__NOTOC__ The Nauo language, also commonly written Nawu, is an extinct and little-recorded

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 ...

that was spoken by the Nauo people on the southern part of the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. However, work on the reconstruction of the language by the Mobile Language Team at

Adelaide University The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

is proceeding.

Classification

The Nauo language may have been related to the languages of its regional neighbours on the Eyre Peninsula, such as Barngarla or Wirangu.

Alternative names

Apart from Nawu, other variant spellings have been recorded as Nhawu, Nawo, Njao, Gnowoo, Growoo, and variant names include Battara, Hilleri, Kadu, Kartwongulta, and Wiljaru. It has also been treated as a variant of the Wirangu language.

Status

The language was deemed to be extinct

Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. Life Tindale was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1900. His family moved to Tokyo and lived ...

, based on linguistic investigations done to determine Nauo's status in the 1930s, and no speakers have been recorded since 1975. However, Mobile Language Team (MLT) from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

has started work on the reconstruction of the language, based on the 10 words recorded by German missionary C. W. Schürmann, increasing the wordlist to 300 words. MLT is preparing a website for online learning site of the language.

References

External links

* Reproduced from Tindale's ''Aboriginal Tribes of Australia'' (1974). * Includes inventory listings of holdings. Thura-Yura languages Extinct languages of South Australia Languages extinct in the 19th century {{ia-lang-stub