Rob Amery, ‘Warrabarna Kaurna!’ Reclaiming an Australian language. (Multilingualism and Linguistic Diversity 1). Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger, 2000. Pp. xx, 289. Hb $63.00.

Abstract

Many linguists believe that the revitalization of moribund languages, where there may only be a handful of elderly fluent speakers left, is a noble – if perhaps nearly impossible – ideal for native communities involved in such work. Even more challenging is the reintroduction of a long-dead language such as the South Australian language Kaurna (pronounced [ga:na]), spoken on the Adelaide plains until the last native speaker, Ivaritji (a.k.a. Amelia Taylor), died in 1929. Rob Amery challenges the standards by which language revitalization programs are judged as successful, while giving us a step-by-step method for the reintroduction and revalorization of an extinct native tongue, which he calls the Formulaic Method. This detailed case study of what is, after all, just the beginning stages of Kaurna language revival will be of interest not just to linguists involved in the field, but especially to community members and other nonspecialists who are somehow connected with lesser-used languages and language revival efforts. Amery's work is also an important contribution to the emerging field of ecological linguistics and its application to language planning.