Wardaman language

Wardaman is an Australian Aboriginal language isolate. It is one of the northern non-Pama–Nyungan languages. Dagoman and Yangman (both extinct) were either dialects or closely related languages; as a family, these are called Yangmanic.

Wardaman
Yangmanic
Native toAustralia
RegionNorthern Territory
EthnicityWardaman, Dagoman, Yangman
Native speakers
50 (2016 census)[1]
Yangmanic or language isolate[2]
Dialects
  • Wardaman
  • Dagoman
  • Yangman[3]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
wrr – Wardaman
dgn – Dagoman
jng – Yangman
Glottologyang1287
AIATSIS[4]N35 Wardaman, N38 Dagoman, N68 Yangman
ELPWardaman[5]
Yangmanic languages (purple), among other non-Pama-Nyungan languages (grey)

Classification

Though previously classified as Gunwinyguan, the Yangmanic languages have not been demonstrated to be related to other languages.[2]

The isolate Wagiman shares a very similar morphosyntactic profile with the Yangmanic languages, although they share very low cognacy rates (about 10% according to Stephen Wilson[6]). Francesca Merlan supports its grouping together with Yangmanic,[7] citing that both together differ from neighbouring languages (such as the Gunwinyguan language Jawoyn and Mangarrayi) while sharing very similar syntax with each other, such as their similar use of 'verbal particles'.

Phonology

The phonological inventory of Wardaman proper:

Consonants
Peripheral Alveolo-
palatal		 Apical
Bilabial Velar Alveolar Retroflex
Stop b ɡ d̠ʲ d ɖ
Nasal m ŋ n̠ʲ n ɳ
Lateral l̠ʲ l ɭ
Flap ɾ
Approximant β̞ j ɹ̠

The alveolo-palatals are pronounced with the blade of the tongue; at the end of a syllable they may sound like yn and yl to an English ear. Even the y is said to have lateral spread and to be pronounced with the blade and body of the tongue. There is very little acoustic difference between the two apical series compared to other languages in the area. The alveolars may add a slight retroflex onglide to a following vowel, and the retroflexes may assimilate alveolars in the same word. Nonetheless, they remain phonemically distinct. Francesca describes the w as bilabial, and notes that there is little or no lip rounding or protrusion (except in assimilation to a following /u/ or /o/). The r is post-alveolar.

Vowels
Front Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Vocabulary

Capell (1940) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Wadaman (Wardaman):[8]

gloss Wadaman
man jibiwan
woman baŋbun
head ibam
eye imum
nose idunj
mouth idjäga
tongue djɛlin
stomach nädjin
bone wuːnɛ
blood guräd
kangaroo gaŋman
opossum balan
emu gumɛrindji
crow wagwag
fly galun
sun ŋurun
moon gandawag
fire wudja
smoke lujuŋgin
water wian

Notes
  1. "Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2+)". stat.data.abs.gov.au. ABS. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  2. Bowern, Claire. How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia? 2011.
  3. Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xl.
  4. N35 Wardaman at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies  (see the info box for additional links)
  5. Endangered Languages Project data for Wardaman.
  6. Wilson, Stephen; Center for the Study of Language and Information (U.S.) (1999), Coverbs and complex predicates in Wagiman, CSLI ; Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, pp. 5–6, ISBN 978-1-57586-172-2
  7. Merlan, Francesca (1994), A grammar of Wardaman : a language of the Northern Territory of Australia, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 3–4, ISBN 978-3-11-012942-7
  8. Capell, Arthur. 1940. The Classification of Languages in North and North-West Australia. Oceania 10(3): 241-272, 404-433. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1940.tb00292.x

References
  • Merlan Francesca. 1983. A Grammar of Wardaman. A Language of the Northern Territory of Australia. Mouton de Gruyter. 1994.
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