Jawoyn language

Jawoyn
Djauan
Region	Arnhem Land, Australia
Ethnicity	Jawoyn people
Native speakers	15 (2021 census) [1]
Language family	Arnhem Gunwinyguan Jawoyn
Dialects	Jawoyn Genhinj'mi Ngarla'mi Lhetburrirt Ngan-wirlang
Language codes
ISO 639-3	djn
Glottolog	djau1244
AIATSIS [2]	N57
ELP	Jawoyn

Jawoyn (Jawonj, Jawany, Djauan, Jawan, Jawony; Adowen, Gun-djawan), also known as Kumertuo, is a moribund Gunwinyguan language spoken only by elders in Arnhem Land, Australia.

Phonology

Consonants

		Peripheral		Laminal	Apical		Glottal
		Labial	Velar	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Plosive	voiceless	p	k	c	t	ʈ	ʔ
	tense	pː	kː	cː	tː	ʈː
Nasal		m	ŋ	ɲ	n	ɳ
Lateral					l	ɭ
Rhotic					ɾ ~ r
Approximant		w		j		ɻ

/ɾ/ can be heard as either a tap [ɾ] or a trill [r].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Mid	e		o
Low		a

References

1. "SBS Australian Census Explorer" . Retrieved 12 January 2023.
2. N57 Jawoyn at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

Merlan, Francesca and Jacq, Pascale. (2005). Jawoyn-English dictionary & English finder-list. Northern Territory: Diwurruwurru-jaru Aboriginal Corporation, Katherine.

Merlan, Francesca C. (2016). Tricksters and Traditions: Jawoyn Stories and Storytellers. (Asia-Pacific Linguistics, 31.) Canberra: Asia-Pacific Linguistics.

External links

• ELAR archive of Jawoyn