Thawa language

{{Short description|Endangered Pama–Nyungan language of Australia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{use Australian English|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Thawa

| altname =

| region = New South Wales

| ethnicity = Thawa

| familycolor = Australian

| fam1 = Pama–Nyungan

| fam2 = Yuin–Kuric

| fam3 = Yuin

| fam4 = Tharawal

| fam5 = Southern Coastal Yuin?

| iso3 = xtv

| glotto = none

| glotto2 = sout2771

| glottoname2 = included in Southern Coastal Yuin

| glottorefname2 = Southern Coastal Yuin

| aiatsis = S52

| speakers = very few

| states = Australia

| revived = 2015

}}

Thawa{{refn|group=note|name=first|Sometimes spelt Thaua, Dhawa, Thauaira, and other variations.}} is a nearly extinct Australian Aboriginal language of New South Wales with only very few speakers including certain local elders. It is sometimes classified with Dyirringany as a dialect of Southern Coastal Yuin, though it is not clear how close the two varieties actually were.

In 2015 local Yuin people collaborated with the Tathra Public School in Tathra to create a new app as a teaching aid for both Thawa and the Dhurga language, using old audio recordings of elders as well as documentation created by early explorers and settlers in the region. One of the major contributors to the project, Graham Moore, has also written an Aboriginal language book.{{cite web | last=Brown | first=Bill | title=Yuin elders develop 'message stick' app to teach almost-lost Aboriginal language | website=ABC News| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=16 October 2015 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-16/aboriginal-language-app-preserves-language/6834724 | access-date=21 June 2021}}