Nyangumarta language facts for kids

Nyangumarta is an Aboriginal Australian language. It is also known by other names like Njaŋumada or Njangamada. The Nyangumarta people speak this language. They live in Western Australia. This area is south and east of Lake Waukarlykarly. It includes Eighty Mile Beach and part of the Great Sandy Desert.

In 2016, about 211 people spoke Nyangumarta. This number was lower than in 1975, when about 1000 people spoke it. Nyangumarta has two main types, called dialects. These are Ngurlipartu and Wanyarli. It is the most common Aboriginal language spoken in the town of Port Hedland.

Language Family

Nyangumarta belongs to a large group of languages called Pama–Nyungan languages. Think of it like a big language family tree. Nyangumarta is part of a smaller branch on this tree called the Marrngu group. Other languages in this group are Mangarla and Karajarri. These languages share some words and features with Nyangumarta.

Where is Nyangumarta Spoken?

Nyangumarta is spoken in the western part of Australia. It covers a large area, from the coast to inland desert regions.

Nyangumarta Dialects

Nyangumarta has two main dialects, which are like different versions of the language.

• Ngurlipartu is spoken more in the southern, inland parts of the region.
• Wanyarli is spoken more along the northern coast.

Sounds of Nyangumarta

Every language has its own set of sounds. Nyangumarta has many different consonant sounds. These are sounds like 'p', 'k', 'm', or 'n'. But it has only a few vowel sounds, like 'a', 'i', or 'u'. This is common for many Aboriginal Australian languages.

Consonant Sounds

Nyangumarta has 17 different consonant sounds. Some of these sounds are made in similar places in the mouth. For example, there are different 't' sounds, depending on where your tongue touches.

In Nyangumarta, consonant sounds do not change meaning based on whether they are voiced or unvoiced. For example, 'p' (unvoiced) and 'b' (voiced) are often heard as the same sound. Sometimes, a 'p' sound might become more like an 'f' sound, depending on where it is in a word.

Vowel Sounds

Nyangumarta has only three main vowel sounds. These are similar to the 'i' in "sit", the 'u' in "put", and the 'a' in "father". The length of a vowel (whether it's long or short) does not change the meaning of a word in Nyangumarta.

How Words are Built (Syllable Structure)

Words in Nyangumarta can be very short, even just one syllable. But even short words need to have a certain "weight" or length. All words must start with a consonant sound. You won't find words starting with two consonant sounds together, unless a vowel has been dropped.

How Words Change (Morphology)

In Nyangumarta, words change their endings to show different meanings. This is called using "suffixes."

• Nouns (words for people, places, things) change their endings to show things like who owns something or how many there are (one, two, or many).
• Verbs (action words) change their endings to show when something happened (past, present, future) or how it happened.

Nyangumarta has special endings for numbers: singular (one), dual (two), and plural (more than two). It also has special ways to say "we" depending on if the listener is included or not.

Many Nyangumarta verbs are "complex verbs." This means they are made of two parts: a "pre-verb" (often a noun) and a main verb. When these two parts join, they create a new meaning.

• For example, to say "S/he remembers it," they combine a word meaning "likeness" with a verb meaning "keep."
• To say "S/he is hungry," they combine "hungry" with a verb meaning "to be in a state."

Some words only have meaning when they are part of these complex verbs.

Nyangumarta has an interesting way of showing who is doing the action in a sentence. Sometimes, it uses one system for nouns and another for pronouns (like "I," "he," "they"). This is called a "split ergative" system.

How Sentences are Built (Clause Structure)

Nyangumarta can link ideas together in different ways. One way is to turn a verb into a noun. This helps to create "subordinate clauses." These clauses add more information to the main sentence.

Purpose Clauses

Purpose clauses explain why an action happened. They are marked with a special ending on the verb that means "for the purpose of."

• For example, "They make their tongue come out quickly to catch the meat." Here, "to catch the meat" is the purpose clause.

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses give more details about something. They can show when something happened or describe a shared person or thing. They are marked with an ending that means "from" or "while."

• For example, "The child cut his foot while he was walking along." Here, "while he was walking along" is a relative clause.

Often, instead of using these complex clauses, Nyangumarta simply joins sentences together.