Northwestern Tasmanian, or Peerapper ("Pirapa"), is an Aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern.[2] It was spoken along the west coast of the island, from Macquarie Harbour north to Circular Head and Robbins Island.
| Peerapper | |
|---|---|
| Northwestern Tasmanian | |
| Region | North-western coast of Tasmania |
| Ethnicity | Northwestern tribe of Tasmanians |
| Extinct | 19th century |
Northern–Western Tasmanian?
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xpw |
| Glottolog | Nonewest2205 included |
| AIATSIS[1] | T3 North-western (Tasmania), T6 Macquarie Harbour, T11 Robbins Island, T12 Circular Head |
Northwestern Tasmanian is poorly attested from four word lists: The "west coast" vocabularies of Charles Robinson and George Augustus Robinson, with 246 words combined; the Robbins Island list of George Augustus Robinson, with 162 words; and the Macquarie Harbour vocabularies of Allan Cunningham (222 words), collected in 1819.[3]
The list collected by George Augustus Robinson at West Point ("Western Tribes") is divergent, and falls out as a separate language in Bowern. However, it includes only 28 words, so little can be definitively said.