Kurrama | |
---|---|
Native to | Australia |
Region | Pilbara region of Western Australia, particularly around the Fortescue valley east of Millstream and south of the Fortescue River to Rocklea Station. |
Ethnicity | Kurrama, Jadira |
Native speakers | 10 (2005) [1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
Dialects |
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | vku |
Glottolog | kurr1243 |
AIATSIS [1] | W36 |
ELP | Kurrama |
Kurrama is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is a dialect of Yindjibarndi, one of the Ngayarda languages of the large Pama–Nyungan family, with almost identical vocabulary and grammar, but speakers consider it to be a distinct language.
The language name has also previously been written as: Kurama, Gurrama, Gurama (amongst others). While there is no official orthography for Kurrama the Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre uses the spelling "Kurrama" in all its publications.
A number of linguists have carried out work on Kurrama however there is not yet a comprehensive grammatical description of the language. The Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre has an ongoing program of documentation of Pilbara languages, including Kurrama.
The Kurrama people associated with the language are an indigenous Australian group whose traditional lands are centred on the higher plateau regions of the Hamersley Ranges.
Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
Plosive | p | k | c | t̪ | t | ʈ |
Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n̪ | n | ɳ |
Rhotic | ɾ ~ r | |||||
Lateral | ʎ | l̪ | l | ɭ | ||
Approximant | w | j | j̪ | ɻ |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
High | i , iː | u , uː | |
Low | a , aː |
The Pilbara is a large, dry, sparsely populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal people; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.
Karratha is a city in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, adjoining the port of Dampier. It is located in the traditional lands and waters of the Ngarluma people, for whom it has been Ngurra (home/Country) for tens of thousands of years. It was established in 1968 to accommodate the processing and exportation workforce of the Hamersley Iron mining company and, in the 1980s, the petroleum and liquefied natural gas operations of the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Venture located on Murujuga. As of the 2021 census, Karratha had an urban population of 17,013. The city's name comes from the cattle station of the same name, which derives from a word in a local Aboriginal language meaning "good country" or "soft earth". More recently, Ngarluma people have indicated the name may actually relate to an early interpretation of "Gardarra", stemming from the sacred site for the whale, located in the Karratha area, called "Gardarrabuga". The city is the seat of government of the City of Karratha, a local government area covering the surrounding region.
Roebourne, also known by its Ngarluma name Ieramugadu, is a town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital. It is the only town on the North West Coastal Highway between Binnu and Fitzroy Crossing; over 2,000km. It is located within the City of Karratha. It prospered during its gold boom of the late 19th century and was once the largest settlement between Darwin and Perth. At the 2016 census, Roebourne and the surrounding area had a population of 981.
The Western Desert language, or Wati, is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages in the Pama–Nyungan family.
The Kurrama people, also known as the Puutu Kunti Kurrama people, are an Aboriginal Australian people from the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
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Jurruru is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Its name has also been spelt Chooraroo, Choororoo, Churoro, Djuroro, Djururo, Djurruru, Dyururu, Jururu, Thuraru, Tjororo, Tjuroro, Tjururo, and Tjururu.
Yinjibarndi is a Pama–Nyungan language spoken by the Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara region in north-western Australia.
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Ngarluma and Kariyarra are members of a dialect continuum, which is a part of the Ngayarda language group of Western Australia, in the Pama–Nyungan language family. Some sources suggest that an extinct dialect, Jaburara, was a third member of the continuum. However, it is clear that Jaburara had a distinct identity that has been partly obscured by a collapse in the numbers of Jaburara speakers during the late 19th century, and there is some evidence that Jaburara may have instead been a dialect of Martuthunira.
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Martu Wangka is a variety of the Western Desert language that emerged during the 20th century in Western Australia as several Indigenous communities shifted from their respective territories to form a single community.
The Ngarluma are an Indigenous Australian people of the western Pilbara area of northwest Australia. They are coastal dwellers of the area around Roebourne and Karratha, not including Millstream.
The Yindjibarndi are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. They form the majority of Aboriginal people around Roebourne. Their traditional lands lie around the Fortescue River.
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