Yulparija

Yulparija is one of the Wati languages of the large Pama–Nyungan family of Australia. It is sometimes counted as a dialect of the Western Desert Language, but is classified as a distinct language in Bowern.^[3]

Yulparija
Yulparitja Yulbarija Yulparirra
Region	Bidyadanga, north of Jigalong, Western Australia
Native speakers	33 (2021 census)[1]
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Wati Yulparija
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	yulp1239
AIATSIS[2]	A67
ELP	Yulparija 5245

It is one of the components of the Martu Wangka koine.

Phonology

Yulparija has a typical phonemic inventory for languages of the Kimberley area. It uses 17 consonants in five distinct places of articulation.^[4]

Consonant Phonemes

	Bilabial	Apico-alveolar	Apico-post-alveolar	Lamino-palatal	Dorso-velar
Stops	p ⟨p⟩	t ⟨t⟩	ʈ ⟨rt⟩	c ⟨j⟩	k ⟨k⟩
Nasals	m ⟨m⟩	n ⟨n⟩	ɳ ⟨rn⟩	ɲ ⟨ny⟩	ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Laterals		l ⟨l⟩	ɭ ⟨rl⟩	ʎ ⟨ly⟩
Taps		ɾ ⟨rr⟩
Glides	w ⟨w⟩		ɻ ⟨r⟩	j ⟨y⟩

Vowels

Yulparija uses a three vowel system, with a length contrast for the open vowel [a] and the close back vowel [u].^[4]

Vowel Phonemes

	Front	Back
Close	i [i]	u [u], uu [uː]
Open	a [a], a [aː]

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021). "Cultural diversity: Census". Retrieved 13 October 2022.
2. A67 Yulparija at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
3. Claire Bowern and Quentin Atkinson. 2012. Computational phylogenetics and the internal structure of Pama-Nyungan. Language 88. 817-845. Johns Hopkins University Press.
4. Dixon, Sally (2009). Yulparija Dictionary. Wangka Maya Pilbara Languages. ISBN 9781921312793.