Kalaw Lagaw Ya (Kala Lagaw Ya), or the Western Torres Strait Language (several other names, see below), is the language indigenous to all the central and western Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. On some islands it has now largely been replaced by Brokan (Torres Strait Creole English).
Before colonisation in the 1870s–1880s, it was the major lingua franca of the area in both Australia and Papua, and is still widely spoken by neighbouring Papuans and by some Aboriginal people. However many second (or nth) language speakers it has is unknown. It also has a "cut-it-short" (simplified/foreigner) form, as well as a pidginised form. The simplified form is fairly prevalent on Badu (Kala Lagaw Ya territory) and neighbouring Moa, particularly among younger people.
Read more about Kalaw Lagaw Ya: Names, Geographic Distribution, Classification and External Comparison, Pronouns - Linguistic and Historical Comparison, A 'Pre-Historical' Overview of The Language, Outside Influences, Dialects, Dialect Differences, Phonology, Orthography, Nominal Morphology, Verb Morphology, Miscellaneous Paradigms