palawa kani

proper noun

A constructed language created as a composite of the now-extinct Tasmanian Indigenous languages.

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Meanings

palawa kani1

proper noun
  1. human sciencesA constructed language created as a composite of the now-extinct Tasmanian Indigenous languages.

    Capitalization of proper nouns is not a feature of the Tasmanian language palawa kani.

    2013 September 15, Maggie Walter, Chris Andersen, Indigenous Statistics: A Quantitative Research Methodology, Left Coast Press, →ISBN, page 110
    3 more examples

    When Wikimedia legal counsel Michelle Paulson wrote that the palawa kani Wikipedia page would help strengthen and spread the language, Reynolds was angered by what she saw as the foundation’s refusal to accept another worldview that didn't see this as a benefit.

    2014 August 13, Adi Robertson, “Can you own a language?”, in The Verge, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2025

    Kunanyi means ‘mountain’ in palawa kani, a constructed composite of original Tasmanian Aboriginal languages.

    2016, Melanie Ball, Top walks in Australia, Hardie Grant Explore, →ISBN, page 451

    Since the 1990s, Tasmanian Aboriginal people including Theresa Sainty, Jenny Longey and June Sculthorpe have worked to restore language to their community. palawa kani^([sic]) has been built from words and songs passed down Aboriginal families as well as phrases and words recorded in colonial documents. It is a composite language that has been embraced by some, but not all, Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

    2018 July 18, Kristyn Harman, “Explainer: how Tasmania’s Aboriginal people reclaimed a language, palawa kani”, in The Conversation, →DOI

Palawa kani2

proper noun
  1. proscribedAlternative letter-case form of palawa kani.

    The TAC is not keen on non-Aboriginal users appropriating the language. It complained (unsuccessfully) to Wikipedia, protesting against it publishing an entry on Palawa kani. Its claim is that 'policies determining Aboriginal language use are based on the principle of Aboriginal control'.

    2018 March 30, John Hartley, “Creative economy: industry versus language?”, in Abbe E. L. Brown, Charlotte Waelde, editors, Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Creative Industries, Edward Elgar Publishing, →ISBN, page 374

Palawa Kani3

proper noun
  1. proscribedAlternative letter-case form of palawa kani.
Cite this entry
APA

palawa kani. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palawa%20kani

MLA

“palawa kani.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palawa%20kani. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “palawa kani,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palawa%20kani.

Source: palawa kani on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.