K12: Jaru | AIATSIS Collection

AIATSIS code:

K12

AIATSIS reference name:

Jaru

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Name

Thesaurus heading language	Jaru language K12
Thesaurus heading people	Jaru people K12
ABN name	Djaru language
ABS name	Jaru
Horton name	Jaru
Ethnologue name	Jaru, Djaru
ISO 639-3 code	ddj
Tindale name	Djaru
Tindale (1974)	Djaro (valid alternative), Jarroo, Jarrou, Jarrau, Charrau, Jaruo, Djara (? misprint), Deharu, Jaruru (class term), Njining (language name), Njinin, Nyinin, Nining, Neening, Meening (apparently typographical error), Ka:biri (apparently local group on Margaret River), Karbery, Kodjangana (valid name for the northern Djaru), Ruby Creek tribe.
O'Grady et al (1966)	Jaruru, Jaroo
Glottocode	jaru1254
Other sources	-
Synonyms	Djaru, Jaruru, Jaroo, Djaro, Jarroo, Jarrou, Jarrau, Charrau, Jaruo, Djara, Deharu, Njining, Njinin, Nyinin, Nining, Neening, Meening, Ka:biri, Karbery, Kodjangana, Ruby Creek tribe, Karjaganujaru people

Comment

Comments:

Tsunoda says that Djaru (K12) dialects can be divided into two groups: Wawarl K51 in the west and Njininj K7 in the east, with the differences among them largely lexical (1981:3).

Cataldi (cited in Honeyman 2005:22) says Ngardi A121 is closely related to 'Southern Jaru' (as well as Eastern Walmajarri A69) though a southern dialect is not mentioned by Tsunoda.

References:

Blythe, Joe & Wightman, Glenn. 2003. The Role of Animals and Plants in Maintaining the Links. In Joe Blythe and Robert McKenna Brown (eds.), Maintaining the Links: Language, Identity and the Land. Proceedings of the Seventh Conference of the Foundation for Endangered Languages 69-77. Bath, UK: FEL
Harvey, Mark. 2008. Non-Pama-Nyungan Languages: land-language associations at colonisation. AILEC 0802.
Honeyman, Tom. 2005. Topic and focus in Ngardi, University of Sydney: BA (Hons).
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.
Tsunoda, Tasaku. 1981. The Djaru language of Kimberley, Western Australia: Pacific Linguistics B-78. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

Status:

Confirmed

Location

State / Territory:

Location information:

The affiliations of Djaru are principally taken from Tsunoda. The only significant variation is in the east where Djaru affiliations extended further than indicated by Tsunoda. Birrindudu and Kirkimbie homesteads were associated with Djaru. In the north-west the hills immediately to the east of Halls Creek mark the north-western limit of Djaru. Old Halls Creek was affiliated with Djaru. New Halls Creek is affiliated with Gija. In the south, Ima-Ima Pool and the pools on Sturt Creek to the north of this were apparently associated with Djaru. In the south-east, the changeover to Kartangarurru affiliations was in the Browns Range (Harvey AILEC 802).

East of Ramsay Range along Margaret River to the Mary River Junction. East from the headwaters of Christmas Creek, skirting the sand desert fringe eastward to Cummins Range, Sturt Creek Station, and the Northern Territory border. Thence northward to Nicholson Station homestead, the headwaters of Ord River above the Dixon Range, keeping east of Alice Downs to Hall Creek and the Margaret River gorge (Tindale 1974).

Maps:

Links

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Sourcebook for Central Australian Languages (1981):

Gula (A21 ) in Sourcebook for Central Australian Languages (1981).

Jaru

Names of the language and different spellings that have been used:

Djaru (T,AC,SAW,O'G,RLS, Kaberry, AIAS), Dyaru (Kofod), Jarrau (R.H. Matthews), Tjaru (Douglas, Harrison) K.012 (Wanjira, K21)(Waringari, A63)

Dialect: Jaru is in a dialect relationship to Nyininy.

Jaru and Nyininy are said to be closely related to the following language, on which there is little information:

Wanjira:

Alternate names:

Mulbera (Kaberry, alternate name),Wanjira (SAW), Wandjira (T,AC, AIAS, RLS), Wanjira is grouped with Waringari in Oates 1973.

It is doubtful whether Waringari is a language name.

See Ngarinman.

Classification of the language:

Northern Western Desert type, Ngumpin subgroup

Identification codes:

Oates '73: 59.3a (Wanjira, 59.3b) (Waringari, 59.3b)

AIAS: K.012 (Wanjira, K21)(Waringari, A63)

Capell: K3 (Wanjira, K3) (Waringari, A38)

Present number and distribution of speakers:

Hall's Creek area,(including Moola Bulla, Lamboo, Ruby Plains), south almost to Billiluna, Gordon Downs (until 1981), Nicholson, Flora Valley.

Oates, 1973 -- 246 adults (Hudson, June 1973)

Black, 1979 -- 250

People who have worked intensively on the language:

Tasakau Tsunoda (Nagoya, Japan)

Practical orthography:

None. Walmatjari orthography suitable.

Word lists:

Hudson (survey), Cooling, Tsunoda.

Grammar or sketch grammar:

Tsunoda, 1978.

Material available on the language:

(see also under Nyininy)

Capell, A. 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) (mentions Wanjira)

---------- 1955. Forchheimer and the pronoun. Oceania 25.4(June).

---------- The classification of languages in north and north-west Australia.

---------- & A.P. Elkin. 1937. The languages of the Kimberley Division. Oceania 8.2:216-245.

Cooling, Graham & Dianne. 1968. The phonemes of Djaru. 38p. ts. Kunanurra. SIL. (data check form)

Hudson, Joyce. 1973. Gurindji word list for a two-week survey (probably strongly influenced by Djaru). 12p. ts. SIL. (p10609, AIAS)

---------- 1973. Two Djaru word lists. 24p. SIL. (p 10607, AIAS)

Kaberry, Phyllis M. 1937. Notes on the language of East Kimberley, North-West Australia. Oceania 8.11.

O'Grady, Geoffrey N. 1957-58. Material on suffixing languages of W.A. ms. (comparative vocabularies in about 25 languages) (Ms 320, AIAS)

---------- Significance of the circumcision boundary in W.A. (comparative vocabularies of about 115 words) (AIAS restricted)

Tsunoda, Tasaku. 1978. The Djaru language of Kimberley, Western Australia. 285p. Melbourne: Monash University dissertation. (Ms 1133, AIAS)

Literacy material:

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):

Martu Wangka (A6 ) in Handbook of Kimberley Languages (1988).

8.11 Jaru / Djaru

Names of the language and different spellings that have been used:

Daru (O'Grady), Djaro (Worms), Djaru (Tsunoda, Berndt, Capell, Oates, O'Grady, Kaberry, AIAS), Dyaro (Worms), Dyaru (Kofod), Jarrau (Matthews), Jaruru , Tjaru (Douglas, Harrison), Waringarri

Jaru is in a dialect relationship with Nyininy (see section 8.12). Jaru and Nyininy are said to be closely related to Wanyjirra (see section 8.13).

Classification of the language:

Northern Western Desert type, Ngumpin subgroup

Identification codes:

AIAS: K12

Oates 1973: 59.3a

Capell: K3

Present number and distribution of speakers:

Hall's Creek area, (including Moola Bulla, Lamboo, Ruby Plains), south almost to Billiluna, Gordon Downs (until 1981), Nicholson, Flora Valley.

Oates, (1973) - 246 adults (Hudson, June 1973)

Black (1979) - 250

Tsunoda (1981) - nearly 200 first language speakers, and possibly over 100 second language speakers (including those with a passive knowledge only)

People who have worked intensively on the language:

Tsunoda, since mid-1970s, fieldwork based in Halls Creek.

Practical orthography:

None yet established and in frequent use. The South Kimberley orthography would be suitable, and has been trialled to some extent by a speaker working for the Kimberley Language Resource Centre. However, it seems likely that a different system will be used in the language programme in the Ringers Soak Catholic School.

Word lists:

Hudson (1973a,1973b), Cooling & Cooling (1968), O'Grady (1959)

Textual material:

Tsunoda (1978, 1981), Moses (1986)

Grammar or sketch grammar:

Tsunoda (1978, 1981)

Material available on the language:

(See also under Nyininy and Wanyjirra.)

Capell, A. 1940. The classification of languages in north and north-west Australia. Oceania 10. 241-272, 404-433.

_____ .1955. Forchheimer and the pronoun. Oceania 25. 283-291.

Capell, A. & Elkin, A.P. 1937. The languages of the Kimberley Division. Oceania 8. 216-245.

Cooling, G. & Cooling, D. 1968. The phonemes of Djaru. 38p.typescript. Kununurra: SIL.

Hudson, J. 1973a. Gurindji word list for a two-week survey (probably strongly influenced by Djaru). 12p. typescript. SIL. (AIAS Library has copy)

_____ .1973b. Two Djaru word lists. 24p. SIL. (AIAS Library has copy)

Kaberry, P.M. 1937. Notes on the languages of the east Kimberley, North-West Australia. Oceania 8/1. 90-103.

Moses, R. 1986. The first white man comes to Nicholson River. In Hercus, L. & Sutton, P. (eds), This is what happened: historical narratives by Aborigines. Canberra: AIAS. 41-46.

O'Grady, G. N. 1957-58. Material on suffixing languages of W.A. manuscript. (AIAS Ms 320)

_____ .1959. Significance of the circumcision boundary in Western Australia. BA (Hons) thesis, University of Sydney.

Tsunoda, T. 1975-1979. Djaru field notes. 24 pts. c.2564pp. manuscript. AIAS Ms 1381. (A1;B4)

_____ .1978. The Djaru language of Kimberley, Western Australia. PhD thesis, Monash University. (AIAS Ms 1133).

_____ .1981a. The Djaru language of Kimberley, Western Australia. Canberra: PL, B-78.

_____ .1981b. Pronominal suffixes in Djaru. Journal of Asian and African Studies. 21. 130-142.

_____ .1981. Split case marking patterns in verb types Linguistics 19. 389-438.

Worms, E.A. 1938. Foreign words in some Kimberley tribes in North-Western Australia. Oceania 8. 458-462.

_____ .1957. Australian mythical terms: their etymology and dispersion. Anthropos 52. 732-768.

Language programme:

Since early 1987 the Red Hill Community (Halls Creek) and Ringers Soak Community (Gordon Downs) have had language programmes operating in their schools.

Language learning material:

None

Literacy material:

None

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

Programs

Activities:

People:

Tasaku Tsunoda, Kimberley Language Resource Centre

Indigenous organisations:

Speakers

Year	Source	Speaker numbers
1975	Oates	-
1984	Senate	250
1990	Schmidt	250
1996	Census	341
2001	Census	575
2004	NILS1	200-300 (ave 250)
2005	Estimate	-
2006	Census	353
2011	Census	568
2014	NILS2
2016	Census	217
2018-2019	NILS3	51-250

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	Large grammar (more than 200 pages)	4
Audio-visual	More than 10	3

Manuscript note:

tape transcription/field note available

Grammar:

Tsunoda, Tasaku. 1981. The Djaru language of Kimberley, Western Australia: Pacific Linguistics B78. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

Dictionary:

Kimberley Language Resource Centre. Jaru Dictionary, AILEC 0248.

Kimberley Language Resource CentreTsunoda's Jaru, AILEC 0510

Classification

Source	Family	Group	Sub-group	Name	Relationship
Ethnologue (2005)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West	Ngumbin	Jaru, Djaru	Jaru [dialects: Nyininy, Djaru. Nyininy is inherently intelligible with Jaru (Black 1983).]
Dixon (2002)		NORTHERN DESERT FRINGE SUBGROUP	Edgar Range to Victoria River subgroup*	Djaru	Djaru Tsunoda (1981) further dialects: Wawarl, Njininj
Wurm (1994)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West		Djaru
Walsh (1981)	Pama-Nyungan	South-West	Ngumbin	Djaru	Djaru [dialects: Djaru, Nyininy]
Oates (1975)	Pama-Nyungan	Northern Western Desert Type	Ngumbin (Eastern Kimberleys)	Djaru
Wurm (1972)	Pama-Nyungan	Southwest (or Nyungic)	Ngumbin	Djaru
O'Grady, Voegelin and Voegelin (1966)	Pama-Nyungan	Southwest	Ngumbin	Djaru