Arandic languages explained

Arandic
Familycolor:	Australian
Fam2:	Arandic–Thura-Yura
Child1:	Arrernte group
Glotto:	aran1267
Glottorefname:	Arandic
Map:	Arandic languages.png
Mapcaption:	Arandic languages (green) among other Pama–Nyungan (tan)

Arandic is a family of Australian Aboriginal languages consisting of several languages or dialect clusters, including the Arrernte (Upper Arrernte) group, Lower Arrernte (also known as Lower Southern Arrernte), Pertame language (also known as Southern Arrernte) and Kaytetye.

Languages

• Upper Arrernte (or just Arrernte) dialect cluster, with five or six main dialects, with the most dominant being Central or Eastern Arrernte, which is spoken in and around Alice Springs (Mparntwe) itself.
• Lower Arrernte, also known as Alenjerrntarpe and Lower Southern Arrernte, was spoken by the people around the Finke River area, but it is now extinct. The last speaker was Brownie Doolan, from whom Gavan Breen managed to write up a dictionary of roughly 1000 words. According to AIATSIS, this was a clearly distinct language.
• Pertame, also known as Southern Arrernte, is from the country south of Alice Springs, along the Finke River, north and north-west of the location of speakers of Lower Arrernte. With only 20 fluent speakers left by 2018, the Pertame Project is seeking to retain and revive the language, headed by Pertame elder Christobel Swan. Renowned artist Erlikilyika (Jim Kite) was a Pertame speaker. Ethnologue classes Pertame as a variant name for Lower Southern, but other sources vary in their classifications and descriptions of this language.
• Kaytetye, spoken near Barrow Creek and Tennant Creek by the Kaytetye people,^[1] had only 120 speakers in the 2016 census, and the number has been decreasing.^[2]

Differing classifications

There are differing opinions as to which are dialects and which separate languages, among linguists and among the Arrernte people themselves.

• Koch (2004) only distinguished two dialects, Upper Arrernte and Katetye.
• Glottolog defines the Arandic group as comprising five Aranda (also known as Arrernte)^[3] dialects, plus two distinct languages, Kaytetye (Koch, 2006) and Lower Southern (or just Lower) Aranda, an extinct language.^[4]
• Ethnologue defines eight Arandic languages and classifies them slightly differently.^[5]

Proto-language

Proto-Arandic
Familycolor:	Australian
Ancestor:	Proto-Pama–Nyungan
Target:	Arandic languages

Proto-Arandic and Pre-Arandic reconstructions from Koch (2004):^[6]

gloss	Proto-Arandic	Pre-Arandic
armpit	ilhenpe	CilhVnpV
blood	arrknge	CVrrngV
brain	ake+urrnge	kaka+CurrngV
breast	atye	CatyV
egg	ukarte	muka+artV
face	inngerre	NinngVrrV
fat	antere	NantOrV
hand, finger	iltye	miltyV “claw”
nasal mucus	yungkel	CYungkVl
sweat	anytyeye	CantyVyV
tendon	alurrnge	CalO+CurrngV
thigh	uylepere	warli+pVrV
throat	ahentye	CaakVntyV
man	urte	CurtO
person, woman?	arelhe	CarVlhV
female	amarle	ngama+arlV
dreaming	altyerre	CaltyVrrV
camp	apmere	TamVrV
single men's camp	arnkentye	CarnkVntyV
single women's camp	arlwekere ?	CurlVkVrV/*wa-
father's father	arrenge	CarrVngV
father-in-law	ahenterre	CaakVntVrrV
mother's father	atye, itye	CEtyV
cousin (female)	altyele	CaltyVlV
cousin (male)	a(t)nkele	CankOlV
sister-in-law (of f?)	arntenge	NarntOngV
axe	ilepe	CilOpV
digging stick	atneme	kana+m(p)V
spindle	ante *unte	CuntO
rabbit bandicoot tail-tip	alpiyte?	CalpV+CV(r)ti
ant bed	ungkepeye	mungka+pVyV
burrow	ulhenge	ngulha+ngV
cave	inteye	CintVyV
cliff	arnke	CarnkV
coals	(a)perrke	CapVrrkV
delicacy, honey	ungkarle	NungkaarlV
flame	inthe	CinthV
gap	utatye	CutaatyV/*wa-
ground	ahe-	CaakV-
rainbow	umperlarre	CumpVrlV-
road	iyteye	Ci(r)tiyV
rock hole	arnerre	NarnOrrV
sun	aherrke	CaakVrrkV
east	Vkngerre	kangarra !
west	alte-	CaltO-
far	arlenge	CarlOngV
down, under, inside	ukene	CukVnV/*wa-
blind	upenge	CupVngV /*wa-
dangerous	ahe+	CaakV-
dried out, desiccated	aynterrke	Ca(r)ntirrkV
empty	urlte	CurltV
frightened	atere	CatOrV
knowing	akaltye	kaka+CaltyV
point	arriylpe	Rirra+Ci(r)lpi
raw	arletye	CarlOtyV
sick, be in pain	arnte-	CarntO-
sleep	u(t)nke	CunkO /*wa-
smooth	alyelke	CalyVlkV

Verbs

gloss	Proto-Arandic	Pre-Arandic
bite	utnhe-	TunhV-
chase	ule(rne)-	CulO-
copulate with	Vnte(rne)-	CVntV-
cut off	urnte(rne)-	CurntO-
get stuck in	ume(rne)-	NumO-
go about (in search of)	u(t)nthe-	CunthV-
insert	uke(rne)-	CukV-/*wakV-
make, fix	umpare -	CumpV+CarV-
manipulate in coolamon?	aynpe- / *arnpe-	Ca(r)npi-
pluck, clear of feathers	althe-	CalthV-
put (down)	arre(rne)-	CVrrV-
put foot down, move off	arnpe-	CarnpO-
put high	utye(rne)-	CYutyV-?
return	alpe-	CalpO-?
see	are-	miira-?
shine (on)	arrtye-	CVrrtyV-
sing	ayle-	Ca(r)li-
swallow	uke(rne)-	CukV-/*wakV-
tie	irrtye-	CVrrtyV-

Plants

Scientific name	Common name	Proto-Arandic	Pre-Arandic
Eucalyptus opaca		arrke	CarrkV
Eucalyptus coolabah		ankerre	CankOrrV
green grass		atherrke	CathVrrkV
Acacia aneura		artetye	CartOtyV
Ventilago viminalis		atnyere	TanyVrV
Ficus platypoda		wityerrke/*yu-	wityVrrkV /*CYu-
Canthium latifolium		ahakeye	CaakaakVyV
Acacia kempeana		atnyeme	TanyVmV
Acacia ligulata		arterrke	CartOrrkV
Acacia tetragonophylla		arlketyerre	CarlkOtyVrrV
Acacia victoriae		urlepe?, *arlepe	COrlOpV
Atalaya hemiglauca		arlperre	CarlpOrrV
Boerhavia spp.		ayepe	CayVpV
Grevillea striata		iyltentye	Ci(r)ltintyV
Hakea chordophylla		untyeye	CuntyVyV /*wa-

Animals

gloss	Proto-Arandic	Pre-Arandic
	urtnere	TurnOrV
	ankerte	CankOrtV
	aherre	CaakVrrV
	apelkere /-ure?	CapVlkVrV
	yerr+ampe?	CVyVrrV+
termites, white ants	interrke	CintOrrkV

References

Sources

• News: Simon . Kearney . Another language faces sunset in dead centre . The Australian . 20 September 2007. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111014052024/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/another-language-faces-sunset-in-dead-centre/story-e6frg6po-1111114459448 . 14 October 2011.
• Web site: Lower Arrernte . Mobile Language Team . https://web.archive.org/web/20180930012019/http://www.mobilelanguageteam.com.au/languages/lower_arrernte . 30 September 2018 . 15 June 2019 . live . CITEREFLower_Arrernte.
• News: To save a dying language . Alice Springs News Online . 23 May 2018 . 9 June 2019 . CITEREFTo_save_a_dying_language2018.
• Web site: Pertame Project . Call for Australian languages and linguistics . 9 June 2019 . CITEREFPertame_Project . 1 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200401080640/https://call.batchelor.edu.au/project/pertame-southern-arrernte/ . dead .

Bibliography

• Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press.

Notes and References

1. Book: Breen, Gavan. Chapter 4: The wonders of Arandic phonology. 2001. Forty years on: Ken Hale and Australian languages. Simpson. Jane. David. Nash. Mary. Laughren. Peter. Austin. Barry . Alpher. ANU. Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. (Pacific Linguistics). pdf. Pacific Linguistics 512. 085883524X. 45–69.
2. Web site: Kaytetye. Ethnologue. 10 June 2019.
3. Note:"Aranda" is a simplified, Australian English approximation of the traditional pronunciation of the name of Arrernte in Australian languages pronounced as /ˈarəɳ͡ɖa /.(Web site: Have you ever wondered why Arrernte is spelt the way it is? . Turpin . Myfany . . August 2004. 15 June 2019.)
4. Web site: Glottolog. Arandic. 11 June 2019.
5. Web site: Arandic. Ethnologue. 11 June 2019.
6. [Harold Koch (linguist)|Koch, Harold]