Nhangu language facts for kids

The Nhangu language (also called Nhaŋu or Yan-nhaŋu) is an Aboriginal language spoken by the Yan-nhaŋu people. They live on the Crocodile Islands, which are off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Yan-nhaŋu is part of the Yolŋu Matha language group. This group includes languages spoken by the Yolŋu people in northern Australia. There are two main types of Yan-nhaŋu: Gorlpa and Yan-nhangu.

Bringing the Language Back to Life

In 1994, a special group called the Yan-nhaŋu Language Team started. It was created by Laurie Baymarrwangga with help from Bentley James. This team includes language experts and people who speak Yan-nhaŋu. Their goal is to create materials that describe the Yan-nhaŋu culture and to help bring the language back to life.

Laurie Baymarrwangga couldn't speak English, but she really wanted to save her language. She shared this wish when she met Bentley James on Murruŋga Island. Bentley was a teacher who had learned another local language called Djambarrpuyŋu.

The team started by collecting about 250 words. This work led to the Yan-nhaŋu Dictionary in 2003. Later, in 2014, they expanded it to over 4,000 words in the Yan-nhaŋu Atlas and Illustrated Dictionary of the Crocodile Islands.

This important work also led to other projects. These projects help protect the language, culture, and nature of the Crocodile Islands. Some of these projects include:

• Yan-nhangu Ecological Knowledge (YEK)
• Bilingual learning materials for schools
• A cultural mapping project for the Crocodile Islands
• Ranger programs for adults and young people
• A study of Yan-nhangu people's connection to the sea
• A guide for people learning the language
• An online dictionary

Who Speaks Yan-nhaŋu?

Yan-nhaŋu is a Yolŋu Matha language. It belongs to the traditional owners of the seas and islands of the Crocodile Group. Yan-nhaŋu is part of the Pama–Nyungan language family, which is the largest group of native languages in Australia.

Most Yan-nhaŋu speakers live in and around the communities of Maningrida and Milingimbi. They also live in smaller outstations nearby, like Murruŋga. The Yan-nhaŋu Yolŋu people are the traditional owners of the land and sea in the Castlereagh Bay area.

Yan-nhaŋu History and Culture

The Yan-nhaŋu people own a large area of the Arafura Sea and 31 islands. This area is almost 10,000 square kilometers. After the 1600s, the yearly visits of Maccassan sailors, who came to collect sea cucumbers, changed how the Yan-nhaŋu people moved around the Crocodile Islands during different seasons. Later, in 1922, a Methodist mission was set up on Milingimbi Island. This led to many eastern relatives of the Yan-nhaŋu settling permanently on their land.

Before European settlement, there were only a few hundred Yan-nhaŋu people. Each of their six clans (ba:purru) had about 50 people. The Yan-nhaŋu are a Yolŋu people who have a very strong connection to the sea. This connection comes from living closely with their saltwater country. The ocean is a very important part of Yan-nhaŋu society, their beliefs, and their language.

They believe that the ocean's movements, sounds, and changes are signs of what their ancestors are doing. People even share names with the ocean, its waves, colors, spirits, and winds. The six different types of Yan-nhaŋu language are unique. They can be used to tell Yan-nhaŋu people apart from their neighbors.

The Yan-nhaŋu language, along with the special places and things in their seas and islands, are seen as gifts from their creation ancestors. The Yan-nhaŋu clans, their lands, language, and traditions are passed down through the father's side of the family. Yan-nhaŋu people still perform their rich rituals, music, dances, and art. These are shared with other Yolŋu relatives across north-east Arnhem Land. They also continue to care for their marine environments through their traditions and daily actions.

Language Types

Within the Yan-nhaŋu language, there are six types based on different clans (bäpurru). Three of these are Dhuwa types, and three are Yirritja types. The Dhuwa types spoken today belong to the Gamalaŋga, Gorryindi, and Mäḻarra groups. The Yirritja Yan-nhaŋu speakers are from the Bindarra, Ngurruwulu, and Walamangu family groups of the Crocodile Islands.

How Yan-nhaŋu Works

Yan-nhaŋu grammar has some interesting features.

Sounds and Writing

Yan-nhaŋu has sounds similar to other Yolŋu languages and Australian languages. It has different types of sounds like stops (like 'p' or 'b'), nasals (like 'm' or 'n'), and other sounds. It also has a three-vowel system, which is common in Australian languages.

Word Types

The most important word types in Yan-nhaŋu are nouns (names of things), pronouns (like 'he' or 'she'), verbs (action words), adjectives (describing words), and particles (small words that add meaning).

Nouns and Pronouns

In Yan-nhaŋu, nouns and pronouns often have special endings called suffixes. These suffixes show their job in a sentence. For example, a suffix might show if a noun is the one doing the action or the one receiving the action.

Examples of Nouns

• ratha means 'baby' or 'child'
• moḻ' means 'snake'
• wuŋgan means 'dog'
• waḻirr means 'sun'
• guya means 'fish'
• muru means 'food'

Pronouns

Yan-nhaŋu has pronouns for 'I', 'you', and 'he/she/it'. They also have forms for two people (dual) and for more than two people (plural). For 'we' (first person plural), they have two forms:

• Inclusive: means 'we, including you (the listener)'
• Exclusive: means 'we, but not including you (the listener)'

Just like nouns, pronouns can also have suffixes added to them. Adding –pi or -bi to a pronoun makes it an emphatic form. This is used to stress that person's part in the action.

Verbs

Yan-nhaŋu verbs show actions. They change in a special way to show when something happened (like past, present, or future) or how it happened (like a command). There are four main forms for verbs: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Each form is used for different times or moods. For example, the primary form can show present or future actions.

Particles

Particles are small words that are added before a verb. They give more information about the time or mood of the action. For example, the particle mana is often used with the primary verb form to show an action that is happening right now, like "I am running."

Other particles include:

• baḏak – used with the secondary verb form for a continuous command.
• baka – used with the secondary verb form to show a future action that might not happen.
• bäyŋu – used with the primary verb form for something that happens regularly.
• bilagu - used with the secondary verb form for a future action that might not happen, or with the quaternary form for a conditional action.
• gurrku - used with the primary verb form to show future tense.
• mananha - used with the tertiary verb form to show an action that was happening in the past.
• nhakali – used with the secondary verb form to mean 'should'.
• wanha - used with the tertiary verb form to show that an action is finished.

Adjectives

Yan-nhaŋu adjectives describe nouns. They can come before or after the noun they describe. They can also be used as adverbs to describe verbs.

Examples of Adjectives

• yindi means ‘big’
• miku means ‘red’
• miriŋu means ‘bad’
• dhunupa means ‘straight’
• mulkuruŋu means ‘foreign’
• buḻaŋgitj means ‘good’

Example Sentences

Here's how adjectives can be used:

Nhaŋu ratha miriŋu.

this child bad

' This child is bad.'

Here's an example where an adjective acts like an adverb:

Ŋarra mana miriŋu waŋa Yan-nhaŋumurru

I cont. bad speak Yan-nhaŋu-through

' I speak Yan-nhaŋu badly.'

How Words Change

Words in Yan-nhaŋu change by adding suffixes.

Noun Changes

The way a noun changes depends on whether the verb in the sentence has an object or not. If a noun is the subject of a sentence where the verb has an object, it gets a special suffix. This suffix can also show that the noun is being used as a tool.

Pronouns don't get these suffixes when they are the subject. Objects of verbs also get suffixes, especially if they are people or animals.

Suffixes are also used to show possession (like 'my' or 'your') or to show that something is 'related to' or 'associated with' a noun. Other suffixes can mean 'with', 'at a location', 'from', 'without', 'to' or 'towards', or 'through'.

A noun can even become an adjective by adding a suffix. For example, ratha ('baby') becomes rathaway, meaning 'pregnant'.

Verb Changes

Verbs in Yan-nhaŋu change their form based on patterns. For example, adding -nara, -nhara, or -nara to a verb's tertiary form turns it into a noun.

• wapthana ‘jump’ --> wapthananara ‘jumping'
• bamparra ‘stand’ --> bamparranhara ‘standing’

Nouns can also become verbs by adding suffixes like -tjirri, -yirri, or -djirri (meaning 'become'), or -kuma, -guma, or -yuma (meaning 'make').

• yindi ‘big’ --> yindiyuma ‘to make big'
• buḻaŋgitj ‘good’ --> buḻaŋgitjkuma ‘to make good’
• bambay ‘blind’ --> bambayyirri ‘to become blind’
• borum ‘ripe’ --> borumdjirri ‘to ripen’

Repeating Parts of Words

Sometimes, parts of Yan-nhaŋu verbs are repeated. This is called reduplication. It can show that an action is happening a lot, or that it's happening over and over again. This is a common feature in many native Australian languages.

• gabatthun ‘run’ --> gabagabatthun ‘keep running’
• dhurrguyun ‘shake something’ --> durrgudhurrguyun ‘shake something repeatedly/vigorously’
• bil’yun ‘turn’ --> bilyu’pilyun ‘keep turning,’ ‘turn repeatedly’

Word Order

The order of words in Yan-nhaŋu sentences is quite flexible. This means you can often arrange words in different ways and still have a correct sentence. This is because the suffixes on words show their job in the sentence, not their position.

Here are some examples of how word order can change: 1) Nhapiyan nhunu gurrku?

Do what you future particle

' What will you do?'

Alternatively: Nhunu gurrku nhapiyan?

2) Moḻ’yu dharrkthana rathanha

snake-by bit baby-the

' The snake bit the baby.'

Alternatively: Rathanha dharrkthana moḻ’yu.

3) Nhaŋu gulkuruŋu wurrpaṉ.

This small emu

' This is a small emu.'

Alternatively: Gulkuruŋu wurrpaṉ nhaŋu, Or: Wurrpaṉ gulkuruŋu nhaŋu.

See also

• Yolŋu
• Yolŋu Matha
• Dual (grammatical number)
• Transitivity (grammatical category)
• Australian Aboriginal kinship