Yinggarda language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yinggarda |
|
|---|---|
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Gascoyne coast area of Western Australia; Shark Bay coast between Gascoyne and Wooramel rivers, inland to Red Hill, West Pilbara |
| Ethnicity | Yingkarta (Tedei, Mandi), ?Maia |
| Native speakers | 2 (2005)aiatsis |
| Language family |
Pama–Nyungan
|
| Dialects |
? Maya
|
| AIATSIS | W19 Inggarda, W20 |
The Yinggarda language (also called Yingkarta or Inggarda) is an Aboriginal language from Western Australia. It is a very special language that belongs to the Yingkarta people. Sadly, not many people speak Yinggarda today, which means it is an endangered language. But don't worry, people are working hard to bring it back to life! This effort is called language revival.
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What's in a Name?
The name "Yinggarda" can be spelled in a few different ways. You might also see it written as "Yingkarta" or "Inggarda." This happens sometimes with languages, especially when they are written down by different people over time.
Where Yinggarda Comes From
Yinggarda is part of a bigger group of languages called the Pama–Nyungan family. This is one of the largest language families in the world! Within this family, Yinggarda is also part of a smaller group known as the Kartu languages. It's like how your family belongs to a bigger community.
Some people think that another language, called Maya (or Maia), might have been very similar to Yinggarda. It could have even been a different way of speaking the same language, like a dialect.
Where the Yinggarda Language Was Spoken
The traditional land of the Yinggarda people is in Western Australia. It's around the town of Carnarvon, which is on the central western coast. The area stretches inland towards Gascoyne Junction and south to the mouth of the Wooramel River. Imagine a beautiful coastal area with rivers and land extending inland – that's Yinggarda country!
Bringing the Language Back to Life
Many people are working hard to save and revive the Yinggarda language. Here are some important steps:
- In 1992, a special book called a dictionary was published by Peter K. Austin. A dictionary helps people learn words and their meanings.
- A linguist named Alan Dench wrote a short grammar book in 1998. A grammar book explains how the language works, like how to put sentences together. He worked with some of the last people who spoke Yinggarda in the 1970s and 1980s.
- The Yamaji Language Centre, now called the Irra Wangga Language Centre, has been helping with the Yinggarda language since 1993. They do amazing work to keep the language alive.
As of 2020, Yinggarda is one of 20 languages that are getting special help. This help comes from a project called the Priority Languages Support Project. It's run by First Languages Australia and gets money from the Department of Communications and the Arts. The project's goal is to find and record languages that are in great danger of disappearing. They look for languages that don't have many records but still have people who speak them. This way, they can make sure these important languages are not lost forever.
