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DAT:Dative PS:PArticle suffix SOU:Source YI:Suffix 1EXNSG:First person Exclusive non-singular NAR:Narrative suffixes O:object pronoun CONS:consequence clause PAST.REM:remote past DIM:diminutive GEN:genitive INSIDE:inside


Wardaman
Yangmanic
Native toAustralia
RegionNorthern Territory
EthnicityWardaman, Dagoman, Yangman
Native speakers
50 (2016 census)[1]
Dialects
  • Wardaman
  • Dagoman
  • Yangman[3]
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
wrr – Wardaman
dgn – Dagoman
jng – Yangman
Glottologyang1287
AIATSIS[4]N35 Wardaman, N38 Dagoman, N68 Yangman
Yangmanic languages (purple), among other non-Pama-Nyungan languages (grey)
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Wardaman[5] is a non-pama Nyungan language, that is widely spoken in Katherine, a town in the northern territory of Australia. It is is an Australian Aboriginal language isolate. Wardaman linguistically related to other aboriginal languages like Yangman and Dagoman in such a way that all three languages are essentially thought to be mutually intelligible. However, Yangman is no longer spoken in the Katherine area, and Dagoman is not actively spoken in the Katherine area[6]. And although previously classified as Gunwinyguan, Wardaman has not been demonstrated to be related to other languages.[2]. Wardaman is an endangered language at a level of 8a (Moribund)[7]. It is usually spoken by older people, but young Wardaman people still ethnically identify as Wardaman. They have knowledge and understanding of Wardaman, but they mainly speak kriol with the occasional use of Wardaman words and phrases. There are not many published linguistics studies on Wardaman, and the language is overall understudied. The active speakers of Wardaman live within larger communities of about 200 people, and there is shared knowledge and understanding of Wardaman among family members, and countrymen who are married to Wardaman people. There are minor differences in language between Wardaman people living in different territories, and these different sub-groupings are identified by special words that are unique to each group, and these words depend on the language spoken by the mythological figures associated with each different territory. For example, gulirrida is the general Wardaman word for 'peewees', and given that peewees are strongly associated with the sub-country located west of Willeroo Station Homestead, the word of the peewees associated with this area is mamundajgani.[8]

Phonology

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Vowels

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Wardaman has five total vowel phonemes, as shown in the table below. There are two front vowels /i/ and /e/, two back vowels /u/ and /o/ and one central vowel /a/. The two back vowels are the only rounded vowels in Wardaman.[9]

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e o
Open a

Consonants

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There are 17 total consonants in Wardaman and all of these consonants are voiced. Wardaman uses five places and five manners of articulation. Some notable features of Wardaman are that all three laterals from the consonant table are voiced bilateral approximants. Additionally, the rhotic /rr/ is a always a tap.[10]. The alveolo-palatals are pronounced with the blade of the tongue; at the end of a syllable they may sound like yn and yl to an English ear. Even the y is said to have lateral spread and to be pronounced with the blade and body of the tongue. There is very little acoustic difference between the two apical series compared to other languages in the area. The alveolars may add a slight retroflex onglide to a following vowel, and the retroflexes may assimilate alveolars in the same word. Nonetheless, they remain phonemically distinct. << Francesca describes>> The w is a bilabial, and it can be noted that there is little or no lip rounding or protrusion (except in assimilation to a following /u/ or /o/). The r is post-alveolar.[11]

Bilabial Apico-Alveolar Apico-Domal Lamino-Palatal Velar
Stops b d rd j ɡ
Nasals m n rn ny ng
Laterals l rl ly
Rhotics rr [ ɾ ] r
Semivowels w y 
The existing page has a consonant table that has been converted into the IPA so I will be working around that so this is unresolved.

Word Level Stress

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In Wardaman word-level stress is mostly predictable and major stress is usually placed on the penultimate syllable. regardless of the morphology of the word. However, nouns have two different stress patterns: all nouns that have two syllables, and some longer nouns, have stress on the penult and a pulse after every second syllable to the left; and with other nouns that have three or more syllables, stress is placed on the ante-penult instead.[12]

Word-level Stress on Nouns
Penultimate Primary stress Ante-Penultimate Stress
wunggun-burr' bundi

'They hit them'[13]

'muruwun

'Bottle tree'[14]

yi-' nyigben

'Policeman'[15]

'marluga

'old man'[14]

With verbs in Wardaman, the suffixes that mark mood or tense are are counted as final syllables. It can be be generalized that a major stress will not be placed on any affixes indicating mood or tense.[16]

Syllable Structure

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The syllable shapes CV and CVC(C) are the most prominent in Wardaman. Syllable shapes such as V and CCV are less common and only seen in particular instances. The syllable shape V can only be found in one vowel initial words, in the tag question particle 'ale' [17], and the syllable shape CCV is found in words using the form "gle" such as yi-gle (putrid flesh).[18]

Syllable shape Example English Translation
V ale Tag question: is it so?
CV wu-jugjuda short
CVC(C) gayg-barla To sing out; call to
CCV yi-gle putrid flesh

Morphology

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Wardaman is a language that uses affixation as its main morphological process. Most of the affixes in Wardaman are derivational and there is an array of productive prefixes and suffixes in the language. Wardaman also uses the morphological process of reduplication [19].

Nominal Morphology

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The nouns in Wardaman do not usually use prefixes, however, the prefixes YI-, MA-, and WU- are the three main nominal prefixes in Wardaman. The prefix YI- can occur with animate or human nouns. The prefix MA- occurs to designate plants, vegetables, and vegetable parts. The prefix WU- occurs with nouns dealing with nature, the seasons, and some natural/man-made objects.[20]

YI- MA- WU-
Yi-biwan

'man Aborigine'

Ma-nandum

'seed'


Wu-jerrijin

'Cold weather'

Verbal Morphology

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Present Tense

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The suffixes -0 and -n are the present tense suffixes in Wardaman. Most verb stems will us the present allomorph -n, and the suffix -0 will attach to all verbs ending in the final syllable -ma, -ba, the verb yana (say/do) and the verb ya- (to go).[21]

merleng

light

ya-0-ba-n

3SG-burn-PRES

merleng ya-0-ba-n

light 3SG-burn-PRES

'The light/flame is burning'[22]

ngan-gaygba-rla-n

3SG/1SG-callto-PRES

ngorlogba-wu

talk-DAT

ngan-gaygba-rla-n ngorlogba-wu

3SG/1SG-callto-PRES talk-DAT

'he's calling to me to [come and] talk'[22]

Past Tense

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The allomorphs used to indicate the past tense are -rri and -ndi. Most verbs can be attached to the suffix -rri and the suffix -ndi occurs with CV-roots and verbs such as ba- 'burn, thirst', and bu- 'hit'[22]

dilyg-ba

wait-PS

wud-jingi-ndi

3NSG-sit-PST

go

3SG-DAT

led-ba

watch-PS

wu-da-rri

3NSG-AUX-PST

yondorrin

road-ABS

go

3SG-DAT

dilyg-ba wud-jingi-ndi go led-ba wu-da-rri yondorrin go

wait-PS 3NSG-sit-PST 3SG-DAT watch-PS 3NSG-AUX-PST road-ABS 3SG-DAT

'They waited for him and watched the road for him' [23]

Potential

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The sufix -yan is used to indicate the Potential in Wardaman and it differs from the future tense in that it expresses what would be necessary in the future rather than a possibility.[24]

gurru

later

yanggun-di-yan

3-3SG/3NSG-bring-POT

lurrbu

home

yiwarna

another-ABS

gandawag

moon-ABS

gurru yanggun-di-yan lurrbu yiwarna gandawag

later 3-3SG/3NSG-bring-POT home another-ABS moon-ABS

'He may bring them back later, next month' [24]

Future Tense

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The suffix -wa is used to indicate the Future in Wardaman, and this suffix occurs with the prefix ya- when the form is in the third person. Additionally there are some verbs that have a distinctive Future stem that the suffix -wa can be attached to.[24]

nga-bu-wa

1SG/3SG-hit-FUT

digirrij

dead

nga-bu-wa digirrij

1SG/3SG-hit-FUT dead

'I'm going to belt him properly'[25]

Derivational Morphology

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Wardaman has a number of derivational affixes, and the adjectival suffix -bari is frequently used. This suffix can be used to nominalize an area or a region in an indicated direction, or it can occur as an adnominal interrogative (i.e Dawu-rlan-bari, That way-ALL-NOM, "That way"). The second most productive derivational affix in Wardaman is the nominal suffix -man / -ban. Other derivational suffixes like -wun, -mayin,, -rnan, -widi/-bidi, -ngana, and the prefix nya-, are less productive and less common in the language.[26]

Derivational Affix Function
-bari / -wari An adjectival suffix that can attach to verbs, adverbs and nominals. It nominalizes an area or a region in an indicated direction and can occur as an adnominal interrogative.

Ndog-bari

Dsplit-NOM

nganu-wo-n

2NSG/1SG-give-PRES

Ndog-bari nganu-wo-n

Dsplit-NOM 2NSG/1SG-give-PRES

'Give me the halved one/give me that bit' [27]

-gun / -wun Moderately productive suffix used to indicate "pertaining to X"; X being a noun or adjective.

yi-guyu-wunba

I-mother-SOU

nganu

1SG-DAT

goyin

honey-ABS

yani-ma

thus-PS

yi-goyi-wun

YI-honey-NOM

yirrug

1EXNSG-ABS

yi-guyu-wunba nganu goyin yani-ma yi-goyi-wun yirrug

I-mother-SOU 1SG-DAT honey-ABS thus-PS YI-honey-NOM 1EXNSG-ABS

'From my mother, I am honey, like this we are honey people'. [28]

nya- An actor prefix meaning "one who does X" or "One characterized by X"

nya-giwurrg

'sulky person. one who sulks'[29]

Other Morphological Processes

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Reduplication

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Another way of building words in Wardaman involves word and phrase repetition in order to communicate multiplicity and to indicate a repetitive and distributed action, and there are four types of reduplication present in Wardaman.[30]

O-yanggi-ya

3SG-go-PST-NAR

jarrambu

look

lurleg-lurle

cry-reduplicated

lurleg-lurle

cry-reduplicated

jarrambu

look

Birdij

find

O-gi-ndi-ya

3SG-AUX-PST-NAR

O-yanggi-ya jarrambu lurleg-lurle lurleg-lurle jarrambu Birdij O-gi-ndi-ya

3SG-go-PST-NAR look cry-reduplicated cry-reduplicated look find 3SG-AUX-PST-NAR

‘[bird] went around looking, crying, and crying and looking, and found it’[31]

Example 2:

Wurren

Child-ABS

yi-jad

YI-big

yi-jad

YI-big-ABS

yi-jarlu

YI-some-ABS

wudu

small

wudu

small-ABS

Wurren yi-jad yi-jad yi-jarlu wudu wudu

Child-ABS YI-big YI-big-ABS YI-some-ABS small small-ABS

'some big big children, some little little ones'[30]

Syntax

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Case

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Wardaman is a language that has an ergative absolutive case system. The table below shows the frequency of the placement of the object, intransitive subject and ergative-marked agent in relation to the verb, and according to this data, intransitive subjects have a higher tendency to occur before the verb, and the object and ergative-marked agent show less difference in where they show up in relation to the verb (before or after).[32]

Free Word Order

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Like many other Australian languages, Wardaman has free word order. The phrases in the language can appear in a variety of orders, and my grammar points out that although the language has what we call free word order, there are still word orderings that are more frequent and common depending on the context.[33]

After V % Before V % N=
Object 117 43.17% 154 56.83% 271
Subject 43 29.25% 104 70.75% 147
Erg-marked A 25 40.98% 36 59.02% 61

Below are some examples of possible word orders in Wardaman:

S (Erg-marked Agent) V O

Dorij-ji

[Doris]-ERG

0-ginye-rri-ya

3SG-cook-PST-NAR

ayin

meat-ABS

Dorij-ji 0-ginye-rri-ya ayin

[Doris]-ERG 3SG-cook-PST-NAR meat-ABS

‘DORIS was cooking meat’[34]

V O S (Erg-marked Agent)

0-buju-rri

3SG-dig-PST

walanja

goanna-ABS

mulurru-yi

oldwoman-ERG

0-buju-rri walanja mulurru-yi

3SG-dig-PST goanna-ABS oldwoman-ERG

‘The old woman dug the goanna’[35]

O S V

garn-gu

Spear-DAT

wurr-waja-rri-ya

3NSG-AUX-PST-NAR

narru

Dodge

garn-gu wurr-waja-rri-ya narru

Spear-DAT 3NSG-AUX-PST-NAR Dodge

'They dodged the spears’[36]



For some of the examples I used the Grammar did not provide a three line gloss, instead it just has the word/phrase in Wardaman with the english translation/meaning. My grammar also does not indicate syllable breaks really well, so it was hard to figure that out.


  1. ^ "Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2+)". stat.data.abs.gov.au. ABS. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b Bowern, Claire. How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia? 2011.
  3. ^ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xl.
  4. ^ N35 Wardaman at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies  (see the info box for additional links)
  5. ^ Merlan, Francesca C. (31 January 1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Berlin, New York: DE GRUYTER MOUTON. doi:10.1515/9783110871371. ISBN 9783110871371.
  6. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar fo Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 2, 3.
  7. ^ "Wardaman". Ethnologue.
  8. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 6.
  9. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 11.
  10. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyer. p. 12. ISBN 9783110871371.
  11. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 12, 13.
  12. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 53. ISBN 9783110871371.
  13. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 53.
  14. ^ a b Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 55.
  15. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 54.
  16. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 56. ISBN 9783110871371.
  17. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de gruyter. p. 13. ISBN 3110129426.
  18. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 24. ISBN 9783110871371.
  19. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 46. ISBN 9783110871371.
  20. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 61.
  21. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 171.
  22. ^ a b c Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 177.
  23. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 178.
  24. ^ a b c Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 179.
  25. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 180.
  26. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 215.
  27. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1944). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 217.
  28. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 218–219.
  29. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 220.
  30. ^ a b Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 46.
  31. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 50. ISBN 9783110871371.
  32. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 248. ISBN 9783110871371.
  33. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 224. ISBN 9783110871371.
  34. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 463. ISBN 9783110871371.
  35. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 353, 248. ISBN 9783110871371.
  36. ^ Merlan, Francesca (1994). A Grammar of Wardaman. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 252. ISBN 9783110871371.
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