ or ‘plantation’ of
bananas.
Some words have been borrowed direct from neighbouring, closely related
languages. In the very first songs we wrote, nyani was used for ‘sheep’, a Kukatha
word known to some of the workshop participants. Later, nhaalha ‘echidna’ was
borrowed from Nukunu as no observer seems to have ever recorded a Kaurna
word. As Nukunu and Kaurna share many words, there is some chance that
nhaalha may in fact have been a Kaurna word. Returning to the poorly documented
domain of fish terms, a number of fish terms have been documented in neighbour-
ing Narungga, even though only about 900 Narungga words in total were
recorded. Numerous fish terms have also been recorded in Ngarrindjeri, a neigh-
bouring but not closely related language located to the south-east of Kaurna. It
seems that it is acceptable to borrow words from Narungga, though not from
Ngarrindjeri. The latter would more likely be viewed as theft by Ngarrindjeri
speakers. Not all words are borrowed directly, however. Sometimes loan transla-
tions are employed where these are possible. For instance, the Narungga word for
‘octopus’, mar: awitji means ‘many hands’ so the loan translation marrawitte has
been adopted. Similarly, ‘flounder’ in Narungga is ta jukuli (lit. ‘crooked mouth’)
which has been adopted as ta yokunna in Kaurna. The fact that the Kaurna word is
somewhat different from the Narungga word makes all the difference.
Additional methods can sometimes be used, drawing on the principles of
180 Current Issues in Language Planning

historical linguistics. Certain sound changes have taken place in Adnyama-

thanha relative to Kaurna. Kaurna seems to be the more conservative, having
preserved initial consonants which have been lost in Adnyamathanha, and
resisted the lenition of p > v that has taken place in Adnyamathanha. When we
locate terms in Adnyamathanha that have not been recorded in Kaurna, rather
than borrow them directly from Adnyamathanha, they can be borrowed in the
more conservative form before these sound changes operated. For instance, a
‘pitfall trap’ in Adnyamathanha is vata. Allowing for the sound changes that
have taken place, if the same term ever existed in Kaurna, it would have been in
the form of *pata. Adopted in this form, the word has its own identity distinct
from the Adnyamathanha term.
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On still other occasions, gaps have been filled by forming new compounds or
derivations. For instance, no word for ‘platypus’ was ever recorded, so a new term
*kauwilta was developed as a reduced compound from kauwe ‘water’ + pilta ‘pos-
sum’. New terms such as this are marked with an asterisk (*) in the dictionary.

Expanding the lexicon

All modern languages are expanding their lexicon in response to technologi-
cal change and innovation and in response to contact with other languages and
cultures and subsequent incorporation of new cultural practices. For some
languages, e.g. English, this is a process that is taken for granted. It happens with
little conscious attention given it by language planners. For languages whose
status suddenly changes to that of an official language requiring its use in educa-
tion and administration, etc., there is an immediate need to expand the lexicon to
enable it to function in these new domains.
A large body of literature is available that documents the circumstances under
which this lexical expansion has taken place and the methods employed to incor-
porate new terminology in a range of languages, including Bahasa Indonesia,
Filipino, Mandarin, Hebrew, Maori and a range of Indigenous languages such as
Navajo and Apache in North America. Alisjahbana (1984: 87) reports that Indo-
nesian has coined or adopted more than 500,000 new terms. There are only a few
articles which deal with the development of new terminology in Australia’s
Indigenous languages. See for instance Amery (1986a; 1986b), Black (1993),
O’Grady (1960) and Simpson (1985).
In the case of Kaurna, as in Hebrew, the language has lain dormant for a
period. The world has changed considerably since the language was docu-
mented in the mid-nineteenth century. Fortunately, the German missionaries
recorded in excess of 100 new terms (see Amery, 1993). Now that Kaurna people
are attempting to use Kaurna again in their daily lives, there is an immediate
need for new vocabulary to talk about numerous items, including foodstuffs,
personal effects, technologies, institutions and abstract concepts which are now
an integral part of life. To date, ad hoc development of these neologisms has been
as the need arises during a translation task (see Amery, 2000a: 140–41). Occa-
sionally, new terms have been developed in a more considered manner. For
instance, in workshops held in November 2000, we set out to develop words and
expressions for use in a variety of situations in which parents interact with chil-
dren, including bathing, nappy changing, mealtimes, cooking, shopping, etc.
Accordingly, we set out to develop terms for salient items needed, such as ‘soap’,
Language Planning and Language Revival 181

‘shampoo’, ‘nappy’, ‘microwave’, ‘fridge’, ‘newsagent’, ‘bank’, etc. (see Amery &
Gale, 2000). Suggestions for these new terms were put forward by workshop
participants and discussed by the group of Kaurna language enthusiasts present
until a consensus was reached. The tertiary level Kaurna linguistics course also
acts as a forum for the development of such terminology, and on occasion practi-
cal assignments have required the development of several new terms. Many new
terms, however, are developed by me working in relative isolation in response to
a request for a name, a phrase or a longer translation task. I do, however, try to
consult with Kaurna Elders in relation to new terms I have proposed, but there is
a need for a more orderly process whereby Kaurna people are more in control of
the process.
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In 1996 I developed a base-10 number system based on the roots of Kaurna

birth-order names (see Amery, 2000a: 143; 1996a). This was a radical departure
from the traditional system. The proposal was enthusiastically embraced, with
minor amendments, and is now taught at Kaurna Plains School and in other
programmes. In 1997 I worked with Lester Irabinna Rigney to develop terms and
expressions for use in sport (see Amery, 1997: 71–3).
It is anticipated that the Kaurna lexicon will be elaborated in certain chosen
domains and that it will proceed only so far. It is unlikely that highly technical
domains such as rocket science will be elaborated, though the word ‘rocket’ itself
might be needed. So language modernisation will be more limited than in
languages which have gained official language status at a national level.

Filling in semantic space

Even if a comprehensive dictionary exists that documents the majority of
terms in the language, no matter how good the definitions are a dictionary
never gives a complete picture of all the senses attached to the word or all the
permissible collocations into which the word may enter. Much of this informa-
tion, known instinctively by native speakers, must be slowly absorbed by
second-language learners through immersion in the language and use of the
language.
Now in the case of a language like Kaurna, many definitions are clearly defi-
cient. Some glosses, such as pilge ‘a species of fungus’ indicate that T&S proba-
bly knew what the item was but were unable to communicate this in English.
That is, they may well have seen the fungus in question and even been able to
identify the fungus on subsequent occasions, but had no idea what it was called
in English. Indeed, at that time many items of South Australian fauna and flora
were probably unknown to science. For example, Edward Stephens, manager
of the South Australia Company Bank, sent bird specimens to London together
with labels in Kaurna. Of the 36 specimens sent, English equivalents for nine of
the bird species were not known. Until such time as we are able to locate the
specimens and reunite them with the Kaurna labels, there is little use we can
make of these Kaurna terms. In cases such as this, once all possible avenues to
pin down the meaning have been exhausted, perhaps meaning can be arbi-
trarily assigned to such terms to fill prominent lexical gaps (Amery, 2000a:
128–9).
Terms for fauna and flora or other physical items are relatively easy to deal
with. But even here, such terms often have extended meanings or are used meta-
182 Current Issues in Language Planning

phorically. Not surprisingly, little metaphorical use of these terms was ever
recorded and while some extended meanings have been documented (e.g. pari
‘maggot’ extended to pari ‘rice’) there would no doubt have been many more
extensions that were not recorded.
It is known, for instance, that Australian languages, like English and numer-
ous other languages, use terms for animals in a metaphorical sense to refer to
people and their personal qualities. For instance, ‘He is a pig’ refers to the greedy
or uncouth characteristics of the person’s behaviour, or perhaps to the fact that
the person is a policeman. English uses numerous such terms metaphorically in
this way. Perhaps this usage is a linguistic universal. In any case, a perusal of
dictionaries of better described Australian languages, such as Yolngu Matha,
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reveals that wunggan ‘dog’ refers to a ‘playboy’ and that kaanka ‘crow’ in Pitjant-
jatjara refers to an untrustworthy person (Goddard, 1992: 26). Not surprisingly,
such metaphorical usages of Kaurna terms for animals were not recorded by the
German missionaries. Now Kaurna people can use these Kaurna terms in the
same metaphorical senses as they would use the corresponding English terms or
Nunga English terms, or they can investigate how the corresponding terms are
used in other Australian languages, especially those closely related such as
Adnyamathanha. No doubt this will result in a different mapping of this meta-
phorical semantic space.
One area that has already arisen is the use of ‘heart’ in English as the seat of
emotions. In Kaurna tangka ‘liver’ is the seat of emotions and many other emotion
terms are derived from it. However, for many Nunga people who have grown up
in an English-speaking world, the liver makes no sense to them in relation to feel-
ings. This became an issue when Jo Procter and Mary-Anne Gale compiled a
book of poetry produced by Nunga students at Tauondi College. They titled the
book Tauondi Speaks from the Heart and wanted to translate the title into several
Indigenous languages with which the students identified. A number of contribu-
tors were quite unhappy with the use of Kaurna tangka ‘liver’ or Ngarrindjeri
miwi ‘small intestine’ in the translation and insisted on bulta ‘heart’ and ngele
‘heart’ in Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri respectively. The compromise solution was to
produce two versions of the title in each language (see Procter & Gale, 1997: back
cover).
There are several Kaurna words which translate as the verb ‘to know’ in
English. These include:

nakkondi ‘to see; look; know’

tampendi ‘to know; recognise; be acquainted with’
tirkandi ‘to know; understand; learn’
paiandi ‘to bite; chew’; warra paiandi ‘to understand the language’
mukabandi ‘to remember; recollect; know; show’

There may well be more terms that would translate as ‘to know’ in English, but
assuming for the moment that these terms cover the semantic space of knowing
in English, how do we know which verb to use in Kaurna?
First, we can search for all instances in which T&S used the verb ‘know’ in their
English translation and we can assemble all known uses of the above verbs. This
results in the following:
Language Planning and Language Revival 183

yakko padlo burro nakkondi. ‘He does not yet know it’;
yakko ngatto warte woltu nakkondi. ‘I see no difference; I know or see no exit,
no escape’;
yurlo imbarendi [sic] ‘to see one’s face again’, or ‘recognise, know again’;
ngarpa bia kungareninna nakketti. ‘(The cat) has perhaps perceived the smell
of a mouse;
ngaityo warranna nakkoninga. ‘Consider my address (to you)’;
nindo ngadlu nintini ( = kuteni) pipangga nakkolyerniappeta? ‘Will you let us
again look upon the paper?’ (i.e. instruct us?).
It would appear that nakkondi ‘to see; look; know’ is the main verb of knowing
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and some of the sentences recorded demonstrate that its semantics go beyond
vision or even knowing via visual perception, to include an instance of knowing
through hearing or a sense of smell. Thus the semantics of nakkondi, in addition to
seeing, includes knowing as a result of direct perception, as opposed to cogni-
tion, recognition or learning. There are many sentence examples with the verb
nakkondi, but very few examples of usage of the other verbs.
While the definition provided for tampendi suggests that this verb is used in
relation to knowing someone, in fact yurlo inbarendi (lit. ‘forehead’ + ‘meeting one
another’) ‘to see one’s face again’ or ‘recognise, know again’ also occurs in
Teichelmann (1857). Are these terms synonyms? Unfortunately there are insuffi-
cient information and examples to say.
It is relatively easy to predict, with some confidence, which verb to choose in
attempting to translate some sentences. For instance:

I know the Marion district like the back of my hand. – nakkondi

I know many people in the Kaurna community. – tampendi
I know all about astronomy. – tirkandi
I know how to spell encyclopedia. – tirkandi
Do you know German? – paiandi

In other cases, however, the choice is more problematic. Consider the following
sentences. Perhaps there are several options for the sentence ‘I know the answer
to that question’, depending on the nature of the answer to the question and how
the interlocutor came to know the answer, whether it was a result of learning,
recognition, memory or perception.
Similarly, in answer to a question like ‘Do you know where Bill is?’, the choice
of verb may depend on whether the questioner thinks the interlocutor might
know as a result of having seen Bill, in which case ‘know’ would be translated by
nakkondi, or whether the interlocutor knows because he or she knows Bill’s
schedule. The verb used to translate ‘know’ in ‘I know just what you mean’ might
also depend on the nature of what is known.
And what about sentences like ‘I know horses. I know what they’re like.’? It is
more difficult to predict in this case. Knowing here is more a matter of under-
standing as a result of experience over a long period of time.

Derivational morphology
A range of productive derivational affixes were recorded in Kaurna, such as
-tidli ‘having’, -tina ‘without’, -butto ‘full of’ or -tti, a nominaliser of wide seman-
184 Current Issues in Language Planning

tics. The suffix -tti often derives a concrete object. For example, nurlitti ‘key’ is
derived from the verb nurlendi ‘to twist; turn’. But -tti may also derive a social
event, such as ngunyawaietti ‘corroboree’ (from ngunya ‘joy’ + waiendi ‘to move’).
Letters written by Pitpauwe and Wailtyi in 1843 reveal that ngunyawaietti also
derives a ‘toy’ (lit. ‘the moving with joy thing’) as opposed to ‘corroboree’ (‘the
moving with joy event’).
Some derivational processes are a little more complicated. Agents are derived
by adding the suffix -lla to the verb root and then reduplicating this minus the
first syllable. For example:
kamballamballa ‘baker’ ( = kamba+lla+mba+lla) from kambandi ‘to cook’
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kanggallanggalla‘caretaker’ ( = kangga+lla+ngga+lla) from kanggandi‘to look after’

mettillattilla ‘thief’ ( = metti+lla+tti+lla) from mettindi ‘to steal’
New terms, such as *paru bakkillakkilla ‘butcher’ (derived from paru ‘meat’ +
bakkendi ‘to cut’), have been formed using this process.
We are not restricted to the somewhat small range of derivational suffixes
recorded. Additional suffixes may be generated as needed as reductions of inde-
pendent words. After all, this is the way in which suffixes have usually emerged
historically. In Maori, for instance, konu- a prefix for metals, was developed as a
reduced form of konga ‘fragment’ + nuku ‘earth’ (Harlow, 1993: 101).
In the Kaurna language development workshops held in November 2000 we
developed the suffix *-rlto ‘pertaining to’, a reduction of burlto ‘sign, symbol,
trace’ and proposed that words such as *nguttoatparlto ‘education’ could be
derived from nguttoatpandi ‘to teach’ using this suffix. Additional suffixes could
be developed to increase the flexibility and adaptability of the language.
Syntax and inflectional morphology
Our knowledge of Kaurna syntax is far from complete though much can be
gleaned from the sketch grammar and the hundreds of recorded sentences in
T&S (1840) and the phrases and sentences in Teichelmann (1857). These sources
are yet to be fully analysed and absorbed, but we try to make use of the examples
as best we can. In working with these historical sources, however, we should
bear in mind that the German missionaries were recording the language before
the advent of sound recordings. Thus they had to rely on memory to a significant
extent. Under these circumstances, mother tongue interference from German
and perhaps English may have played a significant role, especially in relation to
word order constraints.
Word order within the clause appears to be relatively free, and within the
noun phrase both orders Adj + N and N + Adj occur. But coordination is not
clear. Some other languages, like Pitjantjatjara, have conjunctions but Kaurna
seems not to possess them. However, T&S (1840) list the numeral kuma ‘one’
separately as a conjunction kuma ‘also; too’ but there are not actually any exam-
ples where it is used to conjoin two objects or entities. On occasion we have
used kuma as in Ninna ngai kuma padni ‘You and I went’, but we have also
borrowed the conjunction ka ‘and’ from Pitjantjatjara or Yolngu Matha. It
occurs frequently in the translation of Tucker’s Mob (Amery, 1992a) to conjoin
both nouns and verbs. Note that Yolngu Matha has also borrowed the English
conjunction wo (from ‘or’).
Certain decisions need to be made in relation to Kaurna morphology and
Language Planning and Language Revival 185

syntax. It would appear that Kaurna, like most other Australian languages, had
several verb conjugations. This is evident only in example sentences which use
verbs in the past or future tenses. For instance, the past perfective forms of
yunggondi ‘to give’, punggondi ‘to hit’, wanggandi ‘to speak’, kanggandi ‘to bring
forth’ and nakkondi ‘to see’ are yunggi, punggi, wanggi, kanggi and nakki respec-
tively where the final vowel of the root has been replaced with an i, but the past
perfective forms of kaityandi ‘to send’, kundandi ‘to strike’, pudlondi ‘to tell’ and
nangandi ‘to see’ are kaitya, kunda, pudlo and nanga respectively, where this vowel
alternation does not occur. This vowel alternation is not motivated by semantics
or phonology. One simply has to know the verb class membership. All verbs in
the vocabulary are listed with an invariant -ndi present tense suffix, so unless a
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given verb happens to have been used in other tenses in an example sentence,
there is no way of knowing from within the Kaurna sources themselves which
conjugation it belongs to.
Among neighbouring related languages, the materials in adjoining Nar-
ungga, Ngadjuri and Nukunu are too poor to be of any assistance. Adnya-
mathanha, still spoken in the Flinders Ranges, has only one verb conjugation, so
it sheds no light on the problem. Languages some distance away, like Pitjantjat-
jara, still share a considerable level of vocabulary and morphology with Kaurna.
Pitjantjatjara has four verb conjugations, referred to by Goddard (1992: xi) as the
zero, la, wa and ra classes. Several of the verb Pitjantjatjara inflections are repro-
duced here for comparison in Table 5.
Table 5 Pitjantjatjara verb conjugations
(Ø) (l) (ng) (n)
Zero-class la-class wa-class ra-class
‘talk’ ‘bite’ ‘hit’ ‘put’
Imperative wangka patjala puwa tjura
Past wangkangu patjanu pungu tjunu
Present wangkanyi patjani punganyi tjunanyi
Future wangkaku patjalku pungkuku tjunkuku
Nominal form wangkanytja patjantja pungkunytja tjunkunytja

In the (ng) or wa-class, the past tense suffix is -ngu and the velar nasal is
retained in many other suffixes as in -ngama ‘continuous imperative’, -nganyi
‘present’, -ngangi ‘past continuous’, -ngkuku ‘future’, -ngkupai ‘characteristic’, etc.
This additional velar nasal is not apparent in other conjugations. Inchoative
verbs in Pitjantjatjara belong to this wa-class. Interestingly, in Kaurna there
appears to be at least two forms of the future tense suffix, -ta and -nguta. The
inchoative -ni and the reciprocal/reflexive -ri 21 always precede the -nguta form in
the future tense. That is, as in Pitjantjatjara, there appears to be a (ng) verb class
which they belong to. The prohibitive suffix has been recorded by the German
missionaries in no less than 13 variant forms as follows:
-tti ~ -rti ~ -ti ~ -tte ~ -oti ~ -otti ~ -utti ~ -urti ~ -ngutti ~ -nggutti ~ -nggutte ~
-nguti ~ -ngkutti
186 Current Issues in Language Planning

Some of these variants are no doubt simply due to inconsistency in spelling, but
one of the noticeable features is the reappearance of the additional -ngu syllable
being additional evidence of a (ng) conjugation. Again, reciprocal/reflexive
verbs often take the -ngutti variant. Some of the remaining variation may be
explained by the presence of additional conjugations differing in the place of
articulation of the stop. Potentially there are allomorphs containing an inter-
dental, alveolar or retroflex stop /-thi/, /-ti/ and /-rti/. This kind of variation
occurs in the Pitjantjatjara verb conjugations, where one of the main differences
between the respective conjugations is the place of articulation of the nasal.
When a nasal is present, it is often retroflex in the la-class, alveolar in the ra-class
and velar in the other two. For instance, the past tense suffix is realised as -nu, -nu,
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-ngu and -ngu respectively. Now the past imperfect, or ‘preterite’ suffix, as T&S
(1840) referred to it, was variously recorded as -tti, -rti. It might be that this suffix
has allomorphs too, determined by membership of these verb classes.
Having established compelling evidence for the existence of verb classes in
Kaurna, what should we do with them in terms of planning and developing a
reclaimed Kaurna language? Several options are available. One is to simplify the
verb system and promote the use of one invariant past, future or prohibitive
suffix and simply ignore the confusing array of forms evident in the materials.
However, there is a strong desire on the part of Kaurna language enthusiasts to
recover the language to the maximal extent and strive for integrity and authentic-
ity. There is good reason to retain the /-nguta/ future suffix and the /-ngkuti/
prohibitive suffix for the inchoative and reciprocal/reflexive verbs, but deciding
on the quality of the stop and assigning specific verbs to one or other conjugation
is highly problematic. It would be mostly pure guesswork. Some Kaurna verbs
are cognate with Pitjantjatjara verbs, so verb class membership in Pitjantjatjara
might perhaps provide some clues here, but most verbs bear no relationship.
This matter, like all others, remains a matter for Kaurna people themselves to
decide, informed by a linguistic analysis of the historical records and relation-
ships with other languages. My practice to date has been to use the recorded
forms as much as possible and to use the (ng) class forms for reciprocal/reflexive
and inchoative verbs. When it comes to verbs for which only present tense forms
have been recorded, I use the dominant -ta ‘future’, -tti ‘non-specific past’ and -tti
‘prohibitive’ but guess the form of the past perfective. That is, sometimes I substi-
tute an i for the final vowel in the root. At other times I leave it unchanged.
Perhaps this matter, along with many others, should be the subject of more delib-
erate planning in future.

Developing a corpus of useful expressions

Some hundreds of Kaurna sentences, most accompanied by an English trans-
lation, were recorded by T&S (1840) and later by Teichelmann (1857). Very few
phrases or sentences were recorded by other observers and most of these are
Pidgin or Jargon Kaurna used in communication with colonists (see Simpson,
1996), not the ‘traditional’ language that was used between Kaurna people them-
selves. For instance, Koeler (1842), Williams (1840) and Wyatt (1879) all use
possessive pronouns ngaityo ‘my’ and ninko ‘your’ instead of ngatto ‘I’ (ergative),
ngai ‘I’ or ‘me’, nindo ‘you’ (ergative) and ninna ‘you’ (nominative and accusative)
irrespective of the case role. Thus sentence material recorded by these three
Language Planning and Language Revival 187

observers is not suitable for use in the context of language reclamation and
provides a defective model for the formation of new sentences by analogy.
The corpus of phrases and sentences recorded by the German missionaries
provides a stock of ready-made expressions, some of which are extremely useful
and readily applicable in contemporary contexts. However, most of these
sentences were clearly uttered in the context of adult male to adult male conver-
sation. Few are indicative of child to child communication, adult to child interac-
tion or conversation involving women. If intergenerational transmission is ever
to be restored or if more modest goals such as the reintroduction of some use of
the language into the home is to be achieved, then people need access to suitable
expressions for use in those contexts. This again presents a corpus-planning chal-
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lenge that is unique to language revival. Similar challenges must have faced
Hebrew in the early stages of reintroduction of the language.
Most often expressions are developed as a by-product of constructing and
teaching a course, developing language learning materials, writing a song, trans-
lating a speech or addressing a specific request. We have just begun to address
this area in a more planned way through a series of language development work-
shops, and more are planned for the future. We sketched out a number of
language functions and domains of use in line with suggestions from workshop
participants as follows:

Language Function
Endearment – expressing affection
Positive reinforcement
Warnings
Placating, reassuring, comforting
Calling, beckoning, attention seeking
Naming and categorising
Body awareness, parts and functions
Introducing kin
Commands
Verbal games, e.g., same and different
Greetings
Leave takings
Counting
The environment – weather and seasons
Places and place names

Language Situation
Feeding and mealtime (and cooking)
Bathing
Getting dressed and ready to go out
Nappy changing and toilet training
Sleep time and story time
Play – around the house and in the garden
Kindy and Early Childhood Centre
School – in classroom and yard
Outings – going for walks and in car
188 Current Issues in Language Planning

Crying baby and sickness

Shopping
Sport
Dealing with pets and animals (from Amery & Gale, 2000: 20)

Our method was to elicit desired expressions in each of these areas till the
whiteboard was full and then attempt to devise Kaurna equivalents or similar
expressions that could be used in the same context as the English expression. For
instance, the expressions associated with getting dressed and getting ready for
school were developed as follows:
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Getting dressed and getting ready for school

Vocabulary
*maityowampi ‘bicycle’ (from maityomaityo ‘bat’ + wampi ‘wing’ by analogy
with Adnyamathanha)
*medomutyerta ‘pyjamas’
*ibitti ‘shower’

Expressions
Karrikarri! ‘Come on, get up!’
Natta! ‘Now!’
Mila burrindunna! ‘Five minutes!’
Kauwe marrandi! Ibittianna! ‘The water is running! Into the shower!’
Medo mutyerta marendo! ‘Take off your pyjamas!’
Kawai ibittiunangko. Natta! Kumatpi! ‘Get out of the shower! Now! At once!’
Mutyerta tarrendo! ‘Get dressed!’
______ tarrendo! ‘Put your ______ on!’
Ngaintya ninna padlonendi panyimaiitya?‘What do you want for breakfast?’
Ninko tando manmando! ‘Get your bag!’
Niwako tandurla manmaingwa! ‘Get your (2) bags!’
Naako tandunna manmainga! ‘Get your ( > 2) bags!’
Yuldamai ngatpappi? ‘Have you got your lunch?’
Yuldamai ngatpappi ninko tandungga? ‘Have you got your lunch in your
bag?’
Tialla wirki? ‘Did you clean your teeth?’
Yoka wirkando! ‘Brush your hair!’
Wodliwarpulai madlari? ‘Have you finished your homework?’
Nattadli! Padniadli! ‘Now let’s go!’ (us two)
Nattadlu! Padniadlu! ‘Now let’s go!’ (us mob)
Maityowampirlo padni! ‘On your bike!’
Padnipadnittianna ngatpa! ‘In the car!’ (one child)
Padnipadnittianna ngatpainga! ‘In the car!’ (more than two children)
(from Amery & Gale, 2000: 5 part 2)

Workshop participants are all well aware that this is just a beginning. Many
more expressions are needed in each of the designated domains and language
functions, and there are many other areas not yet addressed. But hopefully this
Language Planning and Language Revival 189

will get the ball rolling. By the time we have the next series of workshops, partici-
pants should be able to specify many more needed expressions.
Texts
Like all other Australian languages, Kaurna was unwritten prior to records
made by a range of observers and the introduction of literacy by German
missionaries. Investigation of other Australian languages indicates the existence
of a vast store of oral literature in the form of Dreaming narratives and song lines.
See, for instance, Rockman and Cataldi’s (1994) compilation of Warlpiri narra-
tives, Dixon’s (1991) Yidiny texts and Heath’s (1980) Nunggubuyu Myths and
Ethnographic Texts. Closer to home, Berndt and Berndt (1993) recorded numerous
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Dreaming narratives and some songs in the late 1930s and 1940s in the
Ngarrindjeri language at a time when this knowledge was rapidly being lost. It
stands to reason then that Kaurna would have possessed an equally complex and
rich oral tradition of which only a few snippets have been recorded in the
language itself. This has been compiled and analysed in Amery (2000a) and in a
more detailed fashion in Amery (2000b).
The only extant Kaurna Dreaming narrative to have been recorded in the
Kaurna language is that of the Munana story told by Kadlitpinna (‘Captain Jack’)
to the part-time Protector of Aborigines, William Wyatt. It is just 33 words
including repetitious phrases, originally published in the following form:
Aichoo ngaicherle erleeta wangan ‘Monána aráche kaia pemane, ea pamáne, ea
pamáne, boora kaia kurra pemáne, kaia kurra yewáne, kotinne kaia yewáne, kotinne
kaia yewáne, boora yerta yewane; Monana kaia tatteene kurra winneen.’
My father’s great-grandfather (or ancestor) said – ‘Monana threw many
spears, here threw, here threw, by and by a spear upwards threw, the spear
above stuck fast, again spear stuck fast, again spear stuck fast, by and by in
the ground stuck fast; Monana (by the) spears climbed, above went.’ This
statement is in the words of Monaicha wonweetpeena 22 konoocha23, or
‘Captain Jack’ (Wyatt, 1879: 25).
Schürmann makes reference to this same story in letters written in 1839. The
missionaries also refer to other Dreaming narratives in their correspondence, but
regrettably failed to record these in Kaurna. In several instances versions of these
Dreaming narratives, such as the Kondolli or Fire and Whale story, have been
recorded in the neighbouring Ngarrindjeri language. Several entries in the
vocabulary also indicate the existence of this rich oral tradition.
In addition to the Munana story, two short passages contributed by
Mullawirraburka ‘King John’ and Kadlitpinna ‘Captain Jack’ to illustrate dialect
differences and some secret sacred initiation songlines are published (T&S 1840:
72). There are also four short songlines referring to post-contact phenomena
(peas, a road, the bullock and foreigners) in both published and unpublished
sources, indicating a vibrant culture which adapted to change and incorporated
new elements into existing structures.
Written Kaurna texts
Clamor Schürmann and Christian Teichelmann established a school taught in
the Kaurna language on 23 December 1839. In 1840, the running of this school
190 Current Issues in Language Planning

was taken over by Samuel Klose who operated it until July 1845 when its closure
was ordered by Governor Grey.
The missionaries translated the ten commandments into Kaurna and they had
a school prayer which the children recited daily in Kaurna, though I have not
been able to locate it. It would appear that they also translated several Biblical
texts. The missionaries also translated six German hymns into Kaurna and their
journals indicate that these hymns became popular among the Kaurna children.
A brief literary tradition emerged among the children educated at Piltawodli,
the ‘Native Location’, on the banks of the Torrens River. In 1840, Klose sent a
page from Kartanya’s copybook to Germany. On it were just three lines repeated
as follows:
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Yeowarnalitya tondari mangaringa;

Jehovah-to always worship-IMP(Pl)
‘Always worship Jehovah.’

ngadluko pinggalinggala pa;

our creator 3Sg
‘He is our creator.’

wakinnaanangko padlu ngadlu tiraappeta.

bad-from 3Sg+ERG we protect-FUT
‘He protects us from evil.’24
A group letter written by Itya Maii and signed by eight other children was sent to
Governor Gawler in May 1841,urging him to stay and look after their interests. In
1843, two 12- or 13-year-old boys, Pitpauwe and Wailtye, sent letters to Germany
requesting some more toys and in 1845 Itya Maii penned a short note to Governor
Grey and his wife and attached it to some watermelons that the children had
grown in their garden. It is possible that more of these letters and texts might
exist, but this is the extent of materials located so far.
William Wyatt, the missionaries and others also acted as interpreters and
translators. Governor George Gawler made a practice of having his speeches
translated into Kaurna and two of these, the first by Wyatt in October 1838 and
the second by Schürmann in May 1840, have been recorded for posterity,
published in the newspaper of the time.
The few letters written by Kaurna children, snippets of Dreaming stories,
songs written down by European observers, and texts composed or translated by
missionaries do provide a useful starting point, but their usefulness is somewhat
limited for the preparation of the kinds of texts that Kaurna people wish to write
today.

Texts created in the context of Kaurna language revival

A range of Kaurna texts has been created since the 1990s. These include
numerous songs and speeches, but also several poems and extended text used in
signage and public art installations. Texts have been created to accompany
Kaurna language learning materials and published children’s stories have been
translated. And a protest letter to the Prime Minister, John Howard, was written
in 1997 drawing on some of the structures in the 1841 letter.
Language Planning and Language Revival 191

By necessity, most Kaurna texts created today are the product of translation.
Some are translations of pre-established texts. This is the case with seven of the 25
songs published in Kaurna Paltinna (Schultz et al., 1999) most of which are
well-known and loved nursery rhymes, such as ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’. We
have also since translated a number of other songs, such as Bob Randall’s ‘My
Brown Skin Baby’, as well as Christmas songs including ‘The Twelve Days of
Christmas’ and ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’. Sometimes the Kaurna
version is a wide departure from the original song. In the case of Rudolph, for
instance, we used Wailtyi, the name of one of the signatories of the letter written
to Governor Gawler in 1841, a name which refers to a species of kangaroo.
In 1992 we attempted a translation of Marion Sinclair’s ‘Kookaburra Song’ and
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wrote a number of additional verses to the same tune. When we produced the
Kaurna songbook we were not able to include the translation of the ‘Kookaburra
Song’ or reproduce the original tune because of copyright restrictions,25 so we
rewrote the kookaburra verse and composed a new tune. While Ipila Wirra began
as a translation, the final version no longer depends in any way on the original
‘Kookaburra Song’.
Many more translations of songs would be undertaken if it were not for copy-
right. Songs are an ideal means of introducing a language, because it is much
easier to sing in a foreign language than speak it, especially if one already knows
the tune. It is a relatively small step for children to learn a new set of words to a
tune they already know and love. Hymns are easier because many older hymns
are not subject to copyright. Indeed, several old favourites, such as ‘The Old
Rugged Cross’ and ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’ have been translated.
Even when new Kaurna songs are composed, including those intended only
as Kaurna songs without an accompanying English version, they are usually
written in English first and then a translation attempted in much the same way.
Until Kaurna people have a more active knowledge of the language, writing a
Kaurna song without reference to English is not possible. English is the first and
often the only language spoken by all Kaurna language enthusiasts.
Because Kaurna words tend to be longer than English words, there being very
few monosyllabic Kaurna words,26 typically a literal translation of a song results
in far too many syllables to fit easily to the tune. As a result, extensive modifica-
tion of the original takes place with whole phrases and sometimes entire lines of
the song being omitted.
During the very first Kaurna language workshops, several participants
attempted to write Kaurna stories. These were written in English first and then
translated. Nelson Varcoe (1990) produced Wai Yerlitta! ‘But Dad!’ and Bonny
Wanganeen (1990) wrote Freddy Kanto ‘Freddy the Frog’. They were written with
children in mind to support the teaching of Kaurna. Some literature has been
produced by staff at Kaurna Plains School. This includes counting books, books
about animals, the sea, etc., or books about projects such as the establishment of
an Indigenous plant foods garden at the school.
In the development of senior secondary curricula (SSABSA, 1996a; 1996b),
students are encouraged to write stories and prepare materials with primary
school programmes in mind. For instance, a brief Kaurna version of the Tjilbruke
Dreaming narrative was produced by a group of Year 11 students in 1994 when
the course was first run. But this literature needs checking because students and
192 Current Issues in Language Planning

teachers of Kaurna do not have a sufficient grasp of Kaurna grammar. It would

be like using a high school Chinese language class to produce reading materials
for Chinese programmes in primary schools. Indeed, as consultant linguist to the
programmes, I do not have sufficient grasp of Kaurna grammar to enable these
tasks to be carried out with a high level of confidence. But we do the best we can. I
often make corrections and revisions to my own translations, much to the frus-
tration of the students. For instance, several shortcomings in the Kaurna songs
produced in the first songbook (Ngarrindjeri, Narrunga and Kaurna Languages
Project, 1990) were noted in our more recent songbook (Schultz et al., 1999: 122).
Ideally, several linguists should work on this material, to help identify over-
sights and misinterpretations. Over the years Jane Simpson, my PhD supervisor,
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whose research interests include Kaurna, has provided much advice and guid-
ance, including in relation to Maikoko Birko below.
Maikoko Birko (Amery, 1992a) which is a translation of Tucker’s Mob (Matting-
ley, 1992) was undertaken at an early stage in the Kaurna language movement,
before I had such a detailed knowledge of the Kaurna sources. The Kaurna trans-
lation of this 30-page book amounted to around 460 words. The original story
was set at Barunga, near Katherine in the Northern Territory. It revolves around
a cat named Tucker who wanted to join in the school activities of his human
friends. Because the story is situated in a place with a very different climate, I had
to grapple with items like banana palms and sweet potatoes for which there are
obviously no Kaurna equivalents in the historical sources. For the former I used
the English term and the latter I encoded as a loan translation barngutta pinyatta
(lit. ‘potato’ + ‘sweet’). Activities and objects in the classroom and playground
(reading, writing, painting, pictures, marbles, chairs, windows, doors, etc.) also
occur in the story. Fortunately, some of these concepts, such as makkitau ‘win-
dow’ and narna ‘door’, were already encoded in Kaurna, having been recorded
by T&S (1840). For ‘writing’ I used *warra wandiappendi (lit. ‘putting the language
down’), but used ‘reading’ as an unassimilated borrowing from English. At the
time I had little familiarity with the Kaurna sources, and have since located
peenjáne ‘to write’ in Wyatt (1879: 18) which is equivalent to pingyandi ‘to raise;
make; construct; form &c’ (T&S, 1840: 39) and pintyandi ‘to make, produce,
create’ (Teichelmann, 1857). It is this latter form that we use today for ‘writing’.
We have also since developed a neologism *tampitirkandi ‘to read’ formed as a
compound verb from tampendi ‘to know; recognise; be acquainted with’ and
tirkandi ‘to know; understand; learn’.
Georgina Williams’ poem ‘Coming Home’ was written in 1985 and published
the following year (Williams, 1986). This poem epitomises what Kaurna linguis-
tic and cultural revival is all about. Georgina had recited this poem in English on
many occasions. In 1999 I undertook a Kaurna translation of this poem in consul-
tation with Georgina so that it could appear on one of the signs at Warriparinga.
This signage was installed in July 2000. The first verse appears below:

Kaurna translation Original English version

Ngaityo Wodlianna Parni Budnandi Coming Home
my home-to towards arriving
Ngai bukkiana towilla I am an old spirit
I old/ancient spirit
Language Planning and Language Revival 193

Kurlanna parto yertangga worni Born to this new world

new big land-in was born
Ngaityo wodliunangko manki madlititya Taken from my place to die
my home-from took die-in order to
Turnki mariappi, kundananna Stripped and beaten
clothes undress-CAUS having beaten
Ngaityo yerta nindo manki My land you claimed
my land you+ERG took
Tarkananna ninkoandi And called your own
having called (it) yours-EXCL
Bukkiana towilla Old Spirit
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old/ancient spirit
Karko yerta Red Earth
red ochre earth
Two other poems, Warrabarna Kaurna! ‘Let Kaurna Be Spoken!’ and Wiltarn-
inga! ‘Be Strong!’ (Telfer, 1997) were composed specifically as Kaurna poems.
Warrabarna Kaurna! was written by Nelson Varcoe in 1994 as part of the Kaurna
language teaching programme and published in the local school newsletter. He
later narrated this poem on the Warranna Purruna: Pa:mpi Tungarar: Living
Languages video (DECS, 1997) and it appears in print in the accompanying publi-
cation (DETE, 1998).
Karl Telfer wrote Wiltarninga! specifically for inclusion in a book of poetry
(Procter & Gale, 1997: 50–51) emanating from a creative writing course at
Tauondi College. Like Varcoe’s poem, Wiltarninga! began with the author jotting
down thoughts in English first. But it was also influenced by the turn of phrase
encountered in the Kaurna sources themselves. The phrase Wiltarninga! ‘Be
strong!’ which is derived from a longer phrase Warpunna wiltarninga, meyunna,
nganta makketitya ‘Men, let your bones be strong so as to shake well (as at the
native dance)’ appears in the phraseology section of T&S (1840: 71). The initial
jottings in English are significantly different from the published English version
of the poem. The English version is not a strictly literal translation of the Kaurna
version, though it is a fairly close translation.
Towards an authentic Kaurna literature
Kaurna texts are being produced in the absence of literary critics. Of course
when Kaurna texts are produced, Kaurna people want to know who is producing
them and what right they have to produce them. Issues of authenticity and
ownership are foremost in people’s minds. But there is little attention given to the
form of the text, which is one of the main preoccupations of literary critics. The
form of Kaurna texts is produced according to our understanding of Kaurna
grammar. This involves a fair element of guesswork. Very few members of the
limited audience are in a position to criticise the form or suggest alternative
expressions. The language in the main book produced to date, Maikoko Birko, is
pitched at a level beyond learners and teachers of Kaurna. As a result, to date it
has not been utilised to any extent.
The more we work with the Kaurna language and the old sources, the more we
come to understand certain Kaurna idioms and the Kaurna turn of phrase.
Unfortunately, too few idioms were recorded, but there are some such as Parnu
194 Current Issues in Language Planning

tia wortangga tarkaringa ‘Sing according to his tooth’ (i.e. imitate the singer). T&S’s
exposure to the Kaurna language was limited and their knowledge was incom-
plete. Under such circumstances, Kaurna people would have tried to avoid figu-
rative language in their presence, and had the missionaries overheard it they
would have been less likely to record it. Operating in a time before sound record-
ing equipment, as initial language learners they would have been more likely to
record what they understood.
In general, then, Kaurna texts are essentially translations of English texts, and
as a result are heavily influenced by English discourse features. Undoubtedly,
Kaurna people from the 1840s would find our texts very strange and stilted.
While there has not been any criticism of the structure of Kaurna texts and
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Kaurna translations by first-language speakers of Australian languages, there

could conceivably be this kind of criticism at some time in the future.
First-language speakers of other Indigenous languages might notice that the
syntax of some Kaurna sentences mirrors English syntax and that discourse
structure reads like English.
How can we avoid this? One way to avoid English influence might be to work
intensively with speakers of other Indigenous languages that are still spoken on a
daily basis. Kaurna texts might be modelled on Indigenous language texts. While
there is no certainty that Kaurna discourse structure was the same as Warlpiri or
Pitjantjatjara discourse, there is bound to be a closer affinity than with English.
This would be a very costly and time-consuming process but might well be worth
the investment.
If and when Kaurna is ever acquired as a first language, something not consid-
ered possible by many linguists though it apparently has taken place for a hand-
ful of Cornish children who have grown up speaking both English and Cornish
as first languages, the language might be expected to go through a process simi-
lar to creolisation. It would be expected to expand rapidly and would probably
be subjected to enormous English influence in the grammar as it took on a life of
its own and began to serve peer-group interests. It might be expected to diverge
markedly from the Kaurna language known from the historical sources.

Beyond Kaurna
Language planning in relation to the Kaurna language has been considered
here in some detail. To what extent can these measures be replicated? Can
Kaurna language reclamation efforts serve as a model for other language
communities to emulate and copy?
In answer to this question, at the level of fine detail the Kaurna situation is no
doubt unique. For instance, another sleeping language would not be supported
by precisely the same set of historical materials. Gaps in the data are bound to be
different. Even among the Kaurna sources themselves, what one person observes
and records is quite different from what another observes and records. This
reflects the training and interests of the observers and their own particular set of
experiences with members of the language group. There may or may not be a
common core of material recorded by two or more observers.
The Kaurna community in the 21st century is also unique, reflecting a particu-
lar set of historical circumstances. Kaurna language reclamation efforts operate
Language Planning and Language Revival 195

within a particular political and educational context which will differ from one
situation to another. Reviving a language in the context of a large metropolitan
city is a very different proposition from attempting to revive a language in a
small rural town.
Having said that, no doubt there are lessons that can be learnt from the Kaurna
experience that can be applied in other situations.

Historical linguistics
The application of the principles of historical linguistics would seem to be a
particularly useful method for filling in gaps in the language in a situation where
closely related languages have been more comprehensively recorded. In the
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Kaurna situation, the application of historical linguistics is limited because few

sound changes are evident between Kaurna and neighbouring closely related
languages and these neighbouring languages have been poorly recorded. But
one can imagine situations where neighbouring closely related languages have
been better described than the language being reclaimed and where pronounced
sound changes have occurred. In such circumstances, the methods of historical
reconstruction offer the means to fill lexical gaps such that the words incorpo-
rated are distinct from the surrounding languages and in keeping with the
language itself.

Narungga
Of the languages which have ceased to be spoken, many have not been
recorded as extensively as Kaurna. Narungga from nearby Yorke Peninsula, for
instance, is a language with which many Nungas identify, but which was poorly
documented. Only about 120 words were known by older Narungga people and
recorded by Brian Kirke (ASTEC Key Centre, 1987). Several hundred words have
been recorded, but no grammar. Just a little grammatical information can be
extracted from the handful of sentences recorded by Black (1920). Unfortunately,
no sentences in the past or future tenses seem to have been recorded, though
several imperative sentences were obtained. Twenty or so verbs were recorded,
including many of the most often used and basic verbs such as ‘see’, ‘hear’, ‘sit’,
‘lie’, ‘come/go’, ‘hit’, ‘cry’, ‘laugh’, ‘speak’, ‘sing’, ‘burn’, ‘eat’, ‘drink’, ‘give’,
‘carry’, ‘make’ and ‘die’. Fortunately, Black (1920) has recorded the ergative first,
second and third person pronouns and several possessive pronouns. Black
employs a phonetic script for his transcriptions and his work is certainly much
easier to make sense of than the other sources (Kuhn, in Curr, 1886; Johnson &
Tindale, in Tindale, 1936). Few new terms are included in the Narungga sources,
though there are a number of clothing items, and there is little evidence of
productive word-forming processes. Most new terms recorded in Narungga are
semantic extensions, but a few clothing items are derived from balta ‘covering’.
What can be done with this limited Narungga corpus? Using the Narungga
corpus alone, it would certainly be possible to construct simple stories, written in
the present tense. It would also be possible to incorporate some direct speech in
these stories using imperative forms and questions. But the story line would
have to be chosen carefully, making use of the limited range of verbs and other
vocabulary. We are, however, restricted to single clause sentences, which tends
to make a text sound stilted.
196 Current Issues in Language Planning

If the language were to be used in the context of school, there is a complete

absence of terms for almost every conceivable object in the classroom. Further-
more, verbs associated with learning, such as ‘learn’, ‘teach’, ‘know’, ‘think’,
‘read’, ‘write’, ‘count’, ‘paint’, ‘ask’, etc., have not been recorded. It would thus be
difficult to construct many expressions relevant within the classroom context.
Similarly, language use in the context of the playground would also be restricted
without access to verbs like ‘jump’, ‘run’, ‘kick’, ‘hop’, ‘throw’ and nouns such as
‘ball’, ‘bin’, ‘seat’, etc.
In this situation, if people wish to use the language in extended conversation
or to create a range of more complex texts, etc., there are basically two choices.
Either they can make use of Narungga words within English or they can graft
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Narungga words into Kaurna where the grammar has been better documented.
The first option, making use of Narungga words in English, is in fact what
Narungga people do in their use of Aboriginal English or Nunga English, which
is adopting more and more words of Indigenous origin as people become famil-
iar with them from historical sources.
The second option was used in a Narungga version of Tucker’s Mob in 1992
(Amery, 1992b). I took the Kaurna translation I had done with some help from
Jane Simpson, and substituted Narungga words where these were known. For
instance, I used yukuli instead of yokunna ‘crooked’. I also substituted Narungga
suffixes where these are known. For instance, I used the present tense -dja instead
of -ndi and the transitive imperative -ru instead of -ndo. Finally, I deliberately
used slightly different spelling conventions – ‘tj’ instead of ‘ty’, and voiced stops
instead of voiceless stops.27 This approach was discussed with a group of
Narungga Aboriginal Education Workers at the time, who approved of the resul-
tant Narungga version.
It would appear that little or no use has ever been made of the Narungga
version of Tucker’s Mob, probably because the language in it is unfamiliar to
people and there are no support structures or in-service courses in place to famil-
iarise people with it. Recent discussions (6 March 2001) with a group of
Narungga people wanting to kick-start Narungga language activities revealed
that they were keen to pursue the Narungga sources themselves and see what
they can do with them, without drawing on Kaurna and Nukunu or resorting to
English to provide the framework in which to use Narungga words. For them,
questions of identity are paramount, and if that means that the language can only
be used in a restricted way then so be it. Others in the group, seeing the limita-
tions of existing sources, are keen to draw on Kaurna grammar to provide the
framework on which to hang Narungga words, and possibly look towards devel-
oping a composite Kaurna-Narungga language. It should be noted that some
areas of the vocabulary, such as fish terms and flora terms, are better docu-
mented in Narungga than in Kaurna. Some at the meeting also expressed a desire
to draw maximally on distinctive features of Nunga English, such as the
postvocalic /r/ and stress and intonation patterns, in the development of a
Narungga language.

What if only word lists remain?

What are the options for communities where only word lists of their
languages exist, and the grammar has not been documented? This is, in fact, a
Language Planning and Language Revival 197

reasonably common scenario. The pastoralist Edward Curr, missionary George

Taplin and others collected numerous word lists from around Australia in order
to draw comparisons between languages. Norman Tindale of the South Austra-
lian Museum also recorded numerous word lists and some texts, but only rarely
made remarks on grammatical structures and never wrote grammars of Austra-
lian languages. Grammars of languages, such as Kaurna, that ceased to be
spoken before the era of modern linguistics, are relatively rare. These include
Ramindjeri, Yaralde, Ngayawang, Dieri, Barngarla and Awabakal. However,
there are many other languages for which only a word list remains.
Even with just a short word list, there are still meaningful and relevant things
that can be done to use the language to strengthen or enhance a sense of identity
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and to raise awareness. Two obvious areas are naming activity and the writing of
songs.
Naming activity
Much that has already been discussed in relation to Kaurna naming activity
can also be applied to languages where the records are more limited. Some
naming activity is possible, no matter how limited the corpus. Note that efforts
are being made to reinstate Narungga place names where these are known.
Nearly 60 Narungga place names have been recorded by Johnson and respelt by
Tindale (Tindale, 1936).
Songs
Songs can be constructed with a minimum of vocabulary and grammar. There
is a good chance that even the shortest word list will contain body parts which
lend themselves to use in songs for young children. A translation of the
well-known song ‘Heads, shoulders, knees and toes’ requires the use of just four
body parts and a line ‘we all clap hands together’. But even this last sentence can
be replaced with something else, perhaps the repetition of a verb. Tamsin
Donaldson has pointed out that songs can be created by the repetition of just one
or two words (personal communication, 1989).

The languages of Tasmania

Numerous word lists were recorded for the languages of Tasmania. These
have been collated by Plomley (1976). However, precious little can be said about
the grammar of Tasmanian languages. Crowley and Dixon (1981) have tried to
extract what grammatical information they can from these records, but little can
be said with any certainty. What is worse is that the Tasmanian languages are not
closely related to languages on the mainland. Tasmania has been cut off from the
mainland for around 15,000 years when the sea level rose significantly. It would
appear that during this period major changes took place on the mainland with
the expansion of the Pama-Nyungan languages. If these assumptions are correct,
it would be expected that the closest relatives of Tasmanian may be spoken in the
Kimberley area or Western Arnhemland, rather than nearby Victoria, since the
Pama-Nyungan languages which spread out over southern and eastern Austra-
lia are believed to be innovative. However, the Tasmanian materials are of such
poor quality that meaningful comparisons simply cannot be made. In this situa-
tion, the application of the tools of comparative linguistics can only be applied
among the Tasmanian word lists themselves.
198 Current Issues in Language Planning

Palawa in Tasmania are busy attempting to revive Tasmanian. While informa-

tion is hard to come by, it would appear that they are trying to create a single
Tasmanian language, as an amalgam of all the recorded material. Crowley and
Dixon’s analysis indicates that there were perhaps as many as 14 or more distinct
languages spoken in Tasmania. Articles such as Brown (1995: 3) indicate that
sentences are being constructed, but it is not clear as to the nature of the grammar
being used.

Approaches to Language Revival

Language immersion is generally accepted as the ideal way to learn a
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language, particularly in early childhood (see, for instance, Keegan, 1996).

French immersion programmes in Canadian schools have proved very success-
ful (Cummins & Swain, 1986: 55–6). However these programmes, mounted in a
major world language, do not translate easily into the language revival context.
The principle of language immersion can be applied in certain language revival
situations, but in others new methods are needed.

Kohanga Reo ‘language nests’

Innovative language immersion programmes pioneered in New Zealand
have made substantial progress in the revitalisation of Maori.28 In 1982, the now
well-known Kohanga Reo ‘language nest’ movement was initiated, linking the
grandparent generation, who still spoke Maori, with the pre-schooler children.
Between 1981 and 1989, 500 Kohanga Reo were established, catering for about
8000 children. By 1995, more than 14,000 children were enrolled in these
programmes (Keegan, 1997b: 15). These language nests have produced hund-
reds of fluent Maori-speaking children. Despite the success of the Kohanga Reo,
the language is still on the brink of extinction, even though there are now at least
as many fluent speakers of Maori as there were in the 1880s and 1890s, and many
more New Zealanders have some knowledge of Maori compared with last
century. The problem lies in the demographic profile. Half of the fluent Maori
speakers were over 60 in 1990. While there are a good number of preschool chil-
dren with demonstrable fluency, only a small proportion of the generations in
between are fluent Maori speakers.
Unfortunately, few children emerging from the Kohanga Reo have an opportu-
nity to continue their education in Maori and consolidate what they have
acquired. Benton (1993: 12) notes ‘As many Maori parents already know to their
bitter disappointment, where the language is concerned, three or four years’
effort in kohanga reo can be undone in three or four months at school’. The
29
Kohanga Reo have given rise to some bilingual Kaupapa Maori schools, but in
1990 less than 2% of Maori children attended these schools. The situation has
improved since (see Keegan, 1997b: 18), but still less than 20% of Maori children
have access to any form of Maori immersion education. There is an acute short-
age of Maori-speaking teachers. The Kohanga Reo have created a demand for
adult language classes, giving rise to the Te Atãrangi movement, so that parents
can learn and support their children’s Maori language development.
The Kohanga Reo approach has been hailed as an outstanding success and has
been successfully replicated in Hawai’i where it is known as Punana Leo ‘lan-
Language Planning and Language Revival 199

guage nest’ (Schütz, 1994: 365–9). In 1992 there were 131 children between the
ages of three and five enrolled in Punana Leo programmes. They hear and speak
only Hawai’ian for ten hours a day, five days a week.

The ‘master–apprentice’ method

Hinton (1994), while recognising the outstanding success of the Maori and
Hawai’ian language nests, questions their applicability to the languages of Cali-
fornia:

Despite the inspiring nature of the Hawaiian program, the number of

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speakers and even of people who might ever be interested in speaking a

given language is so small for each of the California languages that the idea
of training hundreds or thousands of children to speak one seems unthink-
able. In California, teaching even one child to speak is a great feat. (Hinton,
1994: 229)

Instead, she proposes a master–apprentice method which she claims is more

suited to the Californian situation where the languages are no longer used on a
daily basis. In the master–apprentice method, an older fluent speaker is paired
with a motivated young adult keen to learn the language on a full-time basis. The
pair spend about four months together with their living expenses funded so that
they can devote all their time to language learning. The ‘apprentice’ accompanies
the ‘master’ participating in a range of activities, including traditional pursuits
such as hunting, the making of traditional crafts or participating in ceremonies,
and non-traditional activities such as repairing a car, going to the store, etc. At
least 20 hours per week are spent actively learning the language.
Both the language nest and master–apprentice approaches are based on the
principles of language immersion. In the Kaurna situation, language immersion
is impossible for us to achieve, at least in the early stages of language reclama-
tion. Still, there are lessons to be learnt. We can strive to create immersion-like
experiences, but until the teachers of Kaurna programmes gain more fluency in
the language and there are more situations in which learners can hear, see and
use Kaurna, immersion is simply not achievable.
Paul Dixon, then Chair of the Kaurna Aboriginal Community and Heritage
Association (KACHA), asked me at a meeting of the committee held in 1995 if I
thought it would be possible for them to conduct their meetings in Kaurna. In
response I prepared a short tape with an accompanying transcript of a number of
Kaurna expressions that would be useful in a meeting context. Short, easily
learned utterances such as Wadu! ‘Agreed’, Ngana wanggi? ‘Who said?’ Warratti!
‘Be quiet!’ could be dropped into what was otherwise English conversation. In
the earliest stages, the learning of just one expression each week would be a
useful start so that it will become established as a habit, an accepted normative
use within KACHA or within the community. Once people get into the habit of
learning and using the new expressions and feel comfortable with them, the rate
of incorporation of new expressions into the speech repertoire would increase.
Prompted by Paul’s request, and drawing on my experiences and observa-
tions of Kaurna language use at Kaurna Plains School and in the community, I
have proposed what I call the Formulaic Method for language revival.
200 Current Issues in Language Planning

The Formulaic Method

The Formulaic Method entails the staged introduction of well-formed utter-
ances. By contrast with language immersion, or Hinton’s master–apprentice
method, this method, particularly in the early stages, involves the use of vast
amounts of English with just a little Kaurna. However, it introduces only gram-
matically well-formed and complete utterances which draw to a maximal extent
on Kaurna grammar as we know it from the 19th-century sources.
Initially, minimal one-word utterances that can stand alone as questions,
responses, commands, greetings, leave-takings and the like should predominate
in the repertoire taught and used. Words which are short, easy to pronounce,
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easy to remember and, most importantly, carry a high functional load are intro-
duced first. We might begin by teaching the word paitya ‘deadly’. ‘Deadly!’
meaning something like ‘terrific!’ or ‘super!’, is a frequently used utterance that
Nungas identify as Nunga English. As it stands alone, children can drop it into
their speech and use it at the appropriate time. The expression paitya! can be used
often and is easily pronounced. Kurrukarri! ‘Shame!’ is another expression which
draws on Nunga English, where the expression ‘Shame job!’ is an entrenched
defining feature of the social dialect, uttered (often in jest) when someone steps
out of line, does something outrageous or breaks cultural mores.
Swear words and insults also serve as self-contained expressions. Several
‘opprobrious terms’, as T&S (1840) called them, were recorded in the German
sources. Additional loan translations of some mild English obscenities, such as
kudnabutto ‘full of shit’, were introduced at Kaurna Plains School in 1997 and 1998
and have served as a strong motivating factor, with students finding their own
friendly insults. Staff report that their introduction has been empowering for
students at Fremont-Elizabeth City High School and has had something of a
calming effect. Students can say things in their own language without teachers
and students in the mainstream school getting upset. The introduction of these
kinds of terms might also work well in the context of reintroducing the language
into the Kaurna community, but as yet is untested.
Other useful one-word expressions that stand alone and can be used often in
answer to questions might include:

ne ‘yes’ marni ‘good’

tiati ‘true, correct’ ko ‘OK’
yakko ‘no’ madlanna ‘none; nothing’
wointye ‘maybe’ muinmo ‘more; again’

Pronouns, too, are useful as single-word responses in certain contexts, although

there are certain grammaticalcomplexities, with the need to distinguish between
nominative and ergative cases and singular and dual number.
Question words are very useful one-word expressions and should be intro-
duced early. In Kaurna they include:

ngana? ‘who?’ wa? ‘where?’

ngaintya? ‘what?’ wanti? ‘where to?’
ngannaitya? ‘why?’ wadangko? ‘where from?’
waminna? ‘what’s up? what’s wrong? what’s the matter?’
Language Planning and Language Revival 201

Simple commands are also useful as high-frequency stand-alone expressions.

But here again there is some complexity, with the need to distinguish between
singular, dual and plural addressees and between intransitive and transitive
imperatives. Useful singular imperatives include:

Intransitive Transitive
Tikka! ‘Sit down!’ Wappendo! ‘Do it!’
Karrikarri! ‘Stand up!’ Manmando! ‘Get it!’
Parni kawai! ‘Come here!’ Parniappendo! ‘Pass it!’
Nurnti padni! ‘Go away!’, etc. Nakkondo! ‘Look!’
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It is an easy matter to expand the use of the transitive imperatives by the addi-
tion of an object, for example bakkadla parniappendo! ‘pass the salt!’ or tarlti
manmando! ‘get the pen!’, etc. In the context of the classroom, additional plural
imperatives are also very useful, as are negative imperatives, not distinguished
for number. They include:

Yurringgarninga! ‘Listen!’ Warratti! ‘Be quiet!’

Parni Nakkainga! ‘Look here!’ Bilyabilyatti! ‘Quieten down!’
Tikkainga! ‘Sit down!’ Waietti! ‘Don’t move!’, etc.

These kinds of expressions were among the first sought by teachers and childcare
workers in the very first Kaurna workshop, in 1990.
In addition, the greeting Ninna marni? (sg.) and Naa marni? (pl.) and response
Marniai, welcome Marni ninna budni (sg.) and Marni naa budni (pl.), leave-taking
Nakkota ‘will see (i.e. goodbye)’, thanks Ngaityalya! and apology Yakkalya! ‘I’m
sorry’ should be introduced first because of their high functional load, even
though some of these expressions are a little longer.
People are encouraged to use these expressions in preference to English when-
ever and wherever appropriate within the conversation, and to use them as often
as possible. Initially, the interlocutor should feel under no pressure to respond in
Kaurna; nor should the speaker expect a response in Kaurna. The expressions
need to be incorporated into the conversation as natural and automatic elements
of the speech event.
Once the basic one-word expressions are known and used confidently, longer
and longer expressions can be introduced in succession. Useful examples are as
follows:

Padniadlu! ‘Let’s go!’

Parni ngatpa! ‘Come in!’
Wanti ninna? ‘Where are you going?’
Warruanna padni! ‘Go outside!’
Ngai kuma. ‘Me too.’
Nauwe X? ‘How many X?’ (e.g. Nauwe meyunna? ‘How many
people?’)
Ngai taityo! ‘I’m hungry!’
Ninna burli? ‘Have you had enough?’ (T&S ‘Are you satiated?’)
Maiimpi? ‘Do you want something to eat?’

Even longer expressions that could usefully be introduced fairly early include:
202 Current Issues in Language Planning

Ngai kudnawodlianna padnendi.30 ‘I’m going to the toilet.’

Ngai wodlianna padnendi. ‘I’m going home.’
Ngai tittawodlianna padnendi. ‘I’m going to the shops.’
Marni milindo worta! ‘Have a good weekend.’
Wanti ninna padnendi ngultingga? ‘Where are you going tonight?’
Nallaallatti ngadlu padnendi? ‘When are we going?’
Ngaintya nindo wappendi ‘What are you doing at the weekend?’
milindo wortarlo?
Of course, the usefulness of particular expressions will depend somewhat on the
individual’s situation, whether they intend to use the language at home, within
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KACHA meetings, at school, Nunga social gatherings or on the football field, etc.
The formulaic method entails building up a stockpile of speech formulas of
increasing complexity that will gradually replace English in conversation. This
method sits well with the ways in which Kaurna is currently being used. Most
Kaurna language, including longer pieces like speeches, is learnt and used as
speech formulas. Within speeches, certain phrases such as Martuityangga Kaurna
meyunna ngai wanggandi ‘I am speaking on behalf of the Kaurna people’ are
frequently used.
A theoretical basis for the Formulaic Method
Applied linguists such as Corder (1973) have looked at the question ‘What
does it mean to know or speak a language?’ within the context of teaching foreign
languages or English as a second language. Traditionally, the answer to this
question focused on grammar and lexicon, ignoring subtler questions of idiom-
atic usage and ‘ways of talking’ (Grace, 1987: 92). This grammar–lexicon model
of language, as Pawley (1985: 85) refers to it, while accounting for much linguistic
behaviour, is deficient in a number of ways.
Communicative competence31 involves more than the ability to construct
grammatical sentences. Rather, it entails the ability to use language appropri-
ately. In addition to ‘linguistic competence’ it includes pragmatics, para-
linguistics, cultural knowledge and other more peripheral aspects.
Pawley (1985: 87–8) identifies a range of ‘ordinary language-users’ under-
standings of what it takes to know a language’ distilled from anecdotes of what
they say about learning and using languages. They are as follows:
grammaticality;
pronunciation of consonants and vowels;
musical conventions: intonation, stress and rhythmic patterns, voice qual-
ity, modulations of volume, etc.;
productive fluency: conforming to norms of tempo, structure and quantity
for chunking utterance elements into fluent units;
hearing fluency: being able to decode fluent speech;
idiomaticity: the selection of familiar, native-like ways of saying things as
opposed to things that are merely grammatical;
lexical knowledge: including the ability to distinguish between those
expressions that are lexicalised (standard designations) and those that are
ad hoc descriptions;
contextual appropriateness: saying the right thing at the right time;
Language Planning and Language Revival 203

coherence: saying things that make sense in terms of normal understand-

ings of the world shared by a particular speech group, and in terms of stan-
dard procedures of inference;
inference: being able to make sense of ordinary discourse: to work out
conversational implicatures, to understand the communicative intentions
of particular utterances;
creativity, of various kinds, including:
phonological – making up new word forms;
syntactic;
semantic;
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contextual – apt matching of expression with situational context in a

non-routine way. A distinction (not sharp) may perhaps be drawn
between rule-governed creativity and special kinds of creative use of
language in which conventions are broken or manipulated to achieve
special effects; as in Pig-Latin, puns, metaphors, etc.
According to Pawley and Syder (1983), fluency is achieved by learning a vast
number of pre-formed ‘chunks’ of language in the form of lexicalised sentence
stems:
fluent and idiomatic control of a language rests to a considerable extent on
knowledge of a body of ‘sentence stems’ which are ‘institutionalized’ or
‘lexicalized’. A lexicalized sentence stem is a unit of clause length or longer
whose grammatical form and lexical content is wholly or largely fixed; its
fixed elements form a standard label for a culturally recognised concept, a
term in the language. Although lexicalized in this sense, most such units are
not true idioms but rather are regular form–meaning pairings. The stock of
lexicalized sentence stems known to the ordinary mature speaker of
English amounts to hundreds of thousands. In addition there are many
semi-lexicalized sequences, for just as there is a continuum between fully
productive rules of sentence formation and rules of low productivity, so
there is a cline between fully lexicalized formations on the one hand and
nonce forms on the other. (Pawley & Syder, 1983: 191–92)
They go on to provide many examples of these ‘lexicalized sentence stems’.
Further, Pawley (1991) gives a detailed analysis of the complexity involved in
being able to ‘talk cricket’. Other authors (e.g. Kuiper & Haggo, 1984) have
analysed speech events such as livestock auctions, race calling and oral poetry,
where remarkable feats of oral language fluency are required – fluency that is
achieved by a good command of speech formulas.
The formulaic approach draws on these insights. Reviving languages from
written records is more than learning the vocabulary, internalising the rules of
grammar and memorising the corpus of sentences contained in the historical
sources, even though this is all that is available. Relatively few pre-formed
chunks exist and in most cases we do not have a good sense of the contexts in
which the recorded utterances were said. Conversational routines, speech
formulas, idioms, ways of talking about things and of expressing ideas need to be
developed. In so doing, language conventions are established. This makes acqui-
sition of Kaurna doubly hard because this repertoire of pre-formed chunks of
204 Current Issues in Language Planning

language has to be built up bit by bit. The Kaurna language learner needs to
acquire these pre-formed chunks just as learners of any other language do.
Addressing lexical gaps and developing neologisms is the more obvious end
of a wider spectrum of language development, many aspects of which are more
subtle and more difficult to pinpoint and describe.

Introducing the language into the Kaurna community

The formulaic approach, outlined above, is as yet largely untested. Despite
showing some interest, Kaurna organisations are yet to introduce Kaurna
expressions into their meetings in a systematic way. The Kaurna sports terminol-
ogy and expressions developed by Lester Rigney in 1997 have been partially
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utilised by some classes at Kaurna Plains School, but are yet to be embraced by a
Nunga sporting team. Some speech formulas have been introduced at the school,
but the classroom is an artificial situation. Several Kaurna people are gradually
introducing an expanding range of fixed expressions into their speech, but this is
happening on an ad hoc basis using their own initiative.
The Kaurna language development workshops we held in November 2000 are
beginning to construct the speech formulas and expressions needed for use in
high frequency domains and specifically in the context of child-rearing.
Perhaps the greatest failure of the formal Kaurna language programmes has
been an inability to attract many Kaurna people as active learners and partici-
pants in the programmes. Over the eight-year period 1990–1997, only about 40
Kaurna adults32 have ever accessed any of the formal language learning courses.
This is despite very positive and supportive comments made by Kaurna Elders
and members of KACHA.
The desire to introduce the language into the Kaurna community is an issue
which concerns Kaurna language enthusiasts, such as Lester Irabinna Rigney,
who observed:

if we are going to reclaim Kaurna language, it must not just go with the
school, right? like the goonyas [non-Aboriginal people] have done. We’ve
got to have a mechanism in our structures whereby there is a whole group
learning. Let’s dream for a possibility. Why isn’t language taking place in
the community?…Why isn’t there a community aspect of trying to get these
things up and running? Why aren’t Aboriginal organisations taking on the
language acquisition … it’s only done at schools and universities. (Inter-
view with Jenny Burford, 21 October 1997)

Fishman (1991: 408) points to the relative difficulty of establishing the language
at the grass roots level:

It is obviously harder to build Xish families, neighbourhoods and commu-

nities than to establish Xish schools, publications or non-print media.
However, the former immediately provides a base for intergenerational
continuity and a point of departure for stages that come after it and can be
supported by it, whereas the latter do not because they are too restricted in
time and place and have no daily, intimate, socialisation foundation under-
lying them. At best they can contribute to the ‘spirit’ necessary for such a
foundation to be laid, but they do not lay it themselves.
Language Planning and Language Revival 205

The difficulty in actively involving Kaurna people is due, I believe, to a multi-

plicity of reasons. There are some obvious logistical problems. Kaurna people are
dispersed widely across Adelaide and may live some distance away from the
venues where Kaurna language is offered. Many do not own motor vehicles,
relying on public transport. The Kaurna course at Para West Adult Campus is
run in the evening and is located on the northern fringe of the metropolitan area.
It is simply inaccessible for most Kaurna people. Some students rely on others for
transport. One student’s non-attendance may result in several not attending.
Also, a number of Kaurna people, who might otherwise be involved in
programmes, work full time and have family commitments after hours.
However, there are more subtle reasons, many of which reflect the relatively
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poor participation rate of Aboriginal people in the education process (see

SSABSA, 1998). Some older members of the Kaurna community have expressed a
wish to be able to learn and speak Kaurna, but consider themselves too old. There
is perhaps an unwillingness to participate in language classes for fear of being
shown up by younger learners. Age, of course, is not a barrier in itself; it is simply
perceived to be so by some. People may feel insecure about the fact that they are
not able to speak their own language. This is highlighted by the fact that some
non-Aboriginal people, such as myself, have a much greater knowledge of their
language than they have. Coupled with this is a reluctance to learn from a
non-Aboriginal person. This is a factor which has been mentioned to me on a
number of occasions and one which is probably very important in explaining the
relatively low rates of participation. The Kaurna people who do actively partici-
pate are often those operating within the education system or who have experi-
ence in working alongside non-Aboriginal people.
Kaurna language activities tend to revolve around a handful of people, as
noted by Lester Rigney:

I think that the Kaurna reclamation is almost personality driven. And if

tomorrow Ngarpadla Cherie, Mum and Rob were to go, touch wood, I
think that the whole process would fall. So we’re not good at training new
ones to come through. (Interview with Jenny Burford, 21 October 1997)

The credibility of the teachers, and their own personal networks and associations
with the community, are often pivotal in determining who is attracted to the
courses. Kaurna people tend to get involved in activities or issues as families, not
individuals. The involvement of family members may encourage others to
attend. On the other hand, the presence of some families may inhibit or preclude
the attendance of others.
There is perhaps a reluctance to learn the language in public. A number of
Kaurna people have requested tape recordings for use at home, to avoid embar-
rassing themselves in public. Some do in fact spend considerable time perusing
the Kaurna materials in private. Perhaps it would be a good idea to produce a
‘Teach Yourself Kaurna’ kit using a multimedia computer program, video tapes
or cassette tapes. This could give people at least some familiarity with Kaurna,
thus raising their confidence to the point of being willing to participate actively in
a course of study. Part of the motivation for producing the language learning
tapes for the tertiary level course was to be able to make this material available, at
206 Current Issues in Language Planning

low cost, to members of the Kaurna community. These tapes have not yet been
widely disseminated due to non-resolution of the copyright issue.33
While many Kaurna people acknowledge the importance of learning the
language, it is not the highest priority for most. Kaurna organisations such as
KACHA have been more concerned with material culture and non-linguistic
aspects of cultural heritage. KACHA is a small organisation which is concerned
with Kaurna heritage issues. The committee has had pressing concerns, such as
the Southern Expressway which threatens sites of significance, forced upon them
by government agencies and developers. They have had to contend with multi-
ple issues concurrently. In this atmosphere of rapid change, language issues are a
much lower priority.
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Of all the Kaurna programmes ever run, attendance has been poorest within
the course actually set up at the request of Kaurna people, for Kaurna people. The
Kaurna Warra Patpangga programme at Warriparinga was located on the Kaurna
people’s ‘home turf’ at the then location of the KACHA office. Despite the avail-
ability of funding with support, this course ceased because of non-attendance
within just five months of its establishment. This non-attendance was primarily
due to internal conflicts and division within the Kaurna community.34 It has
never been restarted despite periodic requests from certain members of the
community. The course could have easily been recommenced at Warriparinga
and run at any time of the day under the aegis of Tauondi College had ten names
of committed Indigenous learners been put forward.
There is a big gap at times between an individual’s expressed intention to
become actively involved in learning the language, and actually following it
through. In addition to the 40 or so Kaurna people formally involved at one time
or another, there are others who have said that they would come along or would
like to. For them other things have come up or they do not ‘get their act together’,
or when it comes down to it, it is just too hard and potentially risks too much loss
of face. As Dixon (1997: 111) rightly points out, ‘a language is a difficult thing to
learn, other than as a young child, and requires application and concentration’.
Most Kaurna people have had only limited exposure to other languages and
many have had limited success with formal education processes.
The Kaurna language movement is not yet a mass movement with wide-
spread appeal to the general Kaurna population. It is restricted to a small but
growing body of language enthusiasts. Only time will tell if it will ever gain the
critical mass required for its use on an everyday basis alongside English in a truly
bilingual community.
Despite the desire to see the language used again in the home and the commu-
nity, not too much progress has been made yet. Again, there is something of a gap
between intentions and actions. Identity politics and internal factional politics
within the Nunga community, and the response of particular individuals and
families, are likely to be the major factors in determining the extent to which the
Kaurna community replaces English with Kaurna for instrumental and commu-
nicative purposes. Kaurna politics have become more complicated over the last
few years with the emergence of three organisations, KACHA Inc., Kaurna
Meyunna Inc., and Kaurna Elders, claiming to represent the Kaurna people.
Government recognition has shifted from KACHA Inc. to Kaurna Meyunna Inc.
The formulaic approach and the painstaking language reclamation process
Language Planning and Language Revival 207

that underpins it in the context of languages ‘no longer spoken’ are not, however,
the only options for language revival. Alternative approaches have been devel-
oped which are considerably easier to implement and are more in keeping with
the ways in which people actually use elements of their ancestral languages
within Nunga English.

‘Artificial pidgins’ and Ngarrindjeri ‘language renewal’

Jay Powell, working with Quileute in the north-west of the United States,
advocates the development of what he refers to as an artificial pidgin formed by
the incorporation of Quileute words, one by one, into English sentence structure.
Powell (1973: 6–7) provides the following example to illustrate his method:
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Increasing vocabulary size allowed rapid progress from

Give me half that candy.
to give me half that lape’,
to hes me half sa’ lape’
to hes me tala’a sa’ lape’
a lopsided sentence according to Quileute syntactic structure but a func-
tional statement full of real Quileute words that could be understood by
members of the in-group.
While Powell’s approach is a deliberate strategy in the revival of Quileute, a
somewhat similar result is occurring in an ad hoc fashion in the context of
Ngarrindjeri language revival. Within that community, some people claim to
speak Ngarrindjeri, but the language they speak is in fact a kind of relexified
English. Ngarrindjeri programmes taught at Murray Bridge High School and
other locations also seem to be heavily dependent on English grammar. Word
order is strictly Subject-Verb-Object, following English word order. English
sentences tend to be translated word for word, even to the extent of using
Ngarrindjeri case suffixes as separate words in translating English preposi-
tions.35 English expressions tend to be translated literally, even when it is appar-
ent from the sources that Ngarrindjeri used a different idiom. And there is a
concerted rejection of involvement of linguists in the development of the
language.
In the production of the video Warranna Purruna: Pa:mpi Tungarar – Living
Languages, a Ngarrindjeri text was written by Rhonda Agius which was
published in the booklet accompanying the video (DETE, 1998: Preface). That
text is substantially a one-to-one, isomorphic translation of the English version,
where nominal case suffixes are used as independent words, functioning as
prepositions. A variety of means is used to cope with words like ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘or’
and ‘and’, which are typically absent in Australian languages. Verbs always
appear in their present tense citation form and the interrogative yange ‘where?’
appears to have been used for ‘were’. A poem entitled ‘Ikay Ruwe – This Land’
was also published by Rhonda Agius in Tauondi Speaks from the Heart (Procter &
Gale, 1997: 6) which demonstrates the same features.
The strength of Agius’s approach is the ease with which the language can be
constructed and used. It allows individuals and communities to revive their
languages themselves, without having to first acquire an in-depth knowledge of
linguistics and the grammar of Aboriginal languages. Unlike language reclama-
208 Current Issues in Language Planning

tion, there is no need to engage the services of a linguist or outsiders. This has the
obvious advantage that it is much easier to maintain control over the process. So
long as people feel happy with the resultant language, which seems to be the case
with Ngarrindjeri, this appears to be a useful approach in these circumstances.
Nor is the approach taken by Agius without historical precedent. Nissaya
Burmese, as reported by Burling (1970: 181–4), is a variety of Burmese that has
developed from the translation of Pali religious texts. Initially, an interlinear
gloss, whereby each Pali word was given a Burmese equivalent underneath, was
used as an aid to learning the foreign Pali texts. This pattern persisted for
hundreds of years. However, around 1800 the texts began appearing in Nissaya
Burmese without the original Pali text. As such, Nissaya Burmese no longer func-
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tions as an aide to learning Pali, but is an independent language in its own right.
Its grammar is almost pure Pali, while the lexicon is drawn entirely from
Burmese. Because it is still associated with religion, Nissaya Burmese is the high
status variety of Burmese, while everyday Burmese which maintains its original
indigenous grammar is held in low regard. Written Burmese and literary forms
are heavily influenced by Pali grammar.
Another well-known case from the Indian subcontinent involves three
languages, Urdu, Marathi and Kannada, the first two drawn from Indo-Aryan
while the latter belongs to the unrelated Dravidian language family. The three
languages have developed a common grammar in the village of Kupwar
(Gumperz & Wilson, 1971), where speakers of the languages have lived side by
side for centuries. Yet their lexicons have remained distinct. According to Foley
(1997: 389f.) ‘it may not be far off the mark to say that Kupwar residents actually
speak just one language, with three different lexicons’. So for members of
Kupwar village, ethnic identity is maintained through the lexicon while gram-
matical differences have been ignored.
Other modern languages, particularly those varieties spoken by the West-
ern-educated elites, are also showing rapid convergence with English, both in
lexicon and grammar. Foley (1997: 415) discusses the case of Modern Thai in
which the high-status form has incorporated many European features, partly as a
result of King Rama VI having translated Shakespeare into a highly Anglicised
form of Thai.
So the deliberate ‘pidginisation’ approach taken by Powell in Quileute and the
unplanned ‘language renewal’ introduced in Ngarrindjeri by Agius and others
are but additional examples of a more widespread phenomenon that sometimes
occurs in situations of intense language contact. However, this Ngarrindjeri ‘lan-
guage renewal’ is a fundamentally different approach from that taken in
language reclamation in the Kaurna situation, which seeks to draw on the gram-
mar of the language as it was spoken at the time of colonisation, and to capture
the essence of the language in its original form. It should be recognised, though,
that both Modern Ngarrindjeri and Modern Kaurna are major departures from
the traditional languages. Both are undoubtedly heavily influenced by English.
In Modern Kaurna, this influence is primarily at the level of discourse and idiom
whereas in Modern Ngarrindjeri, the influence of English extends down into the
syntax and grammar.
The formulaic approach is similar to Powell’s ‘artificial pidginisation’ in that
both methods promote a staged, gradual introduction of the target language into
Language Planning and Language Revival 209

conversation or text which is otherwise English. However, the two methods

differ sharply in that in Powell’s approach, words from the target language are
deliberately introduced into English sentences, while in the formulaic approach
only well-formed utterances which preserve the original grammar of the target
language are acceptable.

The relationship between minority and majority languages

One of the most important parameters in the language ecology of reviving
languages is that of the relationship between the minority languages undergoing
revival and the dominant majority languages with which they are forced to coex-
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ist. Language revival is about expanding functions and domains of use of a

language, and, of course, increasing the numbers of speakers of the language. In
the Kaurna case, this involves carving out niches within English and Nunga
English which are currently used for all purposes within Nunga society.
In Nunga English, words drawn from Indigenous languages are inserted into
English sentences as in, for example, ‘Go and wash your marras (hands)!’ or
‘Nakkun that kathari korni over there!’ (Look at that handsome man over there).
Ngarrindjeri language renewal, and Quileute language recreation as Thieberger
(1988) refers to it, build on this pattern of language use. This contrasts markedly
with the formulaic approach whereby only well-formed Kaurna expressions are
introduced into English conversation. For the language to develop with integ-
rity, only well-formed expressions, I believe, should be promoted in conjunction
with English.36
While both Powell’s artificial pidginisation and the formulaic approach advo-
cate the gradual introduction of the target language into English discourse, the
language nest and master–apprentice models advocate the total exclusion of
English, at least for certain periods of the day or week, or even more extended
periods. As Hinton (1994: 242) says ‘the single biggest challenge’ facing the
master–apprentice teams is ‘leaving English behind while developing the habit
of speaking in the language’. She strongly discourages the use of two languages
in her ‘Eight Points of Language Learning’ where she urges both teachers and
apprentices not to use English:
Teachers Apprentices
2. Don’t use English, not even to 2. Don’t use English, not even when
translate you can’t say it in the language. Find
other ways to communicate what you
want to say. (Hinton, 1994: 243)
We have found through experience that insistence on the total exclusion of
English, even for short periods, stifles conversation and serves as a major
demotivating factor. It is simply too difficult for beginning learners of Kaurna to
engage each other in Kaurna only, even for half an hour. Further, it is difficult for
us as teachers to continue to use Kaurna in an animated impromptu manner
responding to the situation at hand. Often we have to stop and think how to say
something, or worse still, stop to devise new expressions.
Steven Harris (1990: 80), writing from the perspective of bilingual education
programmes in Indigenous languages in the Northern Territory where two
languages are employed, argues for strict separation between English and Indig-
210 Current Issues in Language Planning

enous languages. Code-switching has often been viewed as a sign of language

breakdown and is generally discouraged in these programmes. However, in the
context of language reclamation, code-switching can be viewed in a more posi-
tive light to reintroduce a language in an easier and less threatening way than
having to know a lot of language before being able to use it.
Harris makes a distinction between ‘code-switching’ which ‘involves the
conscious changing between two languages within a discourse for stylistic,
humorous or authority-seeking purposes [which are] neither random nor of
roughly equal proportions’, and ‘code-mixing’, ‘the unconscious use of two
languages within the same phrase or sentence on what appears to be a random
basis’. Harris regards code-switching as legitimate, but sees code-mixing as an
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indicator of ‘“pidginisation” and the ultimate death of a traditional language’ (S.

Harris, 1990: 80). While Harris’s characterisation of code-switching as conscious
and code-mixing as unconscious is open to question, his general distinction
between them is useful for our purposes. Code-switching is preferable to
code-mixing in terms of modelling patterns of language use. If vernacular words
are dropped into a sentence or discourse structure that is otherwise English,
people may learn new individual lexical items, but they will gain little apprecia-
tion of a distinctive grammar that is organised on different principles from
English. However, code-switching in Harris’s terms is a deliberate strategy to be
pursued and promoted in the formulaic approach.
The formulaic approach, as outlined here for Kaurna, would seem to be gener-
ally applicable in situations where a ‘sleeping’ language is to be revived. It sits
well both in terms of the ways in which speakers learn and use languages in
general, and with the functions that a newly emergent ‘awakening’ language
first acquires. This method is likely to have more appeal to the average commu-
nity member than a highly structured approach, such as grammar translation,
and seems to be the only feasible communicative approach in a situation in
which there are no fluent speakers.

A Kaurna Language Congress and Kaurna Language Institute?

Fishman (1993) documents the earliest stages of formal language planning for
a number of languages. Likewise, it is time for the Kaurna language to move into
a more formal language planning phase. We have had discussions for several
years about holding a public forum with the Kaurna language movement to
enable all interested to have their say about the future direction of Kaurna
language development. This forum will also provide a venue for dissemination
of information about Kaurna language reclamation efforts, including language
modernisation and the formulaic method. Indeed, in 1999 Lester Irabinna Rigney
and I prepared a submission to the Aboriginal Languages Initiatives Program37
for funding to hold the congress. Unfortunately, despite earlier assurances, it
became apparent that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was
not prepared to fund submissions lodged by universities. The traditional source
of funding within the university sector, the Australian Research Council, would
not fund such a proposal, even though it is closely allied with more theoretical
language planning questions, because it is seen as community focused and
beyond the responsibility of the tertiary sector.
Language Planning and Language Revival 211

The Kaurna language congress idea is not dead, but it is looking more remote.
Internal politics within the Kaurna community have become more difficult and
fractured, and it would take considerable effort to ensure that the congress is
organised with the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders. My Kaurna
research is but a small part of my workload teaching Aboriginal studies. The
same is true for other key members of the Kaurna language movement. But we
need to find ways by which genuine control and ownership of the language
movement can be vested in the community.
A funded Kaurna research institute is needed so that a linguist and Kaurna
trainee can work together full time in a mentor relationship, to organise work-
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shops, forums and Kaurna language activities, provide support for the teaching
programmes and develop and publish Kaurna language resources. A Kaurna
language committee should be set up to make decisions about use of the
language and provide direction for language development. The Kaurna
language workers could prepare briefing notes for the committee and implement
their decisions. One important role that such a Kaurna research institute should
perform is to document the use of the language along the lines of those docu-
mented in Amery (1998a, vol. 2). A register of Kaurna names should be kept, and
requests for names should be dealt with in a systematic and orderly fashion.
How to set this up is the question. At the University of Adelaide, Kaurna is not
a priority, despite the groundwork that has been done and an enormous amount
of goodwill that has been built up within the community. Kaurna language
research and the teaching of Kaurna ceased at the University of Adelaide from
June 2001. Supporting Kaurna language teaching and research at the current
level (about one third of a salary) within the University of Adelaide is not a costly
undertaking within the bigger scheme of things. We now have to start over again
and try to embed Kaurna studies within the University of South Australia where
there are pre-existing teaching and course redevelopment priorities which, it
seems, have to be attended to first, leaving Kaurna on the fringe.
We are entering a new phase where the use of Kaurna is continuing to expand,
but where it is becoming increasingly difficult to support and maintain existing
programmes. As Kevin Duigan, teacher at Kaurna Plains School, commented,
‘the wheels are beginning to spin on it. We need these workshops to generate a
momentum and move the programmes forward’ (Kaurna Language Develop-
ment Workshops, November 2000).

Conclusion
In this paper, I have investigated in some depth the nexus between language
revival and language planning. While language revival activities, especially for
small Indigenous languages, have been largely ignored by language planners,
language planning has a lot to offer. By their very nature, language revival activi-
ties involve implementing deliberate strategies to increase the number of speak-
ers or expand the domains and frequency of use of the language.
Linguistics is essential in language reclamation. The skills linguistics provides
enable us to work with a somewhat limited historical corpus in meaningful
ways. Linguistics helps to make sense of the corpus, but more than that, to
212 Current Issues in Language Planning

expand this corpus and fill in the gaps in a systematic and well-motivated fash-
ion.
While there is a significant level of deliberation involved in the ways in which
the Kaurna language is being developed, much of this activity is ad hoc in
response to requests and needs as they arise in the context of teaching
programmes. A greater level of planning is warranted in order to put the
language and its development more in the hands of Kaurna people.
Language reclamation offers new challenges to language planning because
additional factors in relation to orthography choice and corpus planning activity
come into play. Status planning, too, needs to be looked at in a new light, where a
set of lesser goals than those traditionally advocated are pursued. Nonetheless,
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the skills, techniques and experience that language planners bring are invaluable
in attempting to work with ‘sleeping’ languages and marginalised communities.

Acknowledgements
I acknowledge the Kaurna community for their continuing support and
involvement in this research into their language and its development. I also
thank Peter Mühlhäusler, Mary-Anne Gale, Pauline Bryant and the reviewers for
comments on a draft of this paper.

Correspondence
Any correspondence should be directed to Dr Rob Amery, Unaipon School,
University of South Australia, City West Campus, 70 North Terrace, Adelaide,
S.A. 5000, Australia ([email protected]).

Notes
1. This group is made up of a number of Kaurna people (some of whom are teachers,
academics, performers and activists), several non-Aboriginal teachers and spouses of
Kaurna people, and myself, a non-Aboriginal linguist.
2. Note that this dictionary only lists technical terms in Maori. It does not list terms for
fauna and flora or body parts, for instance, though some have been co-opted in the
development of new terms as in examples given here.
3. The Dreaming is an all-encompassing concept explaining the creation of the land and
life as we know it, and underpins all aspects of life in traditional Aboriginal society
(see Edwards, 1988: 12–25). It is sometimes thought of as an era, but this ignores other
important aspects of the concept which place it in the present. The term the Dreaming
is problematic, as in most Australian languages the term for the Dreaming bears little
or no relationship to the bodily function of dreaming, though it does in some Central
Australian languages. However, the term is widespread and for want of an adequate
alternative it is used here too.
4. Nunga, pronounced [nöÎ @], is a term of self-ascription used by Aboriginal persons in
the southern parts of South Australia, contrasting with Gunya, pronounced [ U®@],
used to refer to non-Aboriginal persons. Nunga seems to have originated from
Wirangu, a language from the west coast of South Australia (Wilson, 1996: 6Í7). It is
used in the same sense as Koori or Koorie in NSW and Victoria, Murrie in Queensland,
Palawa in Tasmania, Nyungar or Noongah in the south-west of Western Australia
and Yura in the Flinders Ranges.
5. Tjilbruke is the name of a creator ancestor. See later section on Warriparinga.
6. Yankalilla, derives from yernkandi ‘to hang down, on; to join; impart; infect, as with a
disease; to depend’ (T&S, 1840: 61) + -lya + -illa ‘place’ (i.e. ‘place of the fallen bits’
Manning, 1986: 237; see Amery (forthcoming) for further details). In the Tjilbruke
Language Planning and Language Revival 213

Dreaming narrative, Tjilbruke carries the remains of his dead nephew’s deteriorating
and flaking body which falls to the ground at Yankalilla.
7. Onkaparinga derives from ngangkiparringga (lit. ‘woman river place’ or ‘women’s
river’).
8. The reconciliation process was established in 1991 by an Act of Federal Parliament
supported by all sides of politics. Following Prime Minister John Howard’s refusal to
apologise to the ‘stolen generations’ (persons removed from their families without
consent), the official reconciliation process has faltered, but continues as a grass roots
movement.
9. The word tarto ‘low, swampy country’ appears in T&S. The word tartonendi was
formed by myself through the addition of the inchoative suffix. That is, tartonendi liter-
ally means ‘becoming low, swampy country’ (i.e. being transformed into wetlands).
10. A number of Aboriginal organisations bearing Kaurna names and names drawn from
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other Indigenous languages including Ngarrindjeri and Pitjantjatjara are located in

the Adelaide City Council area. These include Tandanya, Kumangka, Patpa Warra
Yunti and Nunkuwarrin Yunti. Educational institutions, notably the University of
Adelaide and the University of South Australia have adopted a number of Kaurna
names for various buildings and centres, including Wilto Yerlo, Mattanya Housing,
Wirranga Health Service and the Yungondi Building. Several businesses in the area
also bear Indigenous names. These include Ngapartji multimedia consortium and
Wirranendi urban ecology centre.
11. A bilby is a small mammal, also known as a rabbit-eared bandicoot.
12. Wyatt (1879: 20) gives tinninye ‘iron’ and tinninye werle ‘an iron store’, though he does
not list a word for ‘rib’. T&S give tinninya ‘rib’ and Tinninyawodli ‘the Ironstores’.
13. The issue was reported in The Advertiser (15 March 2000: 11) in an article entitled ‘Rec-
onciliation’s sign of the times’ which quoted Kaurna Elder Lewis O’Brien.
14. In the original proposal drafted in 1996, I had suggested naming these parks with the
names of the wives of these three men, and using the men’s names for the squares in
the city.
15. Pattawilya is retained in the name of the Patawolonga watercourse in the vicinity.
16. The findings of the Government’s inquiry (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997) into
the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families,
known as the ‘stolen generations’, were handed down on the 26 May 1997. This day is
now observed as National Sorry Day.
17. The adoption of Karrawirra Parri for the Torrens River by the Adelaide City Council
awaits ratification by the Geographical Names Board. If approved, it will be the first
application of the Dual Naming Policy involving a Kaurna name.
18. Kaurna and several other closely related languages have distinctive names for chil-
dren according to the order in which they were born up until the ninth born. The
names are further differentiated by gender. See Amery (1996a: 3–4) for a complete list-
ing in Kaurna and neighbouring languages.
19. Actually the text on the plaque appears as Wanti nindo ai kabba? The second kabba
having been inadvertently deleted when the text was transferred from the temporary
plaque to a new design. Wanti nindo ai kabba? actually translates literally as ‘Where
have you pressed me?’
20. There may well have been more occasions than this. It is likely that I am unaware of
some events at which Kaurna songs were performed in public, though most are prob-
ably included in this graph.
21. Note that the Kaurna reciprocal/reflexive suffix -ri is the same form as the Pitjantjat-
jara inchoative, and both belong to an (ng) verb class.
22. Wonweetpeena is likely to be a typographical error where ‘n’ has been substituted for
‘u’, perhaps originally Wouweetpinna = Wauwitpinna ‘father of Wauwe “female
kangaroo”. Wyatt corrected three instances of this type of error in his paper but
perhaps overlooked this one. However the error, if it is indeed an error, is repeated in
the word list itself where Wonweetpeena is again cited. Paradoxically, Kadlitpinna’s
wife was known as Wahwey = ? Wauwe (Southern Australian, 17 Sept. 1847; cited in
Gara, 1998: 29)
214 Current Issues in Language Planning
23. Wyatt seems to have recorded two birth-order names here – Monaicha = Munaitya
‘fourth born (masculine)’ and konoocha = Kudnuitya ‘third born (masculine)’. This
appears to be a contradiction as presumably the three names all apply to ‘Captain
Jack’. Konoocha is listed by Wyatt with identical spelling in the word list, though
Monaicha is not. Schürmann gives Captain Jack’s full name as Minno Gudnuitya
Kadlitpinna, adding weight to the proposition that he was most likely the third born.
24. These lines were left untranslated. I have supplied interlinear glosses and free transla-
tions.
25. Try as we might over a period of two years of correspondence and telephone calls, we
were not able to negotiate a satisfactory arrangement with the company which now
owns the rights to the song following the death of the author. Music Sales insisted on
ownership, not only of the translation of the original song, but also the additional
Kaurna verses.
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26. Most pronouns in Kaurna are disyllabic (ngatto ‘I’, nindo ‘you’, ninna ‘you’, parna
‘they’, purla ‘they two’, etc.) whereas in English all pronouns are monosyllables. When
Kaurna pronouns take on certain case roles they may become very long indeed. ‘With
me’, for instance, translates as ngattaityangga in Kaurna. That is, two syllables in
English become five syllables in Kaurna.
27. As in most Australian languages, there is no voicing distinction in Narungga. The
choice of symbols for voiced or voiceless to represent stops is quite arbitrary. Both
systems are well represented throughout Australia. In contemporary Narungga,
stops tend to be pronounced as voiced while in Ngarrindjeri they tend to be realised as
voiceless.
28. Maori and Hawai’ian, while suffering serious decline and shrinkage of domains of use
since colonisation, never ceased to be spoken. Efforts to revitalise Maori started in the
1970s. See Te Hemara (1993: 189).
29. According to Keegan (1996: 2), ‘Kura kaupapa Maori means schools which run
according to Maori principles and values, and which teach through the medium of
Maori. Schools in New Zealand may be designated kura kaupapa Maori under the
Education Act 1989 and receive funding from New Zealand’s Ministry of Education
capped programme’.
30. This expression has been introduced into Kaurna Plains School and its use is
enforced by the students themselves. If a new child comes to school, another child
whispers the expression in the newcomer’s ear, but until the child utters the expres-
sion, he or she is not permitted to go (personal communication Cherie Watkins;
Kevin Duigan, 1998).
31. A fundamental distinction is that between ‘linguistic competence’ and ‘communica-
tive competence’, originally conceived by Hymes in 1966 (Hymes, 1972: 269) as a
major rethink of Chomsky’s ‘competence’ vs. ‘performance’ dichotomy and Saussure’s
langue vs. parole. According to Saville-Troike, ‘Hymes repeatedly emphasises that what
language is cannot be separated from how and why it is used, and that considerations
of use are often prerequisite to recognition and understanding of much of linguistic
form’ (Saville-Troike, 1989: 3). See also Gumperz (1972).
32. Though small, 40 is a significant number within the context of the Kaurna population.
The number of adults who actively identify as Kaurna probably numbers several
hundred.
33. It has proved difficult to bring the parties together to discuss the issues. We need to
establish who owns the tapes and how these ownership rights should be exercised
before tapes are sold.
34. This conflict was in no way due to dispute over the language. Rather it concerned the
leadership of KACHA and differences over management of Kaurna heritage. The
conflict resulted in one section of the community preferring to stay away.
35. Use of the Kaurna suffix -unangko ‘from’ was also observed in use as a preposition in a
speech of introduction by one Ngarrindjeri participant in the Journey of Healing on 26
May 1999.
36. Having argued against the use of Kaurna words within English sentences, I should
note that a number of songs produced by staff and students at Kaurna Plains School
Language Planning and Language Revival 215

and by students at Para West Adult Campus have introduced Kaurna words in this
way. While this practice is not encouraged, there is some merit in it. At least children
learn the words and their meanings in this way, whereas with a song written entirely
in Kaurna, they might learn it off by heart but not fully appreciate its meaning, or
indeed be able to associate individual words with specific meanings.
37. The Aboriginal Languages Initiatives Program was an initiative administered by the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. It was aimed at community-based
language programs.

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The Author
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Rob Amery completed a Masters in linguistics at the Australian National

University in 1985, researching the rise of Dhuwaya, a koine variety of Yolngu
Matha spoken at Yirrkala in the Northern Territory; and a PhD at the University
of Adelaide in 1998, investigating efforts to reclaim the Kaurna language. He
currently teaches Kaurna, Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal Health at the
University of South Australia. Research interests include Kaurna linguistics,
language planning and language revival, linguistics and health, and Indigenous
languages in schools.
He has worked on the Kaurna language since 1989. At that time Kaurna was
scarcely known, though it was reasonably well documented in historical sources.
He has worked closely with schools and community members to make those
sources accessible, to provide translations as requested, to run workshops and
assist in the teaching of the language, and to develop the language as needed for
use in the 21st century.