Kala Lagaw Ya is a mixed language with a Pama-Nyungan base and Papuan and Austronesian overlays spoken by about 1,200 people on the Western and Central Torres Strait Islands between Papua New Guinea and the mainland of Australian. It is one of the few Australian languages with the sounds /s/ and /z/, and voiced-voiceless distinctions.

Are you a hyperpolyglot? Kala Lagaw Ya is supported by our fonts, but unfortunately we don't have our sample text translated yet into Kala Lagaw Ya. If you can help us out by making a translation of these few lines of text, you rock!

Don’t be a cuckoo if you’re a nightingale.
Don’t be a nightingale or a flycatcher, if you’re a dog.
But anyone can make sound.
We are Underware.