Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Nicholas Thieberger
The University of Melbourne
November 2001
Australia: State of the Environment Second Technical Paper Series No. 2 (Natural and Cultural Heritage)
Environment Australia, part of the Department of the Environment and Heritage
© Commonwealth of Australia 2001
This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgment of the source and no commercial usage or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those listed above requires the written permission of the Department of the Environment and Heritage. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the State of the Environment Reporting Section, Environment Australia, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601. The Commonwealth accepts no responsibility for the opinions expressed in this document, or the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this document. The Commonwealth will not be liable for any loss or damage occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this document. Environment Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication McConvell, Patrick State of Indigenous Languages in Australia 2001 / by Patrick McConvell, Nicholas Thieberger. (Australia: State of the Environment Second Technical Paper Series (No.1 Natural and Cultural Heritage)) Bibliography ISBN 064 254 8714 1. Aboriginies, Australia-Languages. 2. Torres Strait Islanders-Languages. 3. Language obsolescence. I. Thieberger, Nicholas. II. Australia. Environment Australia. III. Series 499.15-dc21 For bibliographic purposes, this document may be cited as: McConvell, P. and Thieberger N. 2001, State of Indigenous languages in Australia 2001, Australia State of the Environment Second Technical Paper Series (Natural and Cultural Heritage),