| Wajarri | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Murchison area ofWestern Australia |
| Ethnicity | 200Watjarri (1981),[1]Nokaan |
Native speakers | 20 (2005)[2] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wbv |
| Glottolog | waja1257 |
| AIATSIS[3] | A39 Wajarri,A71 Nhugarn |
| ELP | Wajarri |
Wajarri (/ˈwɑːdʒəri/WAH-jə-ree) is an endangeredAustralian Aboriginal language. It is one of theKartu languages of thePama–Nyungan family.
Wajarri country is inland fromGeraldton, and extends as far south and west asMullewa, north toGascoyne Junction and east toMeekatharra.
The Yamaji Language Centre carried out work on Wajarri throughout the 1990s, producing an illustrated wordlist and various other items.
Since July 2005, the Irra Wangga–Geraldton Language Programme has continued work on the Wajarri language, producing publications including a print dictionary and a dictionaryapp, working with schools involved in the teaching of the language, and holding weekly community language classes (as of 2008[update]). In 2008 Wajarri became the first Australian Aboriginal language available atsenior secondary level (TEE) in the state ofWestern Australia.[citation needed]
People who are Wajarri speakers, or who are descended primarily from Wajarri speakers, also refer to themselves asWajarri (Wajari). The word for 'man' in Wajarri isyamatji (yamaji), and this word is also commonly used by Wajarri people to refer to themselves. Depending on the context,yamaji may also be used to refer to other Aboriginal people, particularly people from theMurchison-Gascoyne region.
Sketchgrammars of Wajarri have been written byDouglas (1981) and Marmion (1996).[citation needed]
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | iiː | uuː |
| Low | aaː | |
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p⟨b⟩ | k⟨g⟩ | t̪⟨th⟩ | c⟨j⟩ | t⟨d⟩ | ʈ⟨rd⟩ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ⟨ng⟩ | n̪⟨nh⟩ | ɲ⟨ny⟩ | n | ɳ⟨rn⟩ |
| Lateral | l̪⟨lh⟩ | ʎ⟨ly⟩ | l | ɭ⟨rl⟩ | ||
| Rhotic | r⟨rr⟩ | |||||
| Approximant | w | j⟨y⟩ | ɻ⟨r⟩ | |||
The symbols in brackets show the forms used in the practical orthography employed in the Wajarri dictionary, where these differ from standard IPA symbols. Although Douglas (1981) claimed that there was no laminal contrast (i.e. no phonemic contrast between the dentals and palatals), Marmion (1996) demonstrated that there is such a contrast.
According toJulitha Joan Walker (1931–2009), her first name, Julitha, was a Wajarri word for 'walkabout'.[4][5]