Northwestern Tasmanian, or Peerapper (also Peewrapper or "Pirapa"), is an Aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern. It was spoken along the west coast of the island, from Macquarie Harbour north to Circular Head and Robbins Island.
Northwestern Tasmanian is poorly attested from four word lists: The "west coast" vocabularies of Charles Robinson and George Augustus Robinson, with 246 words combined; the Robbins Island list of George Augustus Robinson, with 162 words;Robinson, George Augustus. Robinson papers A7085. Manuscripts held at the Mitchell Library, Sydney. and the Macquarie Harbour vocabularies of Allan Cunningham (222 words), collected on 25 January 1819Cunningham, Allan. Manuscript journal for 25 January 1819. Mitchell Library, ML.A1744. and later republished by Phillip Parker King in 1826.King, Phillip Parker. 1826. Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia. London.Bowern (2012), supplement
The list collected by George Augustus Robinson at West Point ("Western Tribes") is divergent, and is classified as a separate language by Bowern. However, it includes only 28 words, so little can be definitively said.
References