Palawa Kani: The Tasmanian Language that Never Was

Palawa kani is a Tasmanian language, but not a single ethnic Tasmanian ever spoke it. In fact, it didn't exist at all until 1999, when a group of language experts decided to combine at least 12 distinct tongues once spoken across the island. These languages went extinct along with the cultures and people who spoke them; the last native speaker of any indigenous Tasmanian language died in 1905. All that remained were collections of words and sentences written down by European visitors, and the 1903 wax cylinder recordings of aboriginal songs by Fanny Cochrane Smith, who claimed to be the last pure-blooded Tasmanian. The recording is the only spoken record of a native Tasmanian language in existence.
For decades Tasmanian languages were thought lost forever, until the mid-nineties when a group of linguists, inspired perhaps by the native Tasmanian cultural renaissance, decided to construct a language out of the fragments and snippets of Tasmanian that had survived. Words, phrases, and grammar structures were compiled from the Smith's recording, from the journals and log books of George Augustus Robinson, the d'Entrecasteaux Expedition of 1793, and Brian Plomley, and from words which had seeped into usage in the greater community of longtime Tasmanian residents. The language is currently community based and not taught in schools, but it is increasingly popular with young people and found on signs in National Parks, among other places. Mount Wellington's Palawa Kani name, Kunanyi, is increasingly used, and the Asbestos Range National Park has been officially renamed Narawntapu National Park. Maybe we'll get to learn a few words while we're there!

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palawa_kani
http://aso.gov.au/titles/music/fanny-cochrane-smith-songs/clip1/ (Fanny Cochrane Smith recording! A bit scratchy but it's over 100 years old!)
Photo credit: Alexandra Gillespie https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexandragillespie/2200043915/in/set-72157603735080125