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".^[2]

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

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.

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].

Vowels

The Western Desert Language has the common (for Australia) three-vowel system with a length distinction creating a total of six possible vowels.

Consonants

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.

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.

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,^[31] Ngaatjatjarra (Ngada),^[32] 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.^[33]

References

1 2A80 Western Desert at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
↑"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
1 2 3 4C7 Kukatja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
1 2A68 Kukatja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
1 2 3 4Burgman, 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
1 2 3C7.1 Luritja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
1 2 3C10 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
1 2 3A86 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
1 2A102 Pindiini at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
1 2A12 Wangkatha at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
1 2A103 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

External links

'Western Desert' section of Handbook of Western Australian Aboriginal Languages South of the KimberleyArchived 2009-08-27 at the Wayback Machine

[AIATSIS-1] 1 2A80 Western Desert at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[2] "Pitjantjatjara language, alphabet and pronunciation". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2017-06-23.

[AIATSIS_C5-3] C5 Antakarinya at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A51-4] A51 Kartujarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_C3-5] C3 Kokatha at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_C7-6] 1 2 3 4C7 Kukatja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A68-7] 1 2A68 Kukatja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[Burgman_2005-8] 1 2 3 4Burgman, 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.

[GALC_Kuwarra-9] "Kuwarra". Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre. Retrieved 2 July 2024.

[Liberman_1980-10] 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.

[AIATSIS_A16-11] A16 Kuwarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_C7.1-12] 1 2 3C7.1 Luritja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_C10-13] 1 2 3C10 Pintupi at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A51.1-14] A51.1 Manyjilyjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A33-15] A33 Mantjintjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A86-16] 1 2 3A86 Martu Wangka at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[MLT_Nakako-17] "Nakako". Mobile Language Team. Retrieved 2 July 2024.

[AIATSIS_A32-18] A32 Nakako at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A38-19] A38 Ngaanyatjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A43-20] A43 Ngaatjatjarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_C2-21] C2 Ngalia at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A102-22] 1 2A102 Pindiini at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A12-23] 1 2A12 Wangkatha at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A103-24] 1 2A103 Wangkatja at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_C6-25] C6 Pitjantjatjara at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A54-26] A54 Putijarra at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_Tjupan-27] A31 Tjupan at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A87-28] A87 Wangkajunga at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_C4-29] C4 Yankunytjatjara at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[AIATSIS_A67-30] A67 Yulparija at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[31] 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.

[32] 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.

[33] Kendon, A. (1988) Sign Languages of Aboriginal Australia: Cultural, Semiotic and Communicative Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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[31]

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