The Ngarnji (Ngarndji) or Ngarnka (Ngarnga, Ngarnku) language was traditionally spoken by the
Ngarnka
The Ngarnka, also Ngarnji or Ngewin, are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory. They are often said to be the same as the Gudanji, one of whose alternative names is Ngarnji. However linguists distinguish between the language s ...
people of the
Barkly Tablelands in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The last fluent speaker of the language died between 1997 and 1998.
Ngarnka belongs to the
Mirndi language family, in the
Ngurlun branch. It is closely related to its eastern neighbours
Binbinka
The Binbinga, also pronounced Binbinka, are an Indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory of Australia.
Language
Binbinga is a dialect classified as a variety of Ngurlun languages, the Ngurlun branch of the Mirndi languages, closely r ...
,
Gudanji
The Gudanji, otherwise known as the Kotandji or Ngandji, are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.
Language
The Gudanji were formerly thought to speak a Ngurlun languages, Ngurlun language, belonging to the eastern Mirndi la ...
and
Wambaya. It is more distantly related to its western neighbour
Jingulu, and three languages of the
Victoria River District
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Jaminjung,
Ngaliwurru and
Nungali. There is very little documentation and description of Ngarnka, however there have been several graduate and undergraduate dissertations written on various aspects of Ngarnka morphology, and a sketch grammar and lexicon of Ngarnka is currently in preparation.
Phonology
Verbal morphology and syntax
Inflecting verbs and uninflecting verbs
Ngarnka possesses two kinds of verb: inflecting verbs and uninflecting verbs. These two word classes are common in many languages of northern Australia. Inflecting verbs are finite, bear bound pronouns, inflect for tense, aspect and mood, and usually occur in second position. Uninflecting verbs bear only minimal tense inflection (distinguishing non-present tense), and are less distributionally restricted than inflecting verbs, although often occurring clause-initially. Inflecting verbs can constitute an independent predicate in a simple verb construction, whereas uninflecting verbs must occur with an inflecting verb in a light verb construction (although they occur independently in non-finite subordinate clauses). There are only three inflecting verbs in Ngarnka: a general 'do' inflecting verb, a centrifugal locomotion inflecting verb 'go', and a centripetal locomotion inflecting verb 'come'. Examples of inflecting verbs and uninflecting verbs are provided below.
Simple verb construction
When expressing motion events, sometimes Ngarnka will use a simple verb construction with one of the two locomotion inflecting verbs. However, in many cases, a light verb construction will be used with the generic locomotion uninflecting verb ''yakali'' 'go', as in the above example. Examples of the locomotion inflecting verbs in simple verb constructions are provided below.
Light verb construction
The most common predicate type in Ngarnka is the light verb construction, a structure common in northern Australian languages.
The Ngarnka light verb construction involves a finite inflecting verb and a non-finite uninflecting verb. Examples of each of the inflecting verbs in light verb constructions are provided below.
References
NEAR:near
FAR:far
External links
Bibliography of Gurdanji people and language resources at the
{{Australian Aboriginal languages
Ngurlun languages
Extinct languages of the Northern Territory