Reviving Tasmanian language, one song at a time
Fanny Cochrane Smith, the last known speaker of a Tasmanian indigenous language, died in 1905. With her went our last living link to the languages of the island state. Where there were originally anywhere between six and twelve languages all we have left are a handful of word lists and some wax cylinder recordings of Fanny singing and talking in both English and what was probably a lingua franca version of one of the local languages. You can listen to one of the recordings here - it’s a haunting experience.
This is the story as I’ve known it since my school days. Even before I started linguistics I was always amazed that such scant records are all we have of these languages, languages that as far as we know are unlike any others.
But I was pleased to learn there is a new chapter in this story, thanks to Superlinguo reader Andrew Tanner who sent us through a link to the music of Dewayne Everettsmith. Dewayne is a singer with roots in the mainland, but his adopted family in Tasmania are descendants of Fanny Cochrane Smith.
Dewayne usually sings in English, but he has also recorded a song in Palawa Kani, a language (re)created from those few fragmentary records. You can watch a video of him singing Milaythina here, which includes lyrics and their translation which is nice.
The Palawa Kani project started just ovee a decade ago, which draws on all of the languages of the area and the broader knowledge of indigenous Australian languages. There are no formal education programs in Palawa Kani, but there is a growing interest in the language, especially among younger indigenous people in Tasmania who want to connect with their heritage.
In this interview with Dewayne it is clear that his heritage is important to him and he has also been part of a Tourism Australia campaign where musicians share their Australia. We’re especially glad he’s been able to not only share his story of the country, but is also able to share it in the echo of languages past.
