General Language Information:

Dhuwaya is a dialect of Yolŋu Matha (the ‘ŋ’ in Yolŋu is pronounced ‘ng’ as in ‘singing’). ‘Yolŋu‘ meaning ‘people‘ and ‘matha‘ meaning ‘tongue‘ or ‘language‘. 

Yolŋu Matha is a linguistic family of languages of the Yolŋu people of northeast Arnhem Land in northern Australia. There are about six languages, some mutually intelligible, divided into about thirty clan varieties and perhaps 12 different dialects. Collectively there are about 8,000 speakers of Yolŋu Matha.

Dhuwaya is a ‘dialect shift’* and is spoken by the younger generation in Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land and is also known as ‘baby Gumatj’. Yolŋu children traditionally grow up speaking multiple languages, as often their parents are from different clans and speak different languages. 

*- Dialect shift is similar to language shift in which a community of speakers shift from one language to a completely different language. In this case it is a shift from one dialect to another.  

“Dhuwaya is a beautiful, simple, starting point language, before you can speak your own tribal language. That is spoken here in Yirrkala and the homelands of Laynhapuy (region in East Arnhem) by most of the young children, middle age people, and even the older people” (Nyäluŋ Duṉḏiwuy Wunungmurra – Dhuwaya Translator)

The Gospel of Mark was published and dedicated in Yirrkala in June 2019 (pictured right).

General Language Information:

(From https://dieriyawarra.wordpress.com/dieri-language/)

The Dieri language was traditionally spoken in the far north of South Australia, to the east of Lake Eyre. Dieri country is traversed by the lower reaches of Cooper Creek — a mostly dry watercourse that runs from western Queensland, through Innamincka and into Lake Eyre. There are very few fluent speakers left although quite a few still use words and expressions and encouragingly since 2009 the language has started being taught in schools.

Click on the link above for more complete information.

General Language Information:

Djambarrpuyŋu is the language spoken by nearly 3,000 Yolŋu people mostly located on Elcho Island (Galiwinku) off the northeast coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

Useful Links….

Aboriginal Resource and Development Services Inc (ARDS www.ards.com.au)
Charles Darwin University www.cdu.edu.au

General Language Information:

Djinang is a language found in the Northern Territory of Australia in Arnhem Land. Djinang is a part of the Yolngu language family.  According to the 2016 Census, there are 130 speakers ( 120 Djinang, 10 Wulaki). The Djinang area is around the Blyth, Goyder rivers, neighbouring the Ramingining community.

General Language Information:

Eastern Arrernte (pronounced UH-rrahn-da, the double ‘r’ is a rolled r) is spoken by approximately 2,000 people living in the Catholic community of Santa Teresa and around Alice Springs (pictured right) in the Northern Territory.

Eastern Arrernte is taught in primary schools throughout Alice Springs under the Arrernte in Schools (AIS) program and as an optional subject in high schools. It is used on local media and in local government in Alice Springs. As many as 25% of the Alice Springs population speak Arrernte as a first language.

Identifying as a speaker of a particular language is very important to the Eastern Arrernte people because it is a way of expressing membership in a particular family or group. Therefore the differences between dialects, though appearing small to outsiders, are significant to the speakers. The language varies throughout this are and there are many dialects including Eastern & Central Arrernte dialects.

“To the Arrernte, their language is more than just a way of speaking. It goes to the very core of who they are; their cultural identity, their belief system and their social order. Rather than speaking it, they are it.” (www.wayoutback.com.au)

Useful Links….

“Have you ever wondered why Arrernte is spelt the way it is?” Article by Myfany Turpin, August 2004 from the clc.org.au Central Land Council website.

A Shorter Bible in Eastern Arrernte ‘Ayey Ngkarte-Akerte‘ was dedicated in Alice Springs in July 2017 (pictured right).

General Language Information:

Barkly English is a form of ‘Aboriginal English’ spoken south of the Barkly highway in the Northern Territory, Australia.

General Language Information:

This English translation of the Bible seeks to use language features that are common to most Australian Aboriginal languages. This affects the vocabulary, grammar and rhetorical devices. It follows a meaning based translation principle wherein it seeks to convey the same meaning as the original authors conveyed to the original readers.

Language features include:

• No passive voice, since most Indigenous Australian languages do not have passive voice.
• Verbs and adjectives instead of most abstract nouns, since abstract nouns are rare in Australian languages.
• Shorter sentences to conform to the grammars of Australian languages.
• Where the original text has implicit information that would not be obvious to the target audience, that information has been made explicit.
• Modified vocabulary, according to what is commonly understood by the target audience.
• Where the original text has used figurative language that could be taken as literal by the target audience the meaning has been stated.

General Language Information:

General Language Information:

According to omniglot.com Gamilaraay is member of the Wiradhuric group of the Pama-Nyungan languages, and is spoken in New South Wales in Australia. The name of the language is also spelled Kamilaroi, Camilaroi, Kamalarai or Gamilaroi, and is pronounced [ɡ̊aˌmilaˈɻaːj].

The language was first documented with a basic word list collected by Major Thomas Mitchell in 1832. It was studied by William Ridley, a missionary, between 1852 and 1856.

In 2006 there were 35 speakers, all of whom spoke a mixture of Gamilaraay and English. The language is currently taught in a few pre-schools and primary schools.

Useful Links….

The omniglot.com entry for Gamilaraay contains lots of useful links and information.

General Language Information:

Garrwa (N155) and neighbouring Waanyi G23 belong to the Garrwan language family. There are two known varieties: Heavy Garrwa, also called Eastern Garrwa or Gunindirri/Kunindirri; and Light Garrwa also called Western Garrwa. The 2004 NILS report records 40-200 speakers of the language. According to the Austlang database, the language area is “on the rocky inland dissected plateau country from Foelsche River and Robinson River Homestead south to headwaters of Robinson River and to Seigalls Creek Homestead; east to Wollogorang and to Westmoreland outstation only; northward only to edge of coastal plain about 40 miles (65 km.) inland from the sea; Calvert Hills.”