Walmajarri language
| Walmajarri | |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Australia |
| Ethnicity | Walmadjari |
Native speakers | 291 (2021 census)[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wmt |
| Glottolog | walm1241 |
| AIATSIS[2] | A66 |
| ELP | Walmajarri |
| Djuwarliny[3] | |
Walmajarri (many other names; see below) is a Pama–Nyungan language spoken in the Kimberley region of Western Australia by the Walmadjari and related peoples.
Walmajarri is declared a definitely endangered language by UNESCO[4] based on their scale of Language Vitality and Endangerment.[5]
Names
[edit]Names for this language break down along the three dialects:
- Walmajarri, Walmatjarri, Walmatjari, Walmadjari, Walmatjiri, Walmajiri, Walmatjeri, Walmadjeri, Walmadyeri, Walmaharri, Wolmeri, Wolmera, Wulmari
- Bililuna, Pililuna
- Jiwarliny, Juwaliny, Tjiwaling, Tjiwarlin
Speakers
[edit]Communities with a Walmajarri population are:
- Bayulu
- Djugerari (Cherrabun)
- Junjuwa (Fitzroy Crossing)
- Looma
- Kadjina (Millijidee)
- Mindibungu (Bililuna)
- Mindi Rardi (Fitzroy Crossing)
- Mulan
- Ngumpan
- Wangkajungka (Christmas Creek)
- Yakanarra
- Yungngora
The Walmajarri people used to live in the Great Sandy Desert. The effects of colonialism took them to the cattle stations, towns and missions in the North and scattered them over a wide area.[6] The geographical distance accounts for the fact that there are several dialects, which have been further polarised by the lack of contact and further influenced by neighbouring languages.
Phonology
[edit]Vowels
[edit]| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː |
| Low | a aː | |
Consonants
[edit]| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p | k | c | t | ʈ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n | ɳ |
| Lateral | ʎ | l | ɭ | ||
| Rhotic | r | ||||
| Approximant | w | j | ɻ | ||
Consonants are allowed as the final sound of a word in most cases.[7]
Morphology
[edit]Warlmajarri is a suffixing language. There are no prefixes.
At least one dictionary of Walmajarri is available online, compiled by Eirlys Richards and Joyce Hudson.[8]
Syntax
[edit]Warlmajarri has four syntactic cases: nominative, ergative, dative and assessory case. The cases assign different meanings to the noun phrases of a sentence. Therefore, the word order can vary quite freely. Subject, Object or Verb can appear initial, final, medial in sentence.
However, the second position of a sentence is always reserved for the Verbal Auxiliary. Sometimes referred to as a Catalyst, the Verbal Auxiliary indicates the mood of a sentence (similar to the English auxiliaries), but also cross-references its noun phrases. The person and number of the noun phrases in their syntactic cases are shown in the Verbal Auxiliary.
Vocabulary
[edit]Below is a basic vocabulary list from Blake (1981).[9]
English Walmatjari man piyirn woman marnin mother ngamatyi father ngarpu head tyurlu eye mil nose punul ear pina mouth lirra tongue tyalany tooth katiti hand kurrapa breast ngamarna stomach munta urine kumpu faeces kura thigh kantyi foot tyina bone kampukampu blood nungu dog kunyarr snake tyilpirtityarti kangaroo marlu possum tyampiyirnti fish kapi spider purlkartu mosquito kiwiny emu karnangantya eaglehawk wamulu crow waangkarna sun purangu moon yakarn star wirl stone pamarr water ngapa camp ngurra fire warlu smoke nguntyurr food miyi meat kuyi stand karri sit kirrantya see nyaka go yanta get warnta hit, kill pungka I ngatyu you nyuntu one layi two kurriny
Resources
[edit]Some resources of the language spoken can be found in various archives or databases, such as the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC) catalogue.[10]
See also
[edit]- Ngurrara, a grouping of peoples of language groups including Walmajarri
References
[edit]- ^ "SBS Australian Census Explorer". Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ A66 Walmajarri at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ Endangered Languages Project data for Djuwarliny.
- ^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger". UNESCO. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- ^ UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages. 2003. "Language Vitality and Endangerment". Document Adopted by the International Expert Meeting on UNESCO Programme Safeguarding of Endangered Languages. Paris: UNESCO.
- ^ McGregor, William B. (2004). The Languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia. Routledge. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9780203434710.
- ^ McGregor, William B. (2004). The Languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia. Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 9780203434710.
- ^ "Walmajarri-English Interactive Dictionary". Australian Society for Indigenous Languages. 2012. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ Blake, Barry J. (1981). Australian Aboriginal languages: a general introduction. London: Angus & Robertson Publishers. ISBN 0-207-14044-8.
- ^ nickT. "Home". PARADISEC. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
Bibliography
[edit]- Hudson, Joyce. (1978). The Walmatjari: An Introduction to the Language and Culture. Darwin: Summer Institute of Linguistics
- Hudson, Joyce. (1978). The core of Walmatjari grammar. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. New Jersey, U.S.A.: Humanities Press Inc.
- Hudson, Joyce & Richards, Eirlys. (1969). The phonology of Walmatjari.
- Hudson, Joyce & Richards, Eirlys. (1990). Walmajarri–English Dictionary. Darwin: Summer Institute of Linguistics