Ngaanyatjarra (IPA: [ˈŋɐːn̪ɐt̪ɐrɐ]; also Ngaanyatjara, Ngaanjatjarra) is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Wati languages of the large Pama–Nyungan family. It is one of the dialects of the Western Desert Language and is very similar to its close neighbour Ngaatjatjarra, with which it is highly mutually intelligible.
| Ngaanyatjarra | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Western Australia; Warburton Ranges. |
| Ethnicity | Ngaanyatjarra |
Native speakers | 1,051 (2021 census)[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ntj |
| Glottolog | ngaa1240 |
| AIATSIS[2] | A38 |
| ELP | Ngaanyatjarra |
Most Ngaanyatjarra people live in one of the communities of Warburton, Warakurna, Tjukurla, Papulankutja (Blackstone), Mantamaru (Jameson) or Kaltukatjara (Docker River). Some have moved to Cosmo Newbery and Laverton in the Eastern Goldfields area of Western Australia.
Origin of the name edit
The name Ngaanyatjarra derives from the word ngaanya 'this' which, combined with the comitative suffix -tjarra means 'having ngaanya (as the word for 'this')'. This distinguishes it from its near neighbour Ngaatjatjarra, which has ngaatja for 'this'.
Phonology edit
Orthography is in brackets.
Vowels edit
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i ⟨i⟩ iː ⟨ii⟩ | ʊ ⟨u⟩ uː ⟨uu⟩ |
| Low | a ⟨a⟩ aː ⟨aa⟩ | |
- Before alveolar consonants, the two vowels /i, a/ are pronounced as [ɪ, ɐ].
- Before velar consonants, the three vowels /i, a, ʊ/ are pronounced as [ɪ, ɒ, o].
- Vowel sounds are rhotacized when preceding retroflex consonants.
Consonants edit
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p ⟨p⟩ | k ⟨k⟩ | t̪ ⟨tj⟩ | (c ⟨tj⟩) | t ⟨t⟩ | ʈ ⟨ṯ⟩ |
| Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ | n̪ ⟨ny⟩ | (ɲ ⟨ny⟩) | n ⟨n⟩ | ɳ ⟨ṉ⟩ |
| Lateral | l̪ ⟨ly⟩ | (ʎ ⟨ly⟩) | l ⟨l⟩ | ɭ ⟨ḻ⟩ | ||
| Rhotic | ɾ~r ⟨r⟩ | |||||
| Approximant | w ⟨w⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ | ɻ ⟨ṟ⟩ | |||
- Laminal stop sounds tend to vary, across the dialects of Ngaanyatjarra. In the Western dialects, they are always pronounced as dental, and in the Eastern dialects they are pronounced as palatal. Yet they are still orthographically transcribed the same as palatal sounds, as in the other dialects.
- When occurring after nasal sounds, stop consonants become slightly voiced.
Sample text in Ngaanyatjarra edit
Watilu kurringka watjarru kulkultju kutipitjaku tjutipungka katuma mirrkatju pala tjurra wanti. Nyangka minymali mirrka paarnu tjunu wantirru tjarrpangu wiltjangka kankunarringu. Nyangku tjilku katjarralu pitjangu mirrka mantjirnu katingu ngalungu. Nyangka wataa mungangka pitjangku kurrinku.
Source Copyright https://omniglot.com/writing/ngaanyatjarra.htm
Notes edit
Citations edit
- ^ "SBS Australian Census Explorer". Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ A38 Ngaanyatjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Sources edit
- "2016 Census QuickStats: Laverton - Ngaanyatjarraku - Surrounds". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Glass, Amee; Hackett, Dorothy (1979). Ngaanyatjarra texts. New Revised edition of Pitjantjatjara texts (1969). Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. ISBN 0-391-01683-0.
- Glass, Amee; Hackett, Dorothy (2003). Ngaanyatjarra & Ngaatjatjarra to English Dictionary. Alice Springs: IAD press. ISBN 1-86465-053-2.
- Douglas, W. H. (1964). An introduction to the Western Desert language: a pedagogical description of the Western Desert language, based on the dialect spoken at Warburton Ranges, Western Australia. Sydney: University of Sydney. pp. 10–28.
External links edit
- ELAR archive of Western Desert Special Speech Styles Project