Wajarri is an endangered

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

. It is one of the

Kartu languages The Kartu languages is a group of Indigenous Australian languages spoken in the Murchison and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia. They are thought to be closely related and to form a low-level genealogical group. The languages usually cons ...

of the Pama–Nyungan family.

Geographic distribution

Wajarri country is inland from

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, and extends as far south and west as Mullewa, north to

Gascoyne Junction The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasco ...

and east to Meekatharra.

History and current status

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 dictionary app, working with schools involved in the teaching of the language, and holding weekly community language classes (). In 2008 Wajarri became the first Australian Aboriginal language available at

senior secondary The senior secondary years are the years of later adolescence corresponding to the later part of secondary education. Although definitions vary, the senior secondary years are sometimes defined as being from approximately age 15 to age 18. The ...

level (TEE) in the state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. People who are Wajarri speakers, or who are descended primarily from Wajarri speakers, also refer to themselves as

Wajarri The Wajarri people, also spelt Wadjari, Wadjarri, Watjarri, and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Boolardy Station, along with the tiny settlement of ...

(Wajari). The word for 'man' in Wajarri is ''

yamatji Yamatji (or Yamaji) is a Wajarri word that has at least three different meanings: * a member of the Watjarri people * any Aboriginal Australian person from the Murchison region of Western Australia * any group made up of members of different I ...

'' (), and this word is also commonly used by Wajarri people to refer to themselves. Depending on the context, may also be used to refer to other Aboriginal people, particularly people from the Murchison-Gascoyne region. Sketch

grammars In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domains ...

of Wajarri have been written by

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

(1981) and Marmion (1996).

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

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.

Vocabulary

According to Julitha Joan Walker (1931–2009), her first name, Jjulitha, was a Wajarrri word for '

walkabout Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...

References

Sources

*Boddington, Ross and Boddinton, Olive. 1996. ''The Budara Story''. Magabala Books. *Douglas, Wilfrid H. 1981. 'Watjarri'. In Dixon, R.M.W. and Blake, Barry J (Eds.), ''Handbook of Australian Languages: Vol. 2''. ANU Press. *Mackman, Doreen (Ed.). 2012. Wajarri dictionary: the language of the Murchison Region of Western Australia, Wajarri to English, English to Wajarri. Geraldton, Irra Wangga Language Centre. *Marmion, Douglas. 1996. ''A description of the morphology of Wajarri''. Unpublished Hons. thesis, University of New England. {{Pama–Nyungan languages, West Kartu languages