Kaurna

Kaurna is the language of the city of Adelaide and the surrounding Adelaide Plains. Kaurna territory extends from Crystal Brook and Clare in the north, to Cape Jervis in the south on the tip of Fleurieu Peninsula. It is bounded by Gulf St Vincent to the west and the Mt Lofty Ranges to the east.  Kaurna lies west of the Peramangk language, and south of the closely related languages Nukunu and Ngadjuri.

AIATSIS id : L.03

Read More

Variations

Adelaide tribe, Coorna, Gaurna, Jaitjawar:a ('our own language'), Karnuwarra ('hills language,' a northern dialect, presumably that of Port Wakefield), Kaura (misprint for Kaurna), Kaurna (used by AIATSIS), Koornawarra, Kurumidlanta (Pangkala/Barngala term, literally 'evil spirits'), Medaindi (group living near Glenelg), Medain-die, Meljurna ('quarrelsome men,' said of northern groups of Kaurna), Merelde (Ramindjeri term applied most frequently to the Peramangk but also to the Kaurna), Merildekald (Tanganekald term also loosely given to Peramangk), Meyu, Meju (Kaurna for 'man'), Meyurna, Midlanta (another name given by Pangkala), Milipitingara, Nanduwara, Nantuwara ('Kangaroo speakers,' name given to northern groups), Nantuwaru, Nganawara, Padnaindi (group name), Padnayndie, Taralye meyunna, Wakanuwan (name applied by Jarildekald to this and some other tribes, including Ngaiawang), Warra (means 'speech', a name for language), Warrah, Widninga (Ngadjuri term applied to Kaurna of Port Wakefield and Buckland Park), Winaini (group north of Gawler), Winnay-nie, Winnaynie.

  • Learner’s guide

    Coming Soon: Kuluru Marni Nganaitya! Sounds Good to Me! Kaurna Learner's Guide is in the final stages of editing for publication. Keep an eye out for it.

  • New Kaurna Spelling System

    During 2010 and 2011 the Kaurna community has been introducing a new spelling system for writing their language. Previously Kaurna had been written with the spellings used by Teichelmann & Schürmann,…

Marni naa pudni!

Kaurna language program at the Kaurna Plains School

Kaurna is taught to all students at the Kaurna Plains School from R-10. Classes are taught by Jack Buckskin or Kevin Duigan. The language is also used in other parts of the curriculum,…

Kaurna Learners' Guide

The purpose of the Kaurna Learners' Guide project is to develop a user friendly book and CD of phrases and expressions, incorporating the traditional grammar, to help learners of the…

Kaurna Placenames Website

This Placenames Website project involved collaboration between Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi and five local councils to research and document Kaurna placenames in the southern part of Kaurna…

Indigenous Languages Postcard Initiative

This Indigenous Languages Postcard project aimed to produce a series of 24 Indigenous Language Postcards to raise public awareness of Indigenous Languages in SA.

Kaurna Funeral Protocols

In 2006-2007 a Funeral Protocols book and CD were developed for use in planning and conducting funerals in the Kaurna Community.

Kaurna Warra Ngaiera Wingkurilla (Kaurna language on the airwaves)

In 20010-2011 the Kaurna on the Airways project is being undertaken to produce a set of radio shows in and about the Kaurna language, to be broadcast and available for download.

Kaurna Dictionary project

The 2011 - 2012 grant is underway to produce the first comprehensive electronic and printed dictionary, with a finder list, for the Kaurna language. Funding is from the federal governments'…

Language Contact

Kaurna Warra Pintyandi
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/kwp/
c/- Dr. Rob Amery
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone 08 83033924
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Adelaide

Contact Form Tell us your story

Activity

Kaurna language program at the Kaurna Plains School

The Kaurna language is taught to all students at the Kaurna Plains School from R-10. Classes are taught by Jack Buckskin or Kevin Duigan. The language is also used in other parts of the curriculum, particularly music and dance.

Kaurna Learners' Guide

The purpose of the Kaurna Learners' Guide project is to develop a user friendly book and CD of phrases and expressions to help learners of the Kaurna language. It is based on existing less accessible 19th century information. Draft versions have been trialled in school and community conditions.

The project was funded by DEWHA’s Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records (MILR) program and Cultural Strategic Initiatives fund in 2009-2011

Kaurna Placenames Website

This Kaurna Placenames Website project involved collaboration between Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi and five local councils to research and document Kaurna placenames in the southern part of Kaurna country. The resulting information is presented in an interactive website:
www.kaurna placenames.com

The project was funded by DEWHA’s Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records (MILR) program and Cultural Strategic Initiatives fund.

Indigenous Languages Postcard Initiative

This Indigenous Languages Postcard project aimed to produce a series of 24 Indigenous language postcards in different languages of SA. A series of 6 Kaurna postcards were developed, featuring local animals and plants and some Kaurna language. The purpose of the project was to raise public awareness of Indigenous Languages in SA.

The project was funded by DEWHA’s Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records (MILR) program and Cultural Strategic Initiatives fund.

Kaurna Funeral Protocols

The Kaurna Funeral Protocols project in 2006-2007 resulted in a book and CD being developed for use in planning and conducting funerals in the Kaurna community.

The project was funded by DEWHA’s Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records (MILR) program and Cultural Strategic Initiatives fund.

Kaurna Warra Ngaiera Wingkurilla (Kaurna language on the airwaves)

The purpose of the Kaurna Warra Ngaiera Wingkurilla project is to produce radio shows in and about reviving the Kaurna language of the Adelaide Plains. The aim is to develop a script, and produce two one-hour pre-recorded radio shows in and about the Kaurna language for broadcast on Radio Adelaide. It also aims to train two young Kaurna language enthusiasts in basic radio skills, and to involve Kaurna Elders, young adult language learners and other community members in preparation and recording of the shows. The shows will be stored as podcasts for language teaching / learning purposes, and written support materials will also be prepared.

The project was funded by DEWHA’s Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records (MILR) program and Cultural Strategic Initiatives fund.

Kaurna Dictionary project

The 2011 - 2012 Kaurna Dictionary project is underway to produce the first comprehensive electronic and printed dictionary for the Kaurna language, with an English finder list.

Funding is from the federal governments' Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records program.

DISCLAIMER:

The locations of the languages of SA, as stated on the this website, are based on the 1994 AIATSIS published Horton map. They are not intended for Land Claim use, and are an approximate guide only. Individual language project locations are based on information from publicly available MILR (ILS) documents.