C27: NGARINYMAN | AIATSIS Collection

AIATSIS code:

C27

AIATSIS reference name:

NGARINYMAN

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Name

Thesaurus heading language	Ngarinyman language C27
Thesaurus heading people	Ngarinyman people C27
ABN name	Ngarinyman language (Previously Ngarinman language)
ABS name	Ngarinyman
Horton name	Ngarinman
Ethnologue name	Ngarinman
ISO 639-3 code	nbj
Tindale name	Ngarinman
Tindale (1974)	Ngainman, Ngainmun, Ngrainmun, Hainman (of local white people), Hyneman, Narinman, Nariman.
O'Grady et al (1966)	Airiman, Ngaiman, Ngaimmun, Ngraimun
Glottocode	ngar1235
Other sources	Ngaringman, Hairiman (Widijburru et al. 2010:13)
Synonyms	Ngarinyman, Ngarinman, Agarinman, ainman, Airiman, Hainman, Heineman, Hyneman, Nariman, Narinman, Ngaiman, Ngaimmun, Ngainman, Ngainmun, Ngarnman, Ngraimun, Ngrainmun, Ngaringman, Hairiman

Comment

Comments:

McConvell (1980) distinguishes three dialects of Ngarinman (C27): Eastern Ngarinman C32, Bilinara N36, and Wurlayi C37. Widijburru et al. (2010:13) mention the existence of two different forms for some items in their plant and animal dictionary. They point out that this could reflect two varieties 'more strongly differentiated in the past' (north-west vs. south-east), or they could be relics of the extinct Nyiwanawu C45 language. They also say the different forms could 'represent the western form of the Ngarinyman language referred to as Wurlayi Ngarinyman by some speakers and linguists' though it is not clear if this is the same or additional to the north-west/south-east distinction mentioned earlier.

References:

Harvey, Mark. 2008. Non-Pama-Nyungan Languages: land-language associations at colonisation. AILEC 0802.
Tindale, Norman B. 1974. Aboriginal tribes of Australia: their terrain, environmental controls, distribution, limits, and proper names. Berkeley: University of California Press/Canberra: Australian National University Press.
Widijburru, Bobby, Daisy Harrington, Ronny Balwanjer, Eileen Roberts, Peter Waterloo, Laurie Roberts, Roy Nuwalad Harrington, Josie Roberts, Noeline Nemit, Colleen Moerkerken, and Glenn Wightman. 2010. Ngarinyman plants and animals: Aboriginal knowledge of flora and fauna from Judbarra/Gregory National Park and the Victoria River, northern Australia. Darwin: Dept. of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport/Diwurru-Jaru Aboriginal Corporation.

Status:

Confirmed

Location

State / Territory:

Location information:

The general affiliation was to the drainage of Wickham and Humbert Rivers above Yarralin (Harvey ASEDA 802). Upper Victoria River, about Jasper Creek; west of Victoria River Downs; south to Mount Sanford (n.n. Mun-jan), west to Limbunya, chiefly on Wickham River. (Tindale 1974). Ngarinyman country traditionally extends across much of what is now called Judbarra/Gregory National Park, it includes areas such as Bullita, Yarralin, Lingara, Limestone Gorge, Bulla, Amanbidji, parts of Victoria River Downs, Humbert River, east Baines River and the Wickham River. (Widijburru et al. 2010:11).

Maps:

Links

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Sourcebook for Central Australian Languages (1981):

Nganawongka (A37 ) in Sourcebook for Central Australian Languages (1981).

Ngarinman

Names of the language and different spellings that have been used:: Ngarinman (AC,SAW,O'G,RLS,AIAS), Waringari (AIAS) (not a language name,, according to Hudson, Vaszolyi) Waringari has been grouped with Wanjira. See Jaru for information on Wanjira.
Classification of the language:: Northern Western Desert Type, Ngumbin subgroup, (eastern Kimberleys) (Waringari, A.063); Identification codes:; Oates '73: 59.5 (Waringari, 59.3b); AIAS: C.027 (Waringari, A63); Capell: C21 (Waringari, A38)
Present number and distribution of speakers:: Victoria River Downs, Yaralin outstation of VRD, Humbert River, eastern Kimberleys; Milliken, 1972 -- 171; Black, 1979 -- up to 170
People who have worked intensively on the language:: None.
Practical orthography:: None; Gurindji may be suitable.
Word lists:: Capell, Leeding.
Grammar or sketch grammar:: Capell (brief).
Material available on the language:: Breen, J.G. 1972. (recordings of a few songs); Capell, A. Ngarinman vocabulary. 21p. ts. Sydney. (about 500 words, Ngarinman-English); ---------- 1940. The classification of languages in north and north-west Australia. Oceania 10.3:241-272, 10.4:404-433. tbls. maps. (brief comparative vocabularies, grammatical; study, outline phonetics); Douglas, Wilfrid H. 1976. Comment on the paper "Metamorphosis and process in Kitja". Talanaya 3:37-43.; Leeding, Velma J. 1971. Gurindji and Ngarinman word lists. 15p. ts. SIL.; ---------- 1971. Word lists: Mudbura and Ngarinman. 14p. ts. SIL. (p 10707, AIAS); ---------- 1973. Observations on Ngarinman phonology and grammar. 21p. ts. SIL.; Nekes, H. & E.A. Worms. 1953. Australian languages. Fribourg: Anthropos-Institut. Micro-Bibliotheca Anthropos vol.10. 1059p.
Literacy material:: None.

Kathy Menning (comp.) and David Nash (ed.) 1981. © IAD Press

AIATSIS gratefully acknowledges IAD Press for permission to use this material in AUSTLANG.

Handbook of Kimberley Languages (1988):

Putijarra (A54 ) in Handbook of Kimberley Languages (1988).

8.16 Ngarinyman / Ngarinman

Names of the language and different spellings that have been used:: Ngainman, Ngarinman (Capell, Wurm, O'Grady, Oates, AIAS), Ngarinman (O'Grady), Ngaringman (Rose), Waringari (AIAS).; Waringari, which has also been grouped with Wanyjirra, is not a language name - see section 8.13 on Wanyjirra.
Classification of the language:: Northern Western Desert type, Ngumbin subgroup; Identification codes:; AIAS: C27 (Waringari, A63); Oates 1973: 59.5 (Waringari, 59.3b); Capell: C21 (Waringari, A38)
Present number and distribution of speakers:: Victoria River Downs, Yaralin outstation of VRD, HumbertRiver, eastern Kimberleys; Milliken (1972) - 171; Black (1979) - up to 170
People who have worked intensively on the language:: McConvell, since mid-1970s, Victoria River district, mainly at Dagaragu
Practical orthography:: None; Gurindji orthography may be suitable.
Word lists:: Capell (nd), Leeding (1971a,1971b), O'Grady (1959)
Textual material:: None
Grammar or sketch grammar:: Capell (1940), Leeding (1973)
Material available on the language:: Breen, J.G. 1972. [Tape recordings of a few songs]; Capell, A. 1940. The classification of languages in north and north-west Australia. Oceania 10. 241-272, 404-433.; _____ .nd. Ngarinman vocabulary. 21p. typescript. (about 500 words, Ngarinman-English); Douglas, W.H. 1976. Comment on the paper 'Metamorphosis and process in Kitja'. Talanaya 3. 37-43.; Leeding, V.J. 1971a. Gurindji and Ngarinman word lists. 15p. typescript. SIL.; _____ .1971b. Word lists: Mudbura and Ngarinman. 14pp. typescript. SIL. AIAS; _____ .1973. Observations on Ngarinman phonology and grammar. 21pp. typescript. SIL.; Nekes, H. & Worms, E.A. 1953. Australian languages. (Micro-Bibliotheca Anthropos, 10) Fribourg: Anthropos-Institut. 1058pp. AIAS MF 4.; McConvell, P. 1985. The origin of subsections in northern Australia. Oceania 56. 1-33.; O'Grady, G.N. 1959. Significance of the circumcision boundary in Western Australia. BA (Hons) thesis, University of Sydney.
Language programme:: None
Language learning material:: None
Literacy material:: None

McGregor, William. 1988 Handbook of Kimberley Languages. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. © Author.

AIATSIS gratefully acknowledge William McGregor for permission to use his material in AUSTLANG.

Programs

Activities:

Katherine Regional Language Centre developed a language learning CD-rom in 2005.

People:

Caroline Jones, Velma Leeding, Eva Schultze-Berndt, Cameron Raynes, Katherine Regional Aboriginal Language Centre

Indigenous organisations:

Diwurruwurru-jaru Katherine Regional Language Centre

Speakers

Year	Source	Speaker numbers
1975	Oates	-
1984	Senate	-
1990	Schmidt	170
1996	Census	-
2001	Census	-
2004	NILS1	few?
2005	Estimate	50
2006	Census	354
2011	Census	310
2014	NILS2
2016	Census	234
2018-2019	NILS3

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).

Documentation

Type	Documentation Status	Documentation Score
Word list	Large (more than 200 pages)	4
Text Collection	Small (20-100 pages)	2
Grammar	Sketch grammar (less than 100 pages)	2
Audio-visual	1-10	2

Manuscript note:

tape transcription/field note available

Grammar:

Jones, Caroline. 1995. Draft sketch grammar of Ngarinyman, ms.

Dictionary:

Jones, Caroline, Schultze-Berndt, Eva, Denniss, Jessica, Meakins, Felicity. 2019. Ngarinyman to English Dictionary. Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press.

Widijburru, Bobby, et al. 2010. Ngarinyman plants and animals: Aboriginal knowledge of flora and fauna from Judbarra / Gregory National Park and the Victoria River area, northern Australia. Darwin: Diwurruwurru-jaru Aboriginal orporation.

Classification

Source	Family	Group	Sub-group	Name	Relationship
Ethnologue (2005)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West	Ngumbin	Ngarinman	Ngarinman [Bilinara (Pilinara)]
Dixon (2002)		NORTHERN DESERT FRINGE SUBGROUP	Edgar Range to Victoria River subgroup*	Ngarinman	Gurindji (Kuurrinjtji) McConvell (ms.a) further dialects: Wanjdjirra, Malngin, Wurlayi, Ngarinman, Pilinara; possibly also Kartangarurru
Wurm (1994)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West		Ngarinman
Walsh (1981)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West	Ngumbin	Ngarinman	Ngarinman [dialects: Bilinara, Eastern (Ngarinman), Wurlayi]
Oates (1975)	Pama-Nyungan	Northern Western Desert Type	Ngumbin (Eastern Kimberleys)	Ngarinman
Wurm (1972)	Pama-Nyungan	Southwest (or Nyungic)	Ngumbin	Ngarinman
O'Grady, Voegelin and Voegelin (1966)	Pama-Nyungan	Southwest	Ngumbin	Ngarinman