Yankunytjatjara (also Yankuntatjara, Jangkundjara, or Kulpantja) is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Wati languages, belonging to the large Pama–Nyungan family. It is one of the many varieties of the Western Desert Language, all of which are mutually intelligible.
Yankunytjatjara is spoken in the north-west of South Australia and is one of the most easterly of the Western Desert dialects, being spoken around the communities of Mimili, Indulkana and Fregon and across to Oodnadatta and Coober Pedy (although this latter is not on traditional Yankunytjatjara land). According to a study carried out mainly in Coober Pedy where many speakers of both varieties reside (although the town is on what was traditionally Arabana lands), young speakers of Yankunytjatjara often borrow words from English and also from Pitjantjatjara (which has expanded eastwards into Yankunytjatjara country and beyond). Yankunytjatjara shows some variation across its range with, for example, Northern Yankunytjatjara sharing features with Southern Luritja.
Phonology
Vowels
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!
!Front
!Central
!Back
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!Close
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!Open
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- are realised as when preceding laminal consonants.
Consonants
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!rowspan=2|
!colspan=2| Peripheral
! Laminal
!colspan=2| Apical
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! Bilabial
! Velar
! Palatal
! Alveolar
! Retroflex
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!Stop
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!Nasal
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!Tap/Trill
| colspan=2|
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| ~
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!Lateral
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!Approximant
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- can be trilled when pronounced emphatically, or may also occur as voiceless in word-final position.
Name
The name used for Yankunytjatjara is based on a single prominent word, the verb for 'come/go', which distinguishes it from its near neighbour, Pitjantjatjara. The latter has (in the present tense ) for this verb while Yankunytjatjara has (present tense ). The ending is the comitative suffix, and means 'having' or 'with'. Thus Yankunytjatjara means 'to have ' as opposed to Pitjantjatjara which has .
Status
There seems to be no exhaustive evidence on the vitality of Yankunytjatjara. McConvell & Thieberger
Naessan, using the 2003 UNESCO framework, gave a mark of 22/23 out of 35 (in its most condensed spot), quite a low score. If some factors that Naessan feels are unimportant in most indigenous languages are ignored, Yankunytjatjara scores 14/15 out of 20 (in its densest area). However, he argues that since recent surveys have included these factors, they may be more helpful for cross referencing. To a lesser extent he feels that, since Western Desert people own some media sources (radio station etc.), such factors should be included. He concludes a 57–65% vitality.
Both schemas indicate that Yankunytjatjara shows symptoms of endangerment (although how endangered is a subject of debate), which coincides with the beliefs of the Yankunytjatjara elders that Naessan spoke with, as well as with the assessments of most linguists who have worked in the area.
See also
- Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024