Gija language

Last updated

Gija
Kija
RegionFrom Halls Creek to Kununurra, Western Australia
Ethnicity Gija
Native speakers
266 (2021 census) [1]
Jarrakan
  • Gija
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3 gia
Glottolog kitj1240
AIATSIS [2] K20
ELP Kija
Lang Status 40-SE.svg
Kija is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Kija (variously spelled Gija, Kitja, Gidja) is an Australian Aboriginal language today spoken by about 200 people, most of whom live in the region from Halls Creek to Kununurra and west to Lansdowne and Tableland Stations in Western Australia. It is a member of the Jarragan language family, a non-Pama-Nyungan family in the East Kimberleys. The Argyle Diamond Mine, on the south western corner of Lake Argyle is on the borders of Gija and Miriwoong country. The Purnululu (pronounced as 'Boornoolooloo') Bungle Bungle National Park is mostly in Gija country.

Contents

Kuluwarrang and Walgi may have been dialects.

Phonology

Consonants

Peripheral Laminal Apical
Labial Velar Dental Palatal Alveolar Retroflex
Stop pkctʈ
Nasal mŋɲnɳ
Lateral ʎlɭ
Rhotic rɻ
Approximant wj

Vowels

Front Central Back
High iɨu
Low a aː
PhonemeAllophones
/i/[i], [ɪ]
/ɨ/[ɨ], [ɯ]
/u/[u], [ʊ]
/a/[ä], [e], [ʌ], [ɔ]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "SBS Australian Census Explorer" . Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. K20 Gija at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies