Awabakal & Wonnarua (HRLM) Language Revitalisation

In 2006-2007 MRALC will produce and publish ‘A Learner's Guide to the language from the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie (HRLM)’. This will be based on ‘A Salvage Grammar and Wordlist of the language from the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie’ by Amanda Lissarrague. The Salvage Grammar is a technical description of the language (sounds, word building and sentence building strategies) based on historical documents. It has three parts: the grammatical description, a wordlist and finder list, and a database of 1000 sentences.  MRALC has supported the production of the grammar and expects to publish it in March 2006. Descendents of the speakers of HRLM have a strong attachment to the language, which forms part of their cultural identity.

The Salvage Grammar was instigated and supported by the Singleton-based Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation, demonstrating a strong commitment to the language. The Newcastle based Awarbukarl Cultural Resource Association is committed to Awabakal language revival.

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