Yinjibarndi language

Yinjibarndi is a Pama–Nyungan language spoken by the Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara region in north-western Australia.

Yinjibarndi
Burnugundi, Mandanjingu
Native toAustralia
RegionRoebourne region of Western Australia
EthnicityYindjibarndi
Native speakers
377 (2016 census)[1]
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3yij
Glottologyind1247
AIATSIS[2]W37
ELPYindjibarndi[3]

Yinjibarndi is mutually intelligible with Kurrama, but the two are considered distinct languages by their speakers.

Classification

Yindjibarndi is classified as a member of the Ngayarta branch of the Pama–Nyungan languages. Under Carl Georg von Brandenstein's 1967 classification, Yindjibarndi was classed as an Inland Ngayarda language, but the separation of the Ngayarda languages into Coastal and Inland groups is no longer considered valid.

Sounds

Yindjibarndi consonant phonemes[4]
Peripheral Laminal Apical
Bilabial Velar Palatal Dental Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive p k ty th t rt
Nasal m ng ny nh n rn
Trill r rr
Lateral l rl
Approximant w y yh

Yindjibarndi vowel inventory[4]

FrontBack
Highi, i:u, u:
Lowa, a:o:

Grammar

Pronouns

Yindjibarndi, like Lardil, has pronouns that indicate whether the referents include two people separated by an odd number of generations or not.

Influence on other languages

The verb 'yandy', meaning to separate (grain or pieces of mineral) by shaking in a special shallow dish, comes from Yindjibarndi.[5]

References

  1. ABS. "Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2+)". stat.data.abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  2. W37 Yinjibarndi at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. Endangered Languages Project data for Yindjibarndi.
  4. Wordick, F. J. F. (1982). The Yindjibarndi language. Pacific Linguistics Series C. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 0-85883-265-8.
  5. Oxford Dictionary of English, p 2,055.


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