Jim Wafer

New South Wales was the first part of Australia to be colonised, so the written records of the state's Indigenous languages go back more than 200 years.

The handbook is a guide to Aboriginal languages, with illustrative vocabularies. It is divided into two parts: the first part, which includes maps, is a survey of the Indigenous languages of NSW and the ACT, giving information about dialects, locations, and resources available for language revitalisation; the second part provides word-lists in practical spelling for 42 distinct language varieties. There is also useful information on contact languages, sign languages and kinship classification, as well as an appendix on placenames.

The handbook is a valuable reference and educational resource, useful to Aboriginal people who want to revitalise their language.… (mais)