Bininj Kunwok, a language of Australia, is only used for oral communication. It is one of 12-15 languages that are still being learnt by children. I have a theory that "small acts of recognition", including efforts by outsiders to learn a language, contribute to local pride and the desire to keep a language strong.
However, Bininj Kunwok is especially hard to learn. For starters, you have to learn to think in verbs, instead of nouns as in English. (Most balanda get as far as substituting Kunwok nouns for English nouns, like manme (food) and daluk (woman), and then get stuck.) More that this, Kunwok is not primarily a written language – there's a writing system but it's not in daily use. Bininj Kunwok is first and foremost a spoken language. One can try to learn it by writing it down, but what would it be like to learn it without going through the written form all the time? I am posting experimental materials at kunwok.org.
However, Bininj Kunwok is especially hard to learn. For starters, you have to learn to think in verbs, instead of nouns as in English. (Most balanda get as far as substituting Kunwok nouns for English nouns, like manme (food) and daluk (woman), and then get stuck.) More that this, Kunwok is not primarily a written language – there's a writing system but it's not in daily use. Bininj Kunwok is first and foremost a spoken language. One can try to learn it by writing it down, but what would it be like to learn it without going through the written form all the time? I am posting experimental materials at kunwok.org.
