Walmajarri language facts for kids

Walmajarri is an Indigenous Australian language. It is spoken by the Walmadjari people and other groups in the Kimberley area of Western Australia.

Sadly, Walmajarri is considered an endangered language by UNESCO. This means fewer people are speaking it, and it needs help to stay alive.

Different Names for Walmajarri

The Walmajarri language has many different names. This is because there are three main ways of speaking it, called dialects. Also, people from different areas might say the name a little differently.

Some of the names you might hear are:

• Walmajarri
• Walmatjarri
• Walmadjari
• Bililuna
• Pililuna
• Jiwarliny
• Juwaliny

Who Speaks Walmajarri?

Today, Walmajarri is spoken by people living in several communities. These communities are mostly found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Some of the places where Walmajarri speakers live include:

• Bayulu
• Djugerari (Cherrabun)
• Junjuwa (Fitzroy Crossing)
• Looma
• Kadjina (Millijidee)
• Mindibungu (Bililuna)
• Mindi Rardi (Fitzroy Crossing)
• Mulan
• Ngumpan
• Wangkajungka (Christmas Creek)
• Yakanarra
• Yungngora

Long ago, the Walmajarri people lived in the Great Sandy Desert. Over time, many moved to cattle stations, towns, and missions. This spread them out over a very large area. Because they were so far apart, different ways of speaking the language developed. These dialects also changed a bit because of other languages spoken nearby.

How Walmajarri Words Are Built

Walmajarri is a language that uses suffixes. This means that to change the meaning of a word, you add endings to it. It does not use prefixes, which are beginnings added to words.

You can find at least one dictionary of Walmajarri online. It was put together by Eirlys Richards and Joyce Hudson.

How Walmajarri Sentences Work

In Walmajarri, words can be put in different orders in a sentence. This is because the language uses special endings on words to show their role in the sentence. For example, these endings tell you who is doing the action and who the action is happening to.

However, there is one special rule. The second word in almost every sentence is a "Verbal Auxiliary." This is a special word that helps show the mood of the sentence. It also gives clues about the people or things involved in the sentence.

Learning More About Walmajarri

You can find recordings and other materials of the Walmajarri language. These are kept in places like the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC). These archives help keep the language alive for future generations.

See also

• Ngurrara, a group of Indigenous peoples and language groups, including Walmajarri