Iwaidja and other endangered languages of the Coburg Peninsula

Professor Nicholas Evans, Professor Hans-Juergen Sasse (Universitat zu Koln, Germany)
Volkswagen Foundation Grant

Iwaidja is a seriously endangered Australian language spoken by around 200 people in the Coburg Peninsula, Northern Territory, Australia, and adjoining islands. This project documented Iwaidja in a wide range of settings, paying particular attention to traditional hunting, fishing and gathering ecological custodianship, kinship and geneaology, clans and social structure, knowledge of country and traditional sites, oral history, mythology and traditional song styles. To document traditional knowledge in these areas, relevant specialists worked alongside the core team of linguists and native language consultants.