Yawuru is a non-Pama Nyungan language from the north west of Western Australia.
Hosokawa describes three dialects of Yawuru: Julbayi (Southern coastal) K48, Marangan (Eastern inland) K54 and Jukun K2 (1991:5-6).
McGregor classifies Yawuru as one of the Eastern Nyulnyulan languages, along with Nyikina K3, Warrwa K10 and Jukun K2. He contrasts these with the Western Nyulnyulan languages, Bardi K15, Jawi K16, Jabirrjabirr K8, Nyulnyul K13, Nimanburru K9 and Ngumbarl K4 (2010:209).
... south of Broome, as far as Thangoo (Stokes 1984:9).
The general associations of Yawuru were from Willie Creek south to Cape Villaret. They extended inland to include the drainages into Roebuck Bay. According to Paddy Roe (p.c. in 1986), the northern boundary of the Jukun country is Willie Creek, north of Cable Beach; form there up to Quandon Point is Ngumbarl country. Eastern shore of Roebuck Bay south to within 5 miles of (8km) of Cape Villaret, inland nearly to Dampier Downs, n.n. [Mandikarakapo]. Their southern boundary with the Karadjari is marked by transition from open saltmarsh plain to the dense pindan scrub and heavy sand of the Karadjari country. Inland limits were inferred in accordance with drainage basins (Harvey AILEC 0802).
Yawuru or Badjabug, around Broome and western shore of Roebuck Bay, Nalen Nalena, at the south-western end of Dampier Land. Jukun - between Willy Creek, Wergenmere, and Cape Huygens (Djabaragon), the northern entrance of Roebuck Bay (Nalen Nalena), formerly in Broome itself (Nekes and Worms as cited in Harvey AILEC 0802).
The traditional territory of Yawuru-speaking Aborigines is located to the south, east and north-west of Broome ... This includes the so-called Jukun area ... The Julbayi dialect ... was originally spoken in the coastal savannah area between the Mararr sandhill west of the present Thangoo homestead and Jibari sandhill (so-called "Yardoogarra Point") near Giblara, or Cape Villaret. ... The traditional residents of teh Broome are proper (around the township, Cable Beach, Gantheaume Point, Fisherman's Bend adn the north-west of Roebuck Plains) wer Minyjirr .. or "Big Yawuru", whose language is usually referred to as Jukun (Hosokawa as cited in Harvey AILEC 0802).
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McGregor, William. 1988 Handbook of Kimberley Languages. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. © Author.
AIATSIS gratefully acknowledge William McGregor for permission to use his material in AUSTLANG.
Speaker numbers were measured differently across the censuses and various other sources listed in AUSTLANG. You are encouraged to refer to the sources.
Speaker numbers for ‘NILS 2004’ and ‘2005 estimate’ come from 'Table F.3: Numbers of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages (various surveys)' in 'Appendix F NILS endangerment and absolute number results' in McConvell, Marmion and McNicol 2005, pages 198-230 (PDF, 2.5MB).
Hosokawa, Komei. 1991. The Yawuru language of West Kimberley: a meaningbased description, Australian National University: PhD
Hosokawa, Komei. 1988. Classified Yawuru dictionary, ms.
