Western Desert language
The Western Desert language, or Wati, is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages in the Pama–Nyungan family.
The name Wati tends to be used when considering the various varieties to be distinct languages, Western Desert when considering them dialects of a single language, or Wati as Warnman plus the Western Desert cluster.
Location and list of communities
The speakers of the various dialects of the Western Desert Language traditionally lived across much of the desert areas of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Most Western Desert people live in communities on or close to their traditional lands, although some now live in one of the towns fringing the desert area such as Kalgoorlie, Laverton, Alice Springs, Port Augusta, Meekatharra, Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing.
The following is a partial list of Western Desert communities:
- Kintore, Northern Territory
- Docker River, Northern Territory
- Ernabella, South Australia
- Amata, South Australia
- Fregon, South Australia
- Pipalyatjara, South Australia
- Kalka, South Australia
- Warburton, Western Australia
- Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia
- Balgo, Western Australia
- Aputula, Northern Territory (also known as Finke)
- Imanpa, Northern Territory (also known as Mount Ebenezer)
- Mutitjulu, Northern Territory
- Jigalong, Western Australia
Dialect continuum
The Western Desert Language consists of a network of closely related dialects; the names of some of these have become quite well known (such as Pitjantjatjara) and they are often referred to as "languages".[3] As the whole group of dialects that constitutes the language does not have its own name it is usually referred to as the Western Desert Language. WDL speakers referring to the overall language use various terms including wangka ("language") or wangka yuti ("clear speech"). For native speakers, the language is mutually intelligible across its entire range.
Dialects
Following are some of the named varieties of the Western Desert Language.
| Language/dialect | People | Notes | AIATSIS Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antakarinya dialect | Antakarinya people | C5: Antikirinya[4] | |
| Kartujarra dialect | Kartujarra people | A51: Kartujarra[5] | |
| Kokatha dialect | Kokatha people | C3: Kokatha[6] | |
| Two dialects of the Western Desert language have been named 'Kukatja'; Kukatja (A68) and Kukatja (C7) | Kukatja (A68) and Kukatja (C7) | A68 is in the north of Western Australia near Lake Gregory, and C7 is west of Haasts Bluff in central Australia.[7][8] A68 is one of the dialects that make up Martu Wangka at Jigalong.[9]: iii C7 call themselves 'Luritja' now.[7] |
A68: Kukatja & C7: Kukatja[7][8] |
| Kuwarra dialect | Kuwarra people | There is little information regarding the language but the people are well attested.[10][11] | A16: Kuwarra[12] |
| Luritja dialect | Luritja people | The Kukatja (C7) call themselves 'Luritja' now.[7] Pintupi and Luritja are two similar but overlapping dialects.[13][14] |
A7.1: Luritja[13] |
| Manyjilyjarra dialect | Manyjilyjarra people | One of the dialects that make up Martu Wangka at Jigalong.[9]: iii | A51.1: Manyjilyjarra[15] |
| Mantjintjarra dialect | Mantjintjarra people | A33: Mantjintjarra[16] | |
| Martu Wangka dialect | Martu people | Martu Wangka refers to either a dialect found at and around Jigalong, Western Australia[9]: iii [17] or many different dialect groups in the Gibson, Little Sandy and Great Sandy deserts.[17] | A86: Martu Wangka[17] |
| Nakako dialect | Nakako people | Little is known of the people and their language[18] | A32: Nakako[19] |
| Ngaanyatjarra dialect | Ngaanyatjarra people | A38:Ngaanyatjarra[20] | |
| Ngaatjatjarra dialect | Ngaatjatjarra people | A43: Ngaatjatjarra[21] | |
| Ngalia dialect | Ngalia people | C2: Ngalia[22] | |
| Pindiini/Wangkatha/Wangkatja dialect | Pindiini/Wangkatha/Wangkatja people | These three dialects & people have been hardly distinguished.[23][24][25] | A102: Pindiini, A12: Wangkatha & A103: Wangkatja[23][24][25] |
| Pintupi dialect | Pintupi people | Pintupi and Luritja are two similar but overlapping dialects.[13][14] | C10: Pintupi[14] |
| Pitjantjatjara dialect | Pitjantjatjara people | C6: Pitjantjatjara[26] | |
| Putijarra dialect | Putijarra people | One of the dialects which make up Martu Wangka at Jigalong[9]: iii | A54: Putijarra[27] |
| Tjupan dialect | Tjupan people | A31: Tjupan[28] | |
| Wangkajunga dialect | Wangkajunga people | A87: Wangkajunga[29] | |
| Yankunytjatjara dialect | Yankunytjatjara people | C4: Yankunytjatjara[30] | |
| Yulparija dialect | Yulparija people | A67: Yulparija[31] |
Language
Status
The Western Desert Language has thousands of speakers, making it one of the strongest indigenous Australian languages. The language is still being transmitted to children and has substantial amounts of literature, particularly in the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara dialects in South Australia where there was formerly a long-running bilingual program.[citation needed]
Phonology
In the following tables of the WDL sound system, symbols in ⟨angle brackets⟩ give a typical practical orthography used by many WDL communities. Further details of orthographies in use in different areas are given below. Phonetic values in IPA are shown in [square brackets].[citation needed]
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i ⟨i⟩ iː ⟨ii⟩ | u ⟨u⟩ uː ⟨uu⟩ |
| Open | a ⟨a⟩ aː ⟨aa⟩ | |
The Western Desert Language has the common (for Australia) three-vowel system with a length distinction creating a total of six possible vowels.[citation needed]
Consonants
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p ⟨p⟩ | k ⟨k⟩ | c ⟨tj⟩ | t ⟨t⟩ | ʈ ⟨rt⟩ |
| Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ | ɲ ⟨ny⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | ɳ ⟨rn⟩ |
| Trill | r ⟨rr⟩ | ||||
| Lateral | ʎ ⟨ly⟩ | l ⟨l⟩ | ɭ ⟨rl⟩ | ||
| Approximant | w ⟨w⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ | ɻ ⟨r⟩ | ||
As shown in the chart, the WDL distinguishes five positions of articulation, and has oral and nasal occlusives at each position. The stops have no phonemic voice distinction but display voiced and unvoiced allophones; stops are usually unvoiced at the beginning of a word, and voiced elsewhere. In both positions, they are usually unaspirated. There are no fricative consonants.[citation needed]
Orthography
While the dialects of the WDL have very similar phonologies there are several different orthographies in use, resulting from the preferences of the different early researchers as well as the fact that the WDL region extends into three states (Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory), with each having its own history of language research and educational policy.[citation needed]
Sign language
Most of the peoples of central Australia have (or at one point had) signed forms of their languages. Among the Western Desert peoples, sign language has been reported specifically for Kardutjara and Yurira Watjalku,[32] Ngaatjatjarra (Ngada),[33] and Manjiljarra. Signed Kardutjara and Yurira Watjalku are known to have been well-developed, though it is not clear from records that signed Ngada and Manjiljarra were.[34]
References
- ^ a b A80 Western Desert at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ Endangered Languages Project data for Pintiini.
- ^ "Pitjantjatjara language, alphabet and pronunciation". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
- ^ C5 Antakarinya at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A51 Kartujarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ C3 Kokatha at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b c d C7 Kukatja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b A68 Kukatja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b c d Burgman, Albert; Marsh, James; Hansen, Ken; Booth, Joshua (2005). Martu Wangka Dictionary and Topical Finderlist 2005 Draft. South Hedland, Western Australia: WANGKA MAYA Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre. ISBN 1875946152.
- ^ "Kuwarra". Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ Liberman, Kenneth (1980). "The Decline of the Kuwarra People of Australia's Western Desert: A Case Study of Legally Secured Domination". Ethnohistory. 27 (2): 119–133. doi:10.2307/481223. ISSN 0014-1801. JSTOR 481223. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ A16 Kuwarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b c C7.1 Luritja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b c C10 Pintupi at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A51.1 Manyjilyjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A33 Mantjintjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b c A86 Martu Wangka at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ "Nakako". Mobile Language Team. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ A32 Nakako at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A38 Ngaanyatjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A43 Ngaatjatjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ C2 Ngalia at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b A102 Pindiini at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b A12 Wangkatha at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b A103 Wangkatja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ C6 Pitjantjatjara at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A54 Putijarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A31 Tjupan at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A87 Wangkajunga at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ C4 Yankunytjatjara at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ A67 Yulparija at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ Miller, Wick R. (1978). A report on the sign language of the Western Desert (Australia). Reprinted in Aboriginal sign languages of the Americas and Australia. New York: Plenum Press, 1978, vol. 2, pp. 435–440.
- ^ C.P. Mountford (1938) "Gesture language of the Ngada tribe of the Warburton Ranges, Western Australia", Oceania 9: 152–155. Reprinted in Aboriginal sign languages of the Americas and Australia. New York: Plenum Press, 1978, vol. 2, pp. 393–396.
- ^ Kendon, A. (1988) Sign Languages of Aboriginal Australia: Cultural, Semiotic and Communicative Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Goddard, C. 1985. A Grammar of Yankunytjatjara. Alice Springs: IAD.
- Rose, David (2001), The Western Desert Code: an Australian cryptogrammar, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, ISBN 085883-437-5