Nhanda language facts for kids

Nhanda (also called Nanda, Nhanta, or Nhandi) is an Indigenous Australian language. It comes from the Midwest region of Western Australia. This area is between Geraldton and the Murchison River, stretching from the coast about 20 kilometers (12 miles) inland. Today, very few people speak Nhanda, and some only know parts of it.

Understanding Nhanda's History

The AIATSIS is a group that studies Indigenous Australian cultures. They say that Nhanda has three main dialects. A dialect is a different way of speaking the same language.

• Nhanda is the dialect spoken furthest north.
• Watchandi is the central dialect.
• Amangu is the southern dialect.

So, "Nhanda" is both the name of the main language and one of its dialects. Since 1975, there have been no known fluent speakers of Nhanda. However, the Irra Wangga Language Centre is working to bring the language back. This effort was first led by a linguist named Juliette Blevins. Another language, Nanakarti, was likely a separate language.

Nhanda's Place in Language Families

Nhanda is usually thought to be part of the Kartu group. This group is a branch of the larger Pama–Nyungan family. The Pama–Nyungan family includes many Indigenous Australian languages. But Nhanda has some unique features. Because of these features, some language experts wonder if it truly belongs to the Kartu group. Some even think Nhanda might be a language isolate. This means it would be a language that is not related to any other known language.

A Theory About Dutch Influence

There's an interesting idea about Nhanda's unique features. A historian named Rupert Gerritsen suggested that the language might have been influenced by Dutch. This could have happened a long time ago, before Europeans officially settled in Australia. He thought that Dutch sailors might have been shipwrecked and stranded in Australia. If they lived among the Nhanda people, their language could have mixed.

However, a language expert named Juliette Blevins, who knows a lot about Nhanda, does not agree with this idea. Gerritsen later wrote another paper to explain his evidence for Dutch influence.

Words and Sounds of Nhanda

Nhanda Vocabulary

The Nhanda word for 'man' or 'human being' is arnmanu. A long time ago, a researcher named Norman Tindale collected information about Nhanda. He was given this word, arnmanu. He wrote it down as 'Amangu' and thought it was the name of the group of people. This is how the 'Amangu' dialect got its name.

Nhanda Phonology (Sounds)

Phonology is the study of the sounds in a language. Nhanda has some sounds that are different from its neighboring languages.

• It has a glottal stop. This is a sound made by briefly closing the throat, like the sound in the middle of "uh-oh".
• Many Nhanda words start with a vowel, not a consonant. This is called "initial-dropping." It means the first consonant of a word was lost over time.
• The stop consonants (like 'p', 't', 'k') in Nhanda can be short or long. This length difference can change the meaning of a word.

Bringing Nhanda Back to Life

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Juliette Blevins studied the Nhanda language. She worked with the Yamaji Language Centre, which is now called the Irra Wangga Language Centre. She wrote a grammar of the language, which explains its rules.

In 1998, the Yamaji Language Centre published an illustrated dictionary called Nhanda Wangganhaa. This book helps people learn Nhanda words. Other books and papers have also been written about Nhanda's sounds and history. Another expert, Doug Marmion, is also working on the language. These efforts are important for keeping the Nhanda language alive and teaching it to new generations.