Yinjibarndi language explained

Yinjibarndi
Also Known As:Burnugundi, Mandanjingu
States:Australia
Region:Roebourne region of Western Australia
Ethnicity:Yindjibarndi
Date:2021 census
Ref:[1]
Familycolor:Australian
Fam1:Pama–Nyungan
Fam2:Ngayarda
Dia1:Kurrama
Iso3:yij
Glotto:yind1247
Glottorefname:Yindjibarndi
Aiatsis:W37

Yinjibarndi is a Pama–Nyungan language spoken by the Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara region in north-western Australia.

Yinjibarndi is mutually intelligible with Kurrama, but the two are considered distinct languages by their speakers.

Classification

Yindjibarndi is classified as a member of the Ngayarta branch of the Pama–Nyungan languages. Under Carl Georg von Brandenstein's 1967 classification, Yindjibarndi was classed as an Inland Ngayarda language, but the separation of the Ngayarda languages into Coastal and Inland groups is no longer considered valid.

Sounds

!colspan=2
PeripheralLaminalApical
BilabialVelarPalatalDentalAlveolarRetroflex
Plosivepronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Nasalpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Rhoticpronounced as /link/ ~ pronounced as /link/
Lateralpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Approximantpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Vowel inventory! !! Front!Central!! Back
Highpronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/
Lowpronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/

Grammar

Pronouns

Yindjibarndi, like Lardil, has pronouns that indicate whether the referents include two people separated by an odd number of generations or not.

Influence on other languages

The verb, meaning 'to separate (grain or pieces of mineral) by shaking in a special shallow dish', comes from Yindjibarndi.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cultural diversity: Census. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 13 October 2022. 2021.
  2. Oxford Dictionary of English, p 2,055.