Port Sorell language explained

Port Sorell
Also Known As:Port Sorell Tasmanian
Region:North-central coast of Tasmania
Ethnicity:Northern tribe of Tasmanians
Extinct:19th century
Familycolor:australian
Fam1:Northern - Western Tasmanian?
Fam2:Northern Tasmanian
Iso3:xpl
Aiatsis:T13
Glotto:none
Glotto2:port1278
Glottoname2:included
Glottorefname2:Port Sorell

Port Sorell is an extinct aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern.[1] It was spoken near Port Sorell, in the center of the north coast, just east of Northern Tasmanian proper. Dixon & Crowley agree that there is unlikely to be a close connection to other varieties of Tasmanian.[2]

Port Sorell Tasmanian is attested from two word lists: One of 268 words collected by Charles Robinson at Port Sorell, and another of only 77 words, the "Little Jemmie’s" vocabulary collected by George Augustus Robinson.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Claire Bowern, September 2012, "The riddle of Tasmanian languages", Proc. R. Soc. B, 279, 4590 - 4595, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1842
  2. Book: Crowley, T . Dixon, R. M. W. . 1981 . Tasmanian . Dixon, R. M. W. . Blake, B. J. . Handbook of Australian languages . Vol 2 . 394 - 421 . Canberra . Australian National University Press.
  3. Bowern (2012), supplement