Thawa is a nearly extinct

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

with only very few speakers including certain local elders. It is sometimes classified with Dyirringany as a dialect of

Southern Coastal Yuin Tharawal, also spelt Thurawal and Dharawal, is a small family of extinct Australian Aboriginal languages once spoken along the South Coast of New South Wales. Number of languages in the group According to Bob Dixon (2002), four Tharawal l ...

, though it is not clear how close the two varieties actually were. In 2015 local Yuin people collaborated with the Tathra Public School in Tathra to create a new

app App, Apps or APP may refer to: Computing * Application software * Mobile app, software designed to run on smartphones and other mobile devices * Web application or web app, software designed to run inside a web browser * Adjusted Peak Performan ...

as a teaching aid for both Thawa and the

Dhurga language The Dhurga language, also written Thurga, is an Australian Aboriginal language of New South Wales. It is a language of the Yuin people, specifically the Wandandian and Walbunja groups, but there have been no fluent speakers officially record ...

, using old

audio recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...

s of elders as well as documentation created by early explorers and settlers in the region. One of the major contributors to the project, Graham Moore, has also written an Aboriginal language book.

Notes

References

Tharawal languages Extinct languages of New South Wales {{ia-lang-stub