Tiwi Bible (TIWEBL)

Overview

The Tiwi Bible contains the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in modern Tiwi, an Aboriginal language isolate spoken on the Tiwi Islands (Bathurst and Melville Islands) off the northern coast of Australia's Northern Territory. [1] The translation was carried out by members of the Australian Society for Indigenous Languages (AuSIL) in consultation with Tiwi people, and published by Bible Society Australia. [2] The electronic version reflects the lectionary text from the 2000 edition of Ngirramini Ngini Ngawa-yuwuni. [2] Tiwi is one of the few Australian Aboriginal languages still being acquired by children, with approximately 2,500 speakers across eight dialects, and is classified as "vulnerable" by UNESCO. [1][3]

Language and People

Tiwi (ISO 639-3: tiw) is a language isolate spoken by approximately 2,500 people on the Tiwi Islands, about 48 kilometres north of Darwin. [1] The language exists in two forms: traditional polysynthetic Tiwi spoken by older generations and a modern isolating form used by younger speakers. [2] The Mantiyupi dialect, spoken on both Bathurst and Melville Islands, has the greatest number of speakers and is the most documented variety. [1]

References