Palawa kani (man speak)

There is no realistic hope of reviving any of the several—probably six to twelve— of the original languages of Tasmania. (For a map of Tasmanian language groups in a previous post, see here.) So people there have devised a new language from the fragments of the others. This is how Wikipedia describes it:

Palawa kani is a constructed language created by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre as a composite Tasmanian language, based on reconstructed vocabulary from the limited accounts of the various languages once spoken by the Aboriginal people of what is now Tasmania (palawa kani: Lutruwita).

The centre wishes to restrict the availability of the language until it is established in the Aboriginal Tasmanian community and claims copyright. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is used to support this claim to copyright as it declares that indigenous people have the right to control their “cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions” and that states must “recognise and protect the exercise of these rights”. However, the declaration is legally non-binding and languages cannot receive copyright protection in many countries, including Australia and the United States.The centre however provides a list of place names in palawa kani and consents to their free use by the public. Dictionaries and other copyrightable resources for learning the language are only provided to the Aboriginal community.

Background

The Tasmanian languages were exterminated after the British colonisation of Tasmania and the Black War. The last native speaker of any of the languages, Fanny Cochrane Smith, died in 1905.

In 1972, Robert M. W. Dixon and Terry Crowley investigated reconstructing the Tasmanian languages from existing records, in a project funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. This included interviewing two granddaughters of Fanny Cochrane Smith, who provided “five words, one sentence, and a short song”. They were able to find “virtually no data on the grammar and no running texts” and stated “it is impossible to say very much of linguistic interest about the Tasmanian languages”, and they did not proceed with the project.

In the late twentieth century, as part of community efforts to retrieve as much of the original Tasmanian culture as possible, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre attempted to reconstruct a language for the indigenous community. Due to the scarcity of records, palawa kani was constructed as a composite of several of the estimated dozen original Tasmanian languages.

Visitors to Tasmania can go to public places such as museums, Mount Wellington, or even the foyer of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and see examples of palawa kani.

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

Mt Wellington (kunanyi)

Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Inc.

It soon becomes apparent that the words used in palawa kani are all selected from historic wordlists. Such words were often spelt in various ways by the original recorders (G.A. Robinson, J. Milligan and numerous others including French voyagers in the 1790s). Here is an example of one record by one of these early contributors:

"Coantana"             gunda-na              "Earth"    earth       Jorgenson 5,Uncertain,[:312:14],[dk],[Tas],[c.1835]

This record was made by the colourful figure Jorgen Jorgenson in about the mid 1830s.

The writer, your amateur researcher, has collected as many of these early records as could be found and put them into a database. This enables the records to be sorted, and searched. For example, the database makes it possible to find, isolate and compare all the different records for say, ‘earth’, or ‘water’ or ‘fire’ and so on, and to do so in an instant. Or find all the nouns, or verbs, or pronouns, or anything else, instantly. The Tasmanian database featuring some 30 000 words is one of a series of such ‘Bayala’ databases collected from historical records made by various contributors from the 1790s and the following 150 or so years covering the whole country.

Such records from the ‘Bayala’ language databases are sometimes presented in the following manner:

Australian	respelt	English	EngJSM	Source
"Coantana"	gunda-na	"Earth"	earth	Jorgenson 5, Uncertain,[:312:14],[dk],[Tas],[c.1835]
"[lakade]"	laga-di	"water"	water	Plomley gm [VDA:460:3.2] [NMid] [Tas] [1829]
"mouta"	muda	"bird"	bird	Merite: Esperance & Recherche Tas 1793,[d.3:3:64] [SE] [Tas] [1793]
"tiennah"	dina	"Bandicoot [P. obesula]"	bandicoot	Plomley mj [A610.mj:292:17] [OyB] [Tas] [1857]
"Plan.ten.er"	blan-dina	"Snake"	snake-having [??]	ML GAR: A7085 [A7085:847:17] [BLmd] [Tas] [1829-34]
"rulla"	rala	"strong"	strong	Plomley mj [:417:3],[SE],[Tas],[1857]

Table 1: Sources for the first palawa kani example: kuntana layka-ti muta & tina & plantina ngayapi rrala

The first column in Table 1 features the original records. These give an idea of style of spellings used by the original contributors, the examples reflecting the attempts being made back then by people of different origins and backgrounds doing what they could to best render into writing how words never heard by Europeans before actually sounded. The lighter grey column features the original translations these recorders offered. The orange column in between provides a modern simplified respelling of the word. The yellow column is a view of it in simplified English. In the final ‘source’ column the name of the contributor is given, along with source language in square brackets (North Midland, South East, Oyster Bay etc.), as well as, at the end, the date of the record concerned. Also given are the page number and line number for the record, again in square brackets, to assist anyone to find it should he or she want to check it.

The particular collection of words used in Table 1 are those featured in the first line of the main table, Table 2, below. (Note that no source record for the word ngayapi in the first line of Table 2 could be found in the database.)

Table 2 presents snapshots of palawa kani words spotted in various locations around Tasmania. The words concerned are featured in the first column (Australian), with the associated English translation used, or commentary, in the next. An analysis column is in the middle of the table, by the writer, drawn from the Tasmanian database mentioned above. Palawa kani words are based on original records but respelt, in simplified way.

Australian	English	English JS analysis	picture	Source
kuntana layka-ti muta & tina & plantina ngayapi rrala	In this wetland, birds and animals and reptiles survive	earth water bird bandicoot snake xxx strong		King Island C E Pennys Lagoon 9121
trawtha makuminya	Tracks through Big River Country	Oyster Bay / path		Tas Ab Cent 0808.1
kanaplila, pinina Invasion Day-ta ?	Celebrate and laugh on Invasion Day ?	dance laugh Invasion Day-at		Tas Ab Cent 0808.2.1
putiya !	NO!			Tas Ab Cent 0808.2.2
Invasion Day pumili mina tangara !	Invasion Day makes me weep bitterly!	Invasion Day make-did me weep		Tas Ab Cent 0808.2.3
laritja	cord, string, thread	thread		Tas Ab Cent 0808.3
mapali	many, plenty, lots of, very	plenty		Tas Ab Cent 0808.4
wiri	starfish			Tas Ab Cent 0808.5
patrula	fire			Tas Ab Cent 0808.6
takamuna pakana	NO TRANSLATION	awake/travel man		Tas Ab Cent 0808.7
mina lakapawa nina	I see you	I see-did thee (you)		Tas Ab Cent 0813.1
pakana	Tassie blackfella [NE]			Tas Ab Cent 0817.1
palawa	Tassie blackfella [SE]			Tas Ab Cent 0817.2
warina	warina shell	cloud / right / shell / weary		Tas Ab Cent 0817.3
muka	the sea, salt water	water		Tas Ab Cent 0817.4
pamukita	porcupine fish	fishtype		Tas Ab Cent 0817.5
wayana	shark			Tas Ab Cent 0817.6
katina	beach, shore	beach		Tas Ab Cent 0817.7
tipara nina doing today	what are you doing today	whatsthat thou [doing today] tipara nina  magara gudi whatsthat thou make today		Tas Ab Cent 08xxx
wurangkili / rayakana / mungalina	sky / song / rain	sky sing [play speak] rain		Tas Mt Well 0761
kunanyi	The mountain - Mount Wellington			Tas Mt Well 5633.1
waranta palawa, milaythina nika	This country is us - and we are this country	we-all man / country here/this		Tas Mt Well 5633.10
milaythina nika milaythina-mana	This is our country	country here/this country me-of [?]		Tas Mt Well 5633.2
pakana laykara milaythina nika mulaka	Aboriginal people ran over this land to hunt	man run country here/this search		Tas Mt Well 5633.3
pakana-mapalia krakapaka milaythina nika	and many died here	man plenty kill country here/this		Tas Mt Well 5633.4
tapilti larapuna, tapilti putalina	From Eddystone Point, to Oyster Cove	go xxxx go xxx	Eddystone Point: TANG.UM.RONE.NER Oyster Bay: DRAY.TER:	Tas Mt Well 5633.5
tapilti kunanyi, tapilti tayaritja	From Mount Wellington, to the Bass Strait Islands	go Mt. Wellington. S. [Sterling]	the Big Hill, Mount Wellington: BUR.NANG.YE	Tas Mt Well 5633.6
waranta takara milaythina nara takara	We walk where they walked	go Bass Strait Islands		Tas Mt Well 5633.7
nara taymi krakapaka waranta-tu waranta tunapri nara	And they will never be dead for us as long	they-all lacking kill/dead us-all-for us-all aware they-all		Tas Mt Well 5633.8
milaythina nika waranta pakana	as we remember them	country here/this we-all man		Tas Mt Well 5633.9
nara makara lumi... waranta makara lumi	We will always be here	they-all sit hither / we-all sit hither		TMAG 0608.1
tunapri pakana mana-mapali milaythina-ti nara lumi...lutha-ti, tiyuratina-ti, milaythina-ti, takila-ti. nara makara lumi... waranta makara lumi.	Country holds the knowledge of the Old People... They are still here - in the trees, in the wind, in the earth and in our hearts. They will always be here - as will we'	aware man xxx-plenty / country-of they-all here / tree-of wind-of  country-of heart-of / they-all sit here / we-all sit here		TMAG 0608.2
pakana tayaritja-ta	aborigines on the islands - the survival of a community			TMAG 0609
ningimpi rrala	strong matriarchs—our grandmothers	matriarch strong		TMAG 0615
pakana mana-mapali	tasmanian aboriginal community	man xxx-plenty		TMAG 0617
wybalenna		man hut		TMAG 0624
takariliya milaythina-ta	families on country	family country-at		TMAG 0630
paywootta	long time ago...			TMAG 0633.1
kani mina milaythina-nara	Where is your Country?	speak-QUERY country-you-all		TMAG 0633.2
milaythina nika / milaythina Muwinina; milaythina mana-mapali	this is Muwinina Country, our Country	country here / country Hobart / country xxx-plenty		TMAG 0634.1
timtumili minanya	[Derwent River]			TMAG 0634.2
ninga	tea-tree (paper-bark) canoe	bark		TMAG 0638.1
tuylıni	stringy-bark canoe of three bundles	bark [stringy]		TMAG 0638.2
turi	middle bundle (keel)	back		TMAG 0638.3
pupati	bow	front [?]		TMAG 0638.4
lipi	stern	xxx		TMAG 0638.5
praywi	paddle	paddle		TMAG 0638.6
taypani takara waranta-mapali	Come walk with us	xxx go we-two plenty		TMAG 0640:1
nayri nina-tu	Thank you	xxx thee-to		TMAG 0640:2
waranta mulaka yula	muttonbirding - a lifetime of tradition	we-all search bird		TMAG 0641
prupari nguwana nara	try the mutton birding experience			TMAG 0642
kanaplila	dance	dance		TMAG 0644
tirrina	baskets of grass			TMAG 0644
tareena	basket			TMAG 0645.1
reigoua	seaweed			TMAG 0645.2
rikawa	kelp water carriers	seaweed		TMAG 0645.3
canlaride	necklace			TMAG 0645.4
karnepleelare	dance	dance		TMAG 0648
kanalaritja	string of shells	necklace		TMAG 0654
tunapri pakana mana-mapili	Our people's knowledge	aware man xxx-plentykanalaritja		TMAG 0656
raytji ningina luwitina manta	they took the children away	whiteman grasp child-[having [?]] distant		TMAG 0660
ningina pakana mana-mapali milaythina pakana	bringing our old people home	bring man xxx-plenty country man		TMAG 0661
pakana mana-mapali: taypani manta; tapilti manta	we've come a long way: we've got a long way to go	man xxx-plenty / go-come distant / go-come distant		TMAG 0662
Parrawa Parrawa	Go Away!			TMAG 0679
lutruwita	For at least 40,000 years Aboriginal people have lived in lutruwita, now called Tasmania.			TMAG 0681
ningina tunapri	to give knowledge and understanding	bring/grasp aware		TMAG 5665
tuylini	stringybark canoe	bark		TMAG 5665.2
waranta takamuna rrala	we stand strong	we-all stand strong		TMAG 5667
waranta makara lumi	Been here forever	we-all sit here		TMAG 5668
mapiya lumi	around here			TMAG 5673
wurangkili	sky			TMAG 5675:1
puwatina	cave			TMAG 5675:2
turikina	waterfall			TMAG 5675:3
lutha	tree			TMAG 5675:4
truwala	mountain			TMAG 5675:5
muka	sea			TMAG 5675:6
patrula	fire			TMAG 5675:7
taypani milaythina-tu	return to country	go country-to		TMAG 5676
wukaluwikiwayna	Maria Island			TMAG 5680
pulingina martula	Welcome to The Nut at Circular Head	welcome Circular Head		Circular Head Aboriginal community 6265
ya pulungina	Hello. welcome	hey xxx		Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre 6062
krakana patrula riawunna	[sit] [fire] [circle]	sit fire circle		Devonport Tiagarra Aboriginal Centre 3011

Table 2: Examples of palawa kani words, with explanations, and illustrations of where seen

Jeremy Steele

22 April 2026