Diyari language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Diyari |
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| Dieri [ɖijaɻi] |
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| Region | South Australia | |||
| Ethnicity | Diyari, Dhirari, Pilatapa | |||
| Native speakers | 34 (2021 census) | |||
| Language family | ||||
| Dialects |
Diyari
Dhirari, or Northern Dhirari + Southern Dhirari (Austin)
Pilatapa(?)
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| AIATSIS | L17 Diyari, L14, L69 | |||
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Diyari (also called Dieri) is an Aboriginal language from Australia. It is spoken by the Diyari people. They live in the far north of South Australia, near Lake Eyre.
Long ago, German missionaries studied Diyari. They even wrote down many Christian books in the language. This helped Diyari become a written language. Today, only a few people speak Diyari fluently. But there is an exciting project to teach it in schools. A linguist named Peter K. Austin created a dictionary and grammar for it.
Contents
Diyari Language: What It Is
Diyari is a special language spoken by the Diyari people. It is part of the larger Pama–Nyungan language family. This family includes many Aboriginal languages across Australia.
Diyari's Close Relatives
Diyari has some languages that are similar to it. These are called dialects or related languages.
Diyari Sign Language
The Diyari people also had a very advanced sign language. This means they could talk using hand signs. A person named Alfred William Howitt first noticed it in 1891. He realized it was a full system of signs.
One important use was for women during mourning. They could communicate without speaking. This was because there was a rule not to speak during that time.
Diyari Dialects
Dhirari was a dialect of Diyari. It died out in the late 1900s. There were two types: Southern and Northern Dhirari. They mostly had different words.
Pilatapa might also have been a dialect. It died out by the 1960s. We do not have much information about it.
Where Diyari Was Spoken
Diyari was traditionally spoken by the Diyari people. Their land was in the far north of South Australia. This area is east of Lake Eyre. It is a very dry region. The Cooper Creek and the Birdsville Track run through it.
The Diyari people lived in this whole area. Many place names and old stories are still linked to their land. Today, some Dieri speakers live in towns like Marree, Port Augusta, Broken Hill, and Adelaide.
Keeping Diyari Alive: History and Efforts
Diyari has a long history of being written down. Now, people are working hard to bring it back.
Early Written Records
In 1867, German missionaries started a mission station. It was at Lake Killalpaninna on Cooper Creek. This mission was called Killalpaninna Mission. The missionaries learned Diyari and used it. They preached in Diyari and taught it in their school.
The first written records of Diyari are from 1870. Missionaries like Johann Georg Reuther and Carl Strehlow made dictionaries. They also translated many Christian books into Diyari. Reuther even translated the New Testament. He also wrote a huge book about Diyari culture and history.
The Diyari people learned to read and write at the mission school. They wrote letters in Diyari from about 1900 to 1960. This means Diyari is a language with a lot of written history.
Losing and Bringing Back the Language
The mission closed in 1914. Many Diyari people moved to towns. They lived among people speaking English and other Aboriginal languages. This led to the language being used less.
In the 1970s, linguists started studying Diyari seriously. Peter K. Austin wrote his PhD about Diyari in 1978. He later published a grammar of the language.
By 1980, only a few families still used Diyari. Most younger people learned English first. By the 1990s, many of Austin's helpers had passed away. He thought the language was almost gone.
However, things changed in the 1990s. Aboriginal people started making land claims. A group of Diyari people formed the Dieri Aboriginal Corporation (DAC) in 2001. This group had 600 members. In 2012, the Federal Court of Australia gave land back to the DAC.
Teaching Diyari in Schools
In 2008, work began to create materials for teaching Diyari in schools. A CD-ROM called Dieri Yawarra was made. A print resource was also created. These were for the community and for schools.
Another project started in 2009. It was called Ngayana Dieri Yawarra Yathayilha! This means "Let us all speak the Dieri language now!". This project aims to create Diyari lessons for all school levels.
In 2013, Peter Austin helped with workshops. He also published a draft dictionary. He made his 1981 grammar free online. Willsden Primary School in Port Augusta started a Diyari language program. An online blog was also started. These projects continue to help bring the language back.
In 2015, Austin said that Diyari was not extinct. He explained that some people still speak it. Many more know some words. A large group of young people want to learn it.
Latest Information
In 2019, Ethnologue reported that only 5 people spoke Diyari (from the 2016 census). It said the language was "Nearly extinct". However, it also noted the efforts to teach Diyari in schools. The Mobile Language Team also helped create a Diyari learner's guide in 2017.
Sounds of Diyari
Every language has its own sounds. Diyari has specific vowels and consonants.
Vowels
Diyari has three main vowel sounds:
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i | u |
| Low | a | |
Consonants
Diyari has many consonant sounds. These include sounds made with the lips, tongue, and throat.
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Retroflex | ||
| Stop | Voiceless | p | k | c | t̪ | t | ʈ |
| Voiced | d~dʳ | ɖ | |||||
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n̪ ~ d̪n̪ | n ~ dn | ɳ | |
| Lateral | ʎ | l̪ ~ d̪l̪ | l ~ dl | ɭ | |||
| Trill | [r] | ||||||
| Flap | [ɾ] | ||||||
| Approximant | w | j | ɻ | ||||
Some nasal and lateral sounds are "prestopped." This means a small stop sound comes before them.
The sound [d] can sometimes have a trilled release [dʳ]. This might be because of the Yandruwandha language.
The sound /ɖ/ often changes to a tap sound [ɽ] when it is between vowels.
How Diyari Grammar Works
Diyari has interesting ways of organizing its sentences. This is called its grammar. It uses different systems depending on the type of word.
- For single common nouns and male names, it uses an absolutive–ergative system.
- For plural "we" and "you" pronouns, it uses a nominative–accusative system.
- For plural common nouns, female names, and other pronouns, it uses a tripartite system.
