Awabakal Gospel of Luke (AWKEUL)

Overview

The Awabakal Gospel of Luke (Upatoara Luka-umba) is a translation of the Gospel of Luke into the Awabakal language, one of the earliest Bible translations into an Australian Aboriginal language. [1] The translation was the work of Reverend Lancelot Edward Threlkeld (1788-1859), a missionary of the London Missionary Society who studied the Awabakal language from 1825 until his death. [1][2] Threlkeld was taught the language by Biraban ("eagle hawk"), an Awabakal leader from the Lake Macquarie and Hunter River region of New South Wales. [1] Threlkeld began translating Luke around March 1829 and completed the first version by September 1830, with a final revision finished by the end of 1836. [2] The translation remained unpublished during Threlkeld's lifetime. In 1892, ethnologist John Fraser edited and republished Threlkeld's collected linguistic works, including the Luke gospel, under the title An Australian Language as spoken by the Awabakal, the people of Awaba or Lake Macquarie, printed by Charles Potter, Government Printer, Sydney. [2][3]

Language and People

Awabakal (ISO 639-3: awk) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken around the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region of New South Wales, Australia. [Glottolog: awab1243]

References