General Language Information:

The Pitjantjatjara language is spoken by about 3,000 people. The majority of these people are in the APY (Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) Lands of Central Australia.

According to the 1996 Census 80% of these people are monolingual. Speakers of Pitjantjatjara call themselves ‘Anangu’ (meaning people) and the language is closely related to Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra.

The APY Lands was established by the 1981 Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act in which the SA Government gave Anangu title to more than 103,000 square kilometres of land in the northwest of South Australia, but the traditional lands of the Pitjantjatjara also extend into the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Some of the main communities in South Australia are Ernabella, Amata, Fregon, Indulkana, Mimili, Pipalyatjara, Yalata and Oak Valley; and in the Northern Territory, Docker River, Mutitjulu, Areyonga, Imanpa, and Finke, and in WA Wingellina and Tjunytjunytjara.

Some word examples :

language—’wangka’
no—’wiya’
good—’palya’
spirit—’kurunpa’
yes —’uwa’
fire—’waṟu’

The Pitjantjatjara Shorter Bible ‘ Tjukurpa Palya’ was completed in 2002 with a revised edition to be printed in late 2019. Translation work is underway on a complete Old Testament.

General Language Information:

Rembarrnga (Rembarunga) is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Northern Non-Pama–Nyungan languages, spoken in the Roper River region of the Northern territory. There are three dialects of Rembarrnga, namely Galduyh, Gikkik and Mappurn. It is a highly endangered language, with very few remaining fluent speakers. It is very likely that the language is no longer being learned by children. Instead, the children of Rembarrnga speakers are now learning neighbouring languages such as Kriol in south central Arnhem Land, and Kunwinjku, a dialect of Bininj Gunwok, in north central Arnhem Land. Speakers of Rembarrnga live in Maningrida and Ramingining, and in nearby outstations such as Borlkdjam, Buluhkaduru and Malnyangarnak. Some other communities associated with Rembarrnga are Ankebarrbirri, Barunga, Beswick and Bulman. (Wikipedia)

General Language Information:

Kuuk Thaayorre is a Pama-Nyungan language spoken in Pormpuraaw on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. In 2016 there were about 210 speakers of Kuuk Thaayorre. As per the situation across most of Aboriginal Australia, the majority of speakers are adults, with fewer children learning the language with successive generations.

The language is also known as Behran, Gugudayor, Kuktayor, Kukudayore, Kuuk Thaayoore, Kuuk Thaayorre, Taior, Thaayore, Thaayorre, Thayore, Thayorre. (From Ethnologue.com)

An interesting characteristic of Kuuk Thaayorre, is that like some other Australian Aboriginal languages, it uses absolute cardinal directions. This means that instead of talking about left and right, ahead, behind, etc, they use compass directions (north, east, south, west). They say things like, “There’s an ant on your southeast leg”. (From Omniglot)

An interesting paper on Time and Space by Alice Gaby can be found online here.

General Language Information:

Tiwi is an language isolate spoken on the Tiwi Islands off the north coast of Northern Territory of Australia near Darwin. There are about 1800-2000 speakers of the language.  It is one of the larger Aboriginal language groups in Australia and one where children are still learning the language. Over the years Tiwi has undergone, and is still undergoing, considerable change. The traditional style of Tiwi (polysynthetic form) is only spoken by older Tiwi whereas modern Tiwi (isolating form) is spoken by the younger generations. There are eight dialects: Jikilawuru, Wurankuwu, Malawu, Munupi, Marrikawuyanga, Wulirankuwu, Yimpinari, and Mantiyupi.

This Wikipedia article has a good summary of the language.

General Language Information:

Tiwi is an language isolate spoken on the Tiwi Islands off the north coast of Northern Territory of Australia near Darwin. There are about 1800-2000 speakers of the language.  It is one of the larger Aboriginal language groups in Australia and one where children are still learning the language. Over the years Tiwi has undergone, and is still undergoing, considerable change. The traditional style of Tiwi (polysynthetic form) is only spoken by older Tiwi whereas modern Tiwi (isolating form) is spoken by the younger generations. There are eight dialects: Jikilawuru, Wurankuwu, Malawu, Munupi, Marrikawuyanga, Wulirankuwu, Yimpinari, and Mantiyupi.

This Wikipedia article has a good summary of the language.

General Language Information:

The Walmajarri language (Ethnologue/ISO code: wmt) is a Pama–Nyungan language spoken by the Walmajarri people. The Walmajarri traditionally lived in the Great Sandy Desert to the south of the Kimberley but subsequent events took them to cattle stations, towns and missions scattered over a wide area in the north of Western Australia.  Currently Walmajarri people live in towns and communities from Mulan (Lake Gregory) in the east along the Fitzroy River valley and as far west as Bidjadanga on the coast.

General Language Information:

Wangurri is one of the varieties of Dhangu-Djangu (a Yolŋu language) located in North East Arnhem in the Northern Territory.

The Gospel of Mark in Wangurri was dedicated on 8th November 2015.

To view this dedication click below:

General Language Information:

The Warlpiri language is spoken by more than 3,000 people living in a wide area of central Australia. The centre of this area is located in the Tanami desert and the main communities include: Lajamanu (formerly Hooker Creek), Yuendumu, Nyirrip and Willowra in the Northern Territory.

AuSIL (Australian Society for Indigenous Languages) began the first Bible translation work in the late 1960’s with the first portion published in 1985. Ensuring translation work saw the release of a Shorter Bible ‘Yimi-Nyayirni-Wangu Kaatu-Kurlangu’ published by Bible Society in 2001, this was reprinted in 2004. The Old Testament includes Genesis, Ruth and Jonah; with selections from Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges – plus Psalm 23 with a complete New Testament.

General Language Information:

Warramiri is the name of one of the ‘clans’ and language groups of the Yolŋu Indigenous people of North-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Although spread out across this area in various townships, around 40–50 Warramiri members now live at Gäwa, a small, very remote homeland at the tip of Elcho Island.

https://telrp.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41039-017-0052-x

General Language Information:

Spoken by around 1,000 people in and around Hermannsburg (Ntaria), 125km west of Alice Springs in the heat of the West MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory.

The Hermannsburg Mission, later to become the Finke River Mission, was established in 1877 and became for many years the largest settlement in central Australia. It was through the work of Pastor Carl Strehlow, who arrived in Hermannsburg in 1894, that the mission really began to develop. Several buildings including a school and church were built (and still remain as historic buildings today. Strehlow, a talented linguist, began to document the Western Arrarnta people’s traditional practises and language and to the Western Arrarnta people Strehlow became ‘ingkata’, a trusted leader and teacher.

This work was continued by his son Ted Strehlow. The Western Arrarnta language is taught to the local children in the Hermannsburg school.The Mission was handed back to the Western Arrarnta people in 1982, but remains a strongly  Lutheran community.

Carl Strehlow was the first to translate the New Testament into Western Arrarnta and Bible Translation work has continued over the years. The latest version ‘Altjirraka Angkatja’ is a work coordinated by Pastor Paul Albrecht which was completed and published by the Bible Society in 1997. The Study New Testament contains Old Testament portions and a complete revision of the New Testament.