| Ngarluma | |
|---|---|
| Kariyarra | |
| Native to | Western Australia |
| Region | Roebourne area |
| Ethnicity | Ngarluma, Kariera, Jaburara |
Native speakers | 11 (2005)[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:nrl – Ngarlumavka – Kariyarra |
| Glottolog | ngar1293 |
| AIATSIS[1] | W38 Ngarluma, W39 Kariyarra |
| ELP | Ngarluma |
| Kariyarra[2] | |
Ngarluma and Kariyarra are members of a dialect continuum, which is a part of the Ngayarda language group of Western Australia, in the Pama–Nyungan language family. Some sources suggest that an extinct dialect, Jaburara, was a third member of the continuum.[3] However, it is clear that Jaburara had a distinct identity that has been partly obscured by a collapse in the numbers of Jaburara speakers during the late 19th century, and there is some evidence that Jaburara may have instead been a dialect of Martuthunira (see below).
While Ngarluma and Kariyarra, as parts of a continuum, are mutually intelligible, they are considered distinct languages by their speakers, reflecting an ethnic division between the Ngarluma and Kariyarra peoples. As such they may be regarded as a single, pluricentric language.
Under Carl Georg von Brandenstein's 1967 classification scheme, Ngarluma was classed as a "Coastal Ngayarda" (or Ngaryarta) language, but the separation of the group into "Coastal" and "Inland" groups is no longer considered valid.
- ^ a b W38 Ngarluma at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)
- ^ Endangered Languages Project data for Kariyarra.
- ^ See, for example: Oates, Lynette F.; Oates, William J. (1970). Aboriginal Languages of Australia: A Revised Linguistic Survey of Australia. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. ISBN 0855750103. NLA 2163908.