Kurrama language

Kurrama
Native toAustralia
RegionPilbara region of Western Australia, particularly around the Fortescue valley east of Millstream and south of the Fortescue River to Rocklea Station.
EthnicityKurrama, Jadira
Native speakers
10 (2005)[1]
Dialects
  • Yinyjiwarnti
  • Yarnarri
  • Mijarranypa
  • Marntartka
  • Ngamangamara
Language codes
ISO 639-3vku
Glottologkurr1243
AIATSIS[1]W36
ELPKurrama

Kurrama is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is a dialect of Yindjibarndi, one of the Ngayarda languages of the large Pama–Nyungan family, with almost identical vocabulary and grammar, but speakers consider it to be a distinct language.

The language name has also previously been written as: Kurama, Gurrama, Gurama (amongst others). While there is no official orthography for Kurrama the Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre uses the spelling "Kurrama" in all its publications.

A number of linguists have carried out work on Kurrama however there is not yet a comprehensive grammatical description of the language. The Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre has an ongoing program of documentation of Pilbara languages, including Kurrama.

The Kurrama people associated with the language are an indigenous Australian group whose traditional lands are centred on the higher plateau regions of the Hamersley Ranges.

Phonology

Consonants

Peripheral Laminal Apical
Bilabial Velar Palatal Dental Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive p k c t̪ t ʈ
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n̪ n ɳ
Rhotic ɾ ~ r
Lateral ʎ l̪ l ɭ
Approximant w j j̪ ɻ

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i, iː u, uː
Low a, aː

[2]

References

  1. ^ a b W36 Kurrama at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  2. ^ Hill, Peter M. (2011). Morphology and Sentence Construction in Kurrama: A language of the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. University of Western Australia.


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