Ngaatjatjarra dialect facts for kids

Ngaatjatjarra (also called Ngaatjatjara or Ngaadadjarra) is an Aboriginal language spoken in Australia. It is a dialect of the Western Desert language. This language is used in the Western Desert cultural bloc. This area covers a huge space, about 600,000 square kilometers, in the dry central and western parts of the desert.

Ngaatjatjarra is very similar to other nearby languages. These include Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara, and Pintupi. People who speak these languages can usually understand each other easily. Most Ngaatjatjarra people live in communities. These communities are places like Warburton, Warakurna, Tjukurla, or Docker River.

Why is it called Ngaatjatjarra?

The name Ngaatjatjarra comes from a special word. That word is ngaatja, which means 'this'. When you add a special ending, -tjarra, it means something like 'having ngaatja'.

This helps tell it apart from a similar language, Ngaanyatjarra. Ngaanyatjarra uses the word ngaanya for 'this' instead. So, the names show a small difference in how they say 'this'.

Ngaada Sign Language

The Ngaada people, who speak Ngaatjatjarra, also had a signed form of their language. A signed language uses hand movements and body language to communicate. It's like talking with your hands instead of your voice.

Records show that the Ngaada people used this signed language. However, it might not have been as fully developed as some other Australian Aboriginal sign languages. Many Aboriginal groups had their own ways of communicating through signs.