| Western Desert | |
| Also Known As: | Wati |
| States: | Australia |
| Region: | Desert areas of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity: | Western Desert cultural bloc |
| Date: | 2006 census |
| Ref: | aiatsis |
| Familycolor: | Australian |
| Fam1: | Pama–Nyungan |
| Fam2: | Desert Nyungic |
| Fam3: | Wati |
| Dia1: | Antakarinya dialect |
| Dia2: | Kartujarra dialect |
| Dia3: | Kokatha dialect |
| Dia4: | Kukatja (A68) |
| Dia5: | Kuwarra dialect |
| Dia6: | Luritja dialect |
| Dia7: | Manyjilyjarra dialect |
| Dia8: | Mantjintjarra dialect |
| Dia9: | Martu Wangka dialect |
| Dia10: | Nakako dialect |
| Dia11: | Ngaanyatjarra dialect |
| Dia12: | Ngaatjatjarra dialect |
| Dia13: | Ngalia dialect |
| Dia14: | Pindiini dialect/Wangkatha dialect/Wangkatja dialect |
| Dia15: | Pintupi dialect |
| Dia16: | Pitjantjatjara dialect |
| Dia17: | Putijarra dialect |
| Dia18: | Tjupan dialect |
| Dia19: | Wangkajunga dialect |
| Dia20: | Yankunytjatjara dialect |
| Dia21: | Yulparija dialect |
| Sign: | Western Desert Sign Language Manjiljarra Sign Language Ngada Sign Language |
| Stand1: | Martu Wangka |
| Lc1: | ktd |
| Ld1: | Kokata (Kukarta) |
| Lc2: | kux |
| Ld2: | Kukatja |
| Lc3: | mpj |
| Ld3: | Martu Wangka |
| Lc4: | ntj |
| Ld4: | Ngaanyatjarra |
| Lc5: | pti |
| Ld5: | Pintiini (Wangkatja) |
| Lc6: | piu |
| Ld6: | Pintupi-Luritja |
| Lc7: | pjt |
| Ld7: | Pitjantjatjara |
| Lc8: | tjp |
| Ld8: | Tjupany |
| Lc9: | kdd |
| Ld9: | Yankunytjatjara |
| Aiatsis: | A80 |
| Glotto: | wati1241 |
| Glottoname: | Wati |
| Elp: | 5886 |
| Elpname: | Kukatja |
| Elp2: | 2567 |
| Elpname2: | Pintiini |
| Map: | Wati languages.png |
| Mapcaption: | Wati languages (green) among Pama–Nyungan (tan) |
| Notice: | IPA |
The Western Desert language, or Wati, is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages in the Pama–Nyungan family.
The name Wati tends to be used when considering the various varieties to be distinct languages, Western Desert when considering them dialects of a single language, or Wati as Warnman plus the Western Desert cluster.
The speakers of the various dialects of the Western Desert Language traditionally lived across much of the desert areas of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Most Western Desert people live in communities on or close to their traditional lands, although some now live in one of the towns fringing the desert area such as Kalgoorlie, Laverton, Alice Springs, Port Augusta, Meekatharra, Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing.
The following is a partial list of Western Desert communities:
See also: Dialect continuum.
The Western Desert Language consists of a network of closely related dialects; the names of some of these have become quite well known (such as Pitjantjatjara) and they are often referred to as "languages".[1] As the whole group of dialects that constitutes the language does not have its own name it is usually referred to as the Western Desert Language. WDL speakers referring to the overall language use various terms including wangka ("language") or wangka yuti ("clear speech"). For native speakers, the language is mutually intelligible across its entire range.
Following are some of the named varieties of the Western Desert Language.
| The Language/Dialect | The People | Notes | AIATSIS Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C5: Antikirinya | ||||
| A51: Kartujarra | ||||
| C3: Kokatha | ||||
| Two dialects of the Western Desert language have been named 'Kukatja'; Kukatja (A68) and Kukatja (C7) | A68 is in the north of Western Australia near Lake Gregory, and C7 is west of Haasts Bluff in central Australia. A68 is one of the dialects that make up Martu Wangka at Jigalong.[2] C7 call themselves 'Luritja' now. | A68: Kukatja & C7: Kukatja | ||
| There is little information regarding the language but the people are well attested.[3] [4] | A16: Kuwarra | |||
| The Kukatja (C7) call themselves 'Luritja' now. Pintupi and Luritja are two similar but overlapping dialects. | A7.1: Luritja | |||
| One of the dialects that make up Martu Wangka at Jigalong. | A51.1: Manyjilyjarra | |||
| A33: Mantjintjarra | ||||
| Martu Wangka refers to either a dialect found at and around Jigalong, Western Australia or many different dialect groups in the Gibson, Little Sandy and Great Sandy deserts. | A86: Martu Wangka | |||
| Little is known of the people and their language[5] | A32: Nakako | |||
| A38:Ngaanyatjarra | ||||
| A43: Ngaatjatjarra | ||||
| C2: Ngalia | ||||
| Pindiini/Wangkatha/Wangkatja dialect | Pindiini/Wangkatha/Wangkatja people | These three dialects & people are hardly distinguishable. | A102: Pindiini, A12: Wangkatha & A103: Wangkatja | |
| Pintupi and Luritja are two similar but overlapping dialects. | C10: Pintupi | |||
| C6: Pitjantjatjara | ||||
| One of the dialects which make up Martu Wangka at Jigalong | A54: Putijarra | |||
| A31: Tjupan | ||||
| A87: Wangkajunga | ||||
| C4: Yankunytjatjara | ||||
| A67: Yulparija |
The Western Desert Language has thousands of speakers, making it one of the strongest indigenous Australian languages. The language is still being transmitted to children and has substantial amounts of literature, particularly in the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara dialects in South Australia where there was formerly a long-running bilingual program.
In the following tables of the WDL sound system, symbols in give a typical practical orthography used by many WDL communities. Further details of orthographies in use in different areas are given below. Phonetic values in IPA are shown in [square brackets].
| Front | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | ||
The Western Desert Language has the common (for Australia) three-vowel system with a length distinction creating a total of six possible vowels.
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | ||
| Plosive | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Trill | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
As shown in the chart, the WDL distinguishes five positions of articulation, and has oral and nasal occlusives at each position. The stops have no phonemic voice distinction but display voiced and unvoiced allophones; stops are usually unvoiced at the beginning of a word, and voiced elsewhere. In both positions, they are usually unaspirated. There are no fricative consonants.
While the dialects of the WDL have very similar phonologies there are several different orthographies in use, resulting from the preferences of the different early researchers as well as the fact that the WDL region extends into three states (Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory), with each having its own history of language research and educational policy.
See main article: Australian Aboriginal sign languages. Most of the peoples of central Australia have (or at one point had) signed forms of their languages. Among the Western Desert peoples, sign language has been reported specifically for Kardutjara and Yurira Watjalku,[6] Ngaatjatjarra (Ngada),[7] and Manjiljarra. Signed Kardutjara and Yurira Watjalku are known to have been well-developed, though it is not clear from records that signed Ngada and Manjiljarra were.[8]