Ngaanyatjarra dialect

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.

Not to be confused with Nyanganyatjara dialect.

Ngaanyatjarra
Native toAustralia
RegionWestern Australia; Warburton Ranges.
EthnicityNgaanyatjarra
Native speakers
1,091 (2016 census)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3ntj
Glottologngaa1240
AIATSIS[2]A38
ELPNgaanyatjarra[3]

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

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

Vowels
Front Central Back
High i [i] ii [iː] u [ʊ] uu [uː]
Low a [a] aa [aː]
  • Before alveolar consonants, the three vowels /i, a, u/ are pronounced as [ɪ, ɐ, ʊ].
  • Before velar consonants, the three vowels /i, a, u/ are pronounced as [ɪ, ɒ, o].
  • Vowel sounds are rhoticized when preceding retroflex consonants.

    Consonants
    Peripheral Laminal Apical
    Labial Velar Dental/
    Palatal    		 Alveolar Retroflex
    Stop p [p] k [k] tj [t̪] t [t] ṯ [ʈ]
    Nasal m [m] ng [ŋ] ny [n̪] n [n] ṉ [ɳ]
    Lateral ly [l̪] l [l] ḻ [ɭ]
    Rhotic r [ɾ~r]
    Approximant w [w] y [j] ṟ [ɻ]
    • Laminal stop sounds are different in the Ngaanyatjarra dialect, in that they are not palatal, but dental, yet they are still orthographically transcribed the same as the other dialects.
    • When occurring after nasal sounds, stop consonants become slightly voiced.

    Notes

      Citations
      1. ABoS 2016.
      2. A38 Ngaanyatjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
      3. Endangered Languages Project data for Ngaanyatjarra.

      Sources
      • "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.
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