AIATSIS Code: A61
AIATSIS reference name: NYANGUMARTA [Comment]Comment: According to Sharp (2004:4), her informants identify four Nyangumarta dialects: Ngurlipartu [A72*] as spoken to the south by families such as that of Billy Dunn's; Pijikala as spoken to the north near Lake Waukarlykarly and is identified with the families of Billy Thomas and the late Jack Kurala; Kuntal [A98*] spoken by the families associated with Cranky Iti; and Walyirli [A73*], the dialect spoken at Yandeyarra and the Twelve Mile Reserve on the outskirts of Port Hedland, where it is also referred to as 'coastal' by some people. These distinctions are however made on the basis of speaker's notion of 'dialects', and Sharp recognises only two distinct types of a Nyangumarta in the linguistic sense: Ngurlipartu [A72*] and Walyirli [A73*], which Sharp refers to as southern inland Nyangumarta and northern coastal Nyangumarta respectively.
Status: Confirmed
[Name]Standard names used in different sourcesOther names/spellings used for this languageTindale (1974): I:baruga, Ibarga, Ibargo, Ibarrga, Iparuka (name used by southern hordes), Iparuka (of coastal tribespeople for southern hordes), Kularupulu (name applied jointly to coastal Njangamarda and Karad-jari), Kundal (a name for coastal Njangamarda of the north), Kundal and Waljuli Njangamarda (southern inlanders names for northern coastal Njangamarda), Nangamada, Nangam-urda, Nangumarda, Ngapakarna (another southern Njangamarda name for themselves), Ngapakoreilitja (northern name for southern Njangamarda 'southern waters people'), Ngardungardu (term used by northern Njangamarda in contrast to the Nanudu [Nganudu] or 'southern people'), Njadamarda (typographical error), Njangamada, Njangomada, Njangomada (cerebral d fide Petri), Njangumada, Njangumarda, Njanja-marta, Nyangamada, Nyangumada, Nyangumata, Warmala (general derogatory term applied by northern Njangamarda to southern people)
O'Grady et al (1966): Njangamada, Nyangamada, Nangamada, Nangamurda
Other sources:
Njangumarda (Capell 1940), Nangumarda, Nyangumada, Nyangumarda (O'Grady), Ibarga/Ibarrga/Ibargo, I:baruga, Ngapakarna (a southern Njangamarda name for themselves), Iparuka (name used by southern houdes), Kundal (name for coastal Njangumarda of the north), Nangamada, Nangumada, Nangumurdu, Ngolibardu, Ngulipartu, Nungoo'murdoo, Nya'umada, Nyangumarda, and Nyangumurtu (McKelson 1989) [Sharp 2004:2]
[Classification]AIATSIS classification (tentative): Pama-Nyungan
family Marrngu
group subgroup [Location]State: WA
Location: Traditional: an area that stretched from south and east of lake Waukarlykarly (towards Telfer) northwards to a long string of claypans that lie east of Sandfire, and which reach over 120 km into the Great Sandy Desert. Many of the northern Nyangumarta people occupied the Eighty Mile Beach area (Sharp 2004:4).
Present: northern Pilbara and southern Kimberley areas. The area extends to La Grange (Bidyadanga) and Broome and south-west to Port Hedland Also Marble Bar (Sharp 2004:12).
In early historical time the Iparuka Njangamarda usurped the territory of the Ngolibardu tribe around Thros-sell Range. Including this, their territory extends from Rudall River northeast to ['Karbardi] near Swindell Field east of ['Tjandalkuru], (Tindalgoo on maps), thence west to near the eastern border of Warrawagine Station. The Kundal Njangamarda go from this line northwest to ['Man-da] (Munda Well on Munro Station) and west to Anna Plains Station, just south of Cape Missiessy, where ['Jawinja], situated beside the present Station homestead, was their northernmost water. Their southwestern boundary lay along the edge of the tableland north of de Grey and Oakover rivers to ['Jalalo] (Ulalling Hills on maps) (Tindale 1974).
Maps: Tindale, Norman. 1974. Tribal Boundaries in Aboriginal Australia. Canberra: Division of National Mapping, Department of National Development.
Sharp, Janet. 2004. Nyangumarta: A language of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
[Documentation]Documentation information is based on materials held at AIATSIS and also listed in OZBIB (a linguistic bibliography of Aboriginal Australia and Torres Strait Islands). Click 'Search MURA' and 'Search OZBIB' under the 'Resource' tab to view these materials.
Click here to read the details of documentation scoring system.
Documentation score (0-16) = 13
| Type | Documentation Status | Documentation Score |
|---|
| Word list | Medium (100-200 pages) | 3 |
| Text Collection | Medium (100-200 pages) | 3 |
| Grammar | Large grammar (more than 200 pages) | 4 |
| Audio-visual | More than 10 | 3 |
Manuscripts/field notes in the AIATSIS library: tape transcription/field note available
Grammar:Sharp, Janet. 2004. Nyangumarta: A language of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Pacific Linguistics 556. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
Dictionary:McKelson, Kevin. 1989 Topical vocabulary in Northern Nyangumarta. Broome, WA: Aboriginal Studies Dept. Nulungu Catholic College.
[Resource]Items on this languageSearch OZBIB Search MURA Search entries on this languageThere may not be an entry on this language in these sources
[Speaker]History of speaker numbers: Other: -
NILS language proficiency and usage scale: | 1-19 years | 20-39 years | 40-59 years | 60+ |
|---|
| 7 | 6 | 7.5 | 8 |
NILS endangerment Grade (0-5):
5
[Program]Past and current activities: People who recorded or did research extensively: Brown Geytenbeek, Janet Sharp, Geoff O’Grady, Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre
Information as on DATE: 2010-07-30 14:02:02