Miriwoong language

Last updated

Miriwoong
Region Kununurra, Western Australia
Ethnicity Miriwung
Native speakers
168 (2021 census) [1]
Jarrakan
  • Miriwoong
Dialects
Miriwoong Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3 mep
Glottolog miri1266
AIATSIS [2] K29
ELP Miriwoong
Miriwoong language.png
(red) Miriwoong language

(purple) other Jarrakan languages

(grey) other non-Pama-Nyungan languages

Miriwoong, also written Miriuwung and Miriwung, is an Aboriginal Australian language which today has fewer than 20 fluent speakers, most of whom live in or near Kununurra in Western Australia. [3] All of the fluent speakers are elderly and the Miriwoong language is considered to be critically endangered. However, younger generations tend to be familiar with a lot of Miriwoong vocabulary which they use when speaking Kimberley Kriol or Aboriginal English.

Contents

Country

Ancestral Miriwoong territory covered an estimated 4,000 square miles (10,000 km2) and extended from the valley of the Ord River north to Carlton Hill Station, upstream to Ivanhoe Station, and east to Newry Station, and along the Keep River to near the coastal swamps. [4]

Linguo-genetic categorisation

Miriwoong is categorised by linguists as a Non-Pama-Nyungan language and part of the Jarrakan subgroup.

Sign

As is common in many Australian language communities, the Miriwoong people have a signed language that is used in addition to the spoken languages of the community.

Multilingualism

Despite the endangered status of the Miriwoong language, the Miriwoong community is vibrantly multilingual. Languages spoken include Miriwoong (for a small number of speakers), the Miriwoong signed language, Kimberley Kriol, and English. Two varieties of English are present in the community, Aboriginal English, and Standard Australian English. Many speakers are bi-dialectical in both varieties while many others have a strong preference for Aboriginal English.

Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring

The Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre has been tasked with the preservation and revitalisation of the Miriwoong language since the 1970s. [5]

MDWg engages in a wide range of language revitalisation and documentation activities including a language nest, public language classes and on-country training camps. The language nest reaches around 300 children every week, both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous.

A significant part of MDWg's revitalisation efforts is the publication of books in Miriwoong.

Some linguistic features

Phonology

Vowels

The vowel system of Miriwoong comprises the following four vowel phonemes. Length is not phonemic.

front central back
high i u
mid ə
low a

Consonants

Miriwoong distinguishes 19 consonant phonemes. The consonant inventory of Miriwoong is fairly typical for Indigenous Australian languages, having multiple lateral and nasal consonants, no voicing contrast, and no fricatives.

Peripheral Laminal Apical
Bilabial Velar Lamino-
dental
Lamino-
palatal
Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive b g ɟ d ɖ
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n ɳ
Trill r
Lateral ʎ l ɭ
Approximant w j ɻ

/ɻ/ may be heard as either [ ɻ ] or [ ɹ ].

Orthography

The largely phonemic orthography of Miriwoong was developed at the Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring. Some sounds that do not have a standard character in the Latin script are represented by digraphs. The vowel /u/ is spelled oo in Miriwoong.

GraphemeIPA symbolMiriwoong exampleEnglish translation
Vowels
aadawangplace
eəjawalengman
ooujoolangdog
iingirrngilingcat
iyii: ~ ijingiyiyes
Monograph consonants
bbbareto stand
dddoolengheart
gggoondarringfish
jc~ɟwijaswim
K (only following n)gbankalngfootprints
llbiligirrimawoongwhite
mmmoonamangmagpie goose
nnGoonoonooramKununurra (river)
rɻ ~ ɹramanggrass
wwwoothoonysmall (f)
yjmayengnon-meat food
Digraph consonants
lyʎbilyinytick
ngŋngerregoowoongbig
nhngenhengbengred
nyɲgeranyrock
rdɖgardagcup
rlɭgerloongwater
rnɳmerndangpaper
rrrDarramBandicoot Bar (place name)
ththegoobelingblack

MDWg is working with local organisations to conform to the standardised orthography when Miriwoong is written in documents or signage.

See also: Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages

Grammar

Some notable features of Miriwoong grammar are as follows:

Nouns

Gender

Miriwoong nouns have grammatical gender and adjectives and demonstratives agree with the noun. There are two genders, designated masculine and feminine.

Case

Nouns are not marked for case in Miriwoong, although arguments are cross-referenced on the verb, in most cases using a nominative-accusative pattern.

Verbs

Verbs in Miriwoong have a compound system of coverbs, which are generally uninflected and carry the main semantic content, and inflecting verbs, which carry the grammatical information. Both coverbs and verbs can stand alone but most verbal expressions comprise both a coverb and an inflecting verb [6] (Newry 2015: 20-21). The inflecting verbs are a closed class and number around 20 while the coverbs are an open class. This type of verb system has been observed in other Australian languages, particularly in languages spoken in the north of Australia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kununurra, Western Australia</span> Town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the border with the Northern Territory. Kununurra was initiated to service the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. It is located on the traditional lands of the Miriwoong, an Aboriginal Australian people.

Guugu Yimithirr, also rendered Guugu Yimidhirr, Guguyimidjir, and many other spellings, is an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Guugu Yimithirr people of Far North Queensland. It belongs to the Pama-Nyungan language family. Most of the speakers today live at the community of Hope Vale, about 46 kilometres (29 mi) from Cooktown. However, as of June 2020 only about half of the Guugu Yimithirr nation speak the language. As such, efforts are being made to teach it to children. Guugu Yimithirr is the source language of the word kangaroo.

Australian Aboriginal English is a cover term used for the complex, rule-governed varieties of English used by a large section of the Indigenous Australian population as a result of colonisation. It is made up of a number of varieties which developed differently in different parts of Australia, and grammar and pronunciation differs from that of standard Australian English, along a continuum. Some of its words have also been adopted into standard or colloquial Australian English.

Martuthunira is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language, that was the traditional language of the Martuthunira people of Western Australia.

Nyangumarta, also written Njaŋumada, Njangamada, Njanjamarta and other variants, is a language spoken by the Nyangumarta people and other Aboriginal Australians in the region of Western Australia to the south and east of Lake Waukarlykarly, including Eighty Mile Beach, and part of the Great Sandy Desert inland to near Telfer. As of 2021 there were an estimated 240 speakers of Nyangumarta, down from a 1975 estimate of 1000.

Iwaidja, in phonemic spelling Iwaja, is an Australian aboriginal language of the Iwaidja people with about 150 native, and an extra 20 to 30 L2 speakers in northernmost Australia. Historically having come from the base of the Cobourg Peninsula, it is now spoken on Croker Island. It is still being learnt by children within the Northern Territory.

Bardi is an endangered Australian Aboriginal language in the Nyulnyulan family, mutually intelligible with Jawi and possibly other dialects. It is spoken by the Bardi people at the tip of the Dampier peninsula and neighbouring islands. There are few fluent speakers in the 21st century, but efforts are being made to teach the Bardi language and culture at at least one school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wunambal language</span> Aboriginal Australian language of Western Australia

The Wunambal language, also known as Northern Worrorran, Gambera or Gaambera, is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language of Western Australia. It has several dialects, including Yiiji, Gunin, Miwa, and Wilawila. It is spoken by the Wunambal people.

Malak-Malak, also known as Ngolak-Wonga (Nguluwongga), is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Mulluk-Mulluk people. Malakmalak is nearly extinct, with children growing up speaking Kriol or English instead. The language is spoken in the Daly River area around Woolianna and Nauiyu. The Kuwema or Tyaraity (Tyeraty) variety is distinct.

Nyulnyul is an dormant Australian Aboriginal language, formerly spoken by the Nyulnyul people of Western Australia.

Gooniyandi is an Australian Aboriginal language now spoken by about 200 people, most of whom live in or near Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia. Gooniyandi is an endangered language as it is not being passed on to children, who instead grow up speaking Kriol.

Kija 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 Bungle Bungle National Park is mostly in Gija country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wagiman language</span> Indigenous Australian language

Wagiman, also spelt Wageman, Wakiman, Wogeman, and other variants, is a near-extinct Aboriginal Australian language spoken by a small number of Wagiman people in and around Pine Creek, in the Katherine Region of the Northern Territory.

Gurindji is a Pama–Nyungan language spoken by the Gurindji and Ngarinyman people in the Northern Territory, Australia. The language of the Gurindji is highly endangered, with about 592 speakers remaining and only 175 of those speakers fully understanding the language. There are in addition about 60 speakers of Ngarinyman dialect. Gurindji Kriol is a mixed language that derives from the Gurindji language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mudburra language</span> Australian Aboriginal language

Mudburra, also spelt Mudbura, Mudbarra and other variants, and also known as Pinkangama, is an Aboriginal language of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunuba language</span> Aboriginal language of Australia

Bunuba is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by some 41 older Bunuba adults, most of whom live in Junjuwa, an Aboriginal community in Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia. Bunuba is not related to the Pama-Nyungan language family that spans the majority of Australia; however, it is a relative of Guniyandi. Both are subgroups of the Bunuban language family. Bunuba consists of two dialects, 'light' and 'heavy' Bunuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yawuru language</span> Nyulnyulan language spoken in Australia

Yawuru is a Western Nyulnyulan language spoken on the coast south of Broome in Western Australia.

<i>Lysiphyllum cunninghamii</i> Species of legume

Lysiphyllum cunninghamii is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to northern Australia where it occurs from Western Australia through the Northern Territory to Queensland.

The Miriwoong people, also written Miriwung and Miriuwung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia.

The Gajirrawoong people, also written Gadjerong, Gajerrong and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, most of whom now live in north-eastern Western Australia.

References

  1. "SBS Australian Census Explorer" . Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  2. K29 Miriwoong at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. "Our Country". Mirima Dawanga Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre. Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  4. Tindale 1974.
  5. Olawsky, Knut (2010). "Revitalisation strategies for Miriwoong". In Hobson, John; Lowe, Kevin; Poetsch, Susan; Walsh, Michael (eds.). Re-awakening languages: Theory and practice in the revitalisation of Australia's indigenous languages. Sydney: Sydney University Press. pp. 146–154.
  6. Newry, Dawayne (2015). Ninggoowoong boorriyang merndang - Family book. Kununurra, WA, Australia: Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring. pp. 20–21. ISBN   978-0-9922849-5-4.

Other sources

Miriwoong language books