Warlpiri
| Warlpiri | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Spoken in |
Australia | |
| speaker | approx. 3,000 | |
| Linguistic classification |
||
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-3 |
wbp |
|
Warlpiri (also: Walbiri , Elpira , Ilpara , Wailbri , Walpiri , Walmama , Ngaliya , Ngardilpa or Illpirra ) is a language of a tribe of the Aborigines in Central Australia. It knows the rare perlative case .
distribution
Warlpiri is spoken in the Northern Territory around Yuendumu , Ali Curung Willowra , Alice Springs , Katherine , Darwin, and Lajamanu . With around 3,000 speakers - 2,670 according to the 1996 population census - it is one of the largest Australian languages . The comparatively large number of speakers is attributed to the fact that they are spoken in the most remote, most unfamiliar and driest areas of Australia , especially in the Northern Territory, and that the influence of the white population remained low. The UNESCO Atlas of Endangered Languages nevertheless lists them as “potentially endangered” .
Language structure
The language Warlpiri is a so-called ergative language and has a special meaning in the language research of the Aborigines, because there are characteristics in Warlpiri that also occur in other Aboriginal languages. The language allows the omission of pronouns (possessive pronouns), a very free word order and also so-called discontinuous expressions (separation of noun and adjective). In the sentence structure, the subject, object and verb are freely adjustable with two restrictions. The language belongs to the Pama-Nyunga language family , one of the most widely used Aboriginal languages. The sound system of the Warlpiri language uses special so-called retroflex sounds that do not exist in German. A tongue configuration with a tongue tip bent far back is used.
Ban on speaking / sign language
If women are in mourning, they are prohibited from speaking in this culture. You then use a sign language. The Aboriginal tribes who speak Warlpiri have their own complete sign language. Older women have internalized sign language in such a way that they use sign language in parallel with spoken language.
vocabulary
The Warlpiri language has another peculiarity: a relatively high part of the vocabulary denotes relationships. These terms have great significance for cultural life because certain rituals can only be performed by people with a certain degree of kinship. Furthermore, people of different degrees of kinship must not only be avoided, but must also not be married.
TV channel
A Walpiri Media Association was founded in 1983 as a television station dealing with the creation of films from the life of the Warlpiri. From 2000 to 2001 a video Bush Mechanics was made that shows four short films.
Individual evidence
Web links
- Detailed information about the Warlpiri language (PDF file; 670 kB)
- Bushmechanics television station site
- Ethnologue (English classification)