Anindilyakwa language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anindilyakwa
Enindhilyakwa, Enindhilyagwa Amamalya Ayakwa
Native to	Australia Northern Territory
Region	Groote Eylandt, Bickerton Island, Northern Territory, Australia
Ethnicity	Warnindhilyagwa
Native speakers	1,500  (2021 census)
Language family	Macro-Pama–Nyungan? Macro-Gunwinyguan? East Arnhem? Anindilyakwa
Writing system	Latin
AIATSIS	N151
A map highlighting Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island where Anindilyakwa is spoken.
Anindilyakwa is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Anindilyakwa (Amamalya Ayakwa) is an Aboriginal Australian language. It is spoken by the Anindilyakwa people on Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island. These islands are in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Anindilyakwa is a language where words are built by adding many small parts (prefixes) to the beginning. These prefixes show things like who is speaking, how many people, or if something is male or female. In 2021, about 1,516 people spoke Anindilyakwa as their first language. This number has grown since 2006.

What is the Anindilyakwa Language Called?

The Anindilyakwa people call their language Amamalya Ayakwa. This means 'true words'. But many people still use the name Anindilyakwa.

Before linguists created a standard way to write the language, its name was spelled in many different ways. Some of these were Andiljangwa, Enindhilyagwa, and Yingguru. The language is also sometimes called Groote Eylandt because of where it is spoken.

How is Anindilyakwa Classified?

For a long time, Anindilyakwa was thought to be a unique language, not related to others. But in 2012, a researcher named Van Egmond showed that it is part of the Eastern Gunwinyguan language family. This means it is related to languages like Nunggubuyu.

Sounds of Anindilyakwa

Vowels and Consonants

Anindilyakwa has a small number of vowel sounds. Some experts say it has four vowel sounds, while others say it has only two.

The language has many consonant sounds. These include sounds made with the lips (like 'p' and 'm'). It also has sounds made with the back of the tongue (like 'k'). Other sounds are made with the front of the tongue, like 't' or 'n'.

Word Structure

Most Anindilyakwa words end with the vowel 'a'. Words can also have groups of up to three consonant sounds together.

Anindilyakwa Grammar

Noun Groups

Anindilyakwa has five different groups, or genders, for nouns. Each group has its own special prefix. These prefixes are added to the beginning of words.

• Male human: uses the prefix n-
• Non-human male: uses the prefix y-
• Female (human or non-human): uses the prefix d-
• Inanimate (things that are not alive): uses the prefix a-
• Vegetable (plants): uses the prefix m-

For example, a word for a male person would start with n-. A word for a plant would start with m-. Most Anindilyakwa nouns use these prefixes. However, some words borrowed from other languages might not have them.

Numbers in Anindilyakwa

Traditionally, Anindilyakwa had words for numbers up to 20. But today, people mostly use English words for numbers higher than five.

Anindilyakwa uses a quinary number system. This means it is based on groups of five. The numbers also change depending on the noun group they describe. For example, 'one crocodile' is dawilyaba dingarrbiya. 'Two turtles' is yambilyuma yimenda.

There is no single word for "infinity." But you can say something like: yinguwurramur.dinama dakwulyingarrijanga, which means 'there are too many stars to count.'

Adjectives

To show how big something is, Anindilyakwa uses two levels: normal size and a smaller size (warrngka). You can repeat warrngka to make it mean "very small."

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Anindilyakwa has many different ways to say "I," "you," or "they." It has five different numbers for pronouns:

• Singular (one person)
• Feminine dual (two females)
• Masculine dual (two males)
• Trial (three or four people)
• Plural (many people)

The language also has a special way to say "we."

• ngakwurruwa means 'we' and includes the person you are talking to (like "you and I").
• yirruwa means 'we' but does not include the person you are talking to (like "they and I, but not you").

Possessive Pronouns

To show that something belongs to someone, Anindilyakwa usually adds -langwa to the end of pronouns. For example, nungkuwa means 'you', so 'yours' becomes Nungkwa-langwa. The only exception is 'my', which is Nganyangwa.

Anindilyakwa also uses special endings for words about family members. These endings show who the family member belongs to.

Keeping the Language Alive

Groote Eylandt Language Centre

The Groote Eylandt Language Centre (GELC) works to keep the Anindilyakwa language strong. They want to make sure it is used and remembered. The Centre is located in Angurugu, with other offices in Umbakumba and Bickerton Island.

The GELC has many language and cultural resources about the Warnindilyakwa people. They work on language projects, record the language, and help translate things.

Years ago, the Church Mission Society helped create the writing system for Anindilyakwa. They used the Latin alphabet to translate parts of the Bible. Now, the Centre is part of the Anindilyakwa Land Council.

The GELC has created a dictionary called Eningerriberra-langwa jurra, which means "The Book about Everything." They also have an online dictionary and a web app. You can find videos and other resources in Anindilyakwa on their YouTube channel.

Anindilyakwa Words

Words from Macassan Visitors

Makassar people from Sulawesi (now part of Indonesia) started visiting the coast of northern Australia around the 1700s. They came every year to trade, especially for a sea creature called trepang. This yearly visit stopped in 1906.

The Macassans brought new things with them, like tamarind fruit (jamba), dugout canoes (malamukwa), tobacco (dambakwa), and even beer (anija). Experts believe that about 35 Macassarese words, mostly nouns, became part of the Anindilyakwa language. Many place names, like Umbakumba, also came from Macassan words.

Asking Questions

Here are some common questions in Anindilyakwa:

Animals

Here are some animal names in Anindilyakwa:

Anindilyakwa in Popular Culture

Music

• Emily Wurramara is a singer and songwriter from Groote Eylandt. She has been nominated for an ARIA award. She sings songs in both English and Anindilyakwa.
• Yilila is a band from Numbulwar. The lead singer, Grant Nundhirribala, is a master of traditional music. He is also a respected song man and dancer. The band sings in Wubuy, Anindilyakwa, Maccassan language, and English.
• Other bands from the area include Mambali, Groote Eylandt Band, and Salt Lake Band.

Film and Television

• The Last Wave (1977) is an Australian mystery drama film directed by Peter Weir. In the movie, a lawyer helps Aboriginal men accused of murder. Anindilyakwa men Nandjiwarra Amagula, Walter, Roy Bara, Cedrick Lalara, and Morris Lalara played the men on trial.
• Bakala (2017) is an award-winning short film. It was written and directed by Nikolas Lachajczak and is entirely in the Anindilyakwa language. The film tells the story of Steve 'Bakala' Wurramara, an Anindilyakwa man with Machado-Joseph Disease (MJD). This disease affects muscle control.
• Anija (2011) is another award-winning short film by David Hansen. It is mostly filmed in Anindilyakwa. The film won an award for Best Indigenous Resource in 2011.
• Anindilyakwa was shown on Spread the Word, a show about Indigenous Australian languages on The Disney Channel. The show featured the Anindilyakwa word Ngarrarndirrarjena. This means 'kicking a tree to get something off of it.'

Commemoration

• In 2019, the Royal Australian Mint made a special 50-cent coin. It celebrated the International Year of Indigenous Languages. The coin features 14 different words for 'money' from Australian Indigenous languages. This includes awarnda from Anindilyakwa.

See Also

• Anindilyakwa people