Narrinyeri Scripture Portions (NAYTJY)

Overview

The Narrinyeri Scripture Portions, titled Tungarar Jehovald, were published in 1864 by the South Australian Auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, making them the first Scripture officially published in an Australian Aboriginal language. [1] The translation was produced by Rev. George Taplin (1831-1879), a Congregationalist missionary from Kingston-upon-Thames, England, who established the mission settlement at Point McLeay (Raukkan) on the shores of Lake Alexandrina in 1859. [2] The portions include selections from Genesis 1-4, Exodus 19-20, Matthew 5-7, and John 3, 18-21, along with the Lord's Prayer. [1] The work was reprinted in 1926 and 1986 by the Bible Society in Australia, and a 2009 edition presented both the Ngarrindjeri text and the Contemporary English Version side by side. [1]

Translation History

George Taplin arrived in Adelaide in 1849 and was appointed as the first missionary-teacher of the Aborigines Friends Association in 1859. [2] He began his mission work with the Ngarrindjeri confederacy on 4 April 1860, establishing a settlement on a traditional camping ground called Raukkan ("The Ancient Way"). [2] Taplin learned the Ngarrindjeri language, used it in preaching, and translated and published Bible tracts. [2] Earlier preliminary linguistic work on the language had been done by Heinrich Meye, an Encounter Bay missionary, during the 1840s. [1] Taplin was ordained in 1868 and continued his work until his death from heart disease at Raukkan on 24 June 1879, at age 47. [2] He also made significant contributions to the documentation of Ngarrindjeri culture, publishing The Narrinyeri (1874, enlarged 1878) and The Folklore, Manners, Customs, and Languages of the South Australian Aborigines (1879). [2]

Language and People

Ngarrindjeri (ISO 639-3: nay) is an Australian Aboriginal language historically spoken by the Ngarrindjeri people of the Murray River, Lower Lakes, and Coorong region of South Australia. [Glottolog: narr1259]

The 2016 Australian Census recorded approximately 312 Ngarrindjeri speakers. [1] The language is critically endangered, though revitalization efforts are ongoing in the community.

References