Wardal (A19 ) in Sourcebook for Central Australian Languages (1981).

Diyari

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

Diari (Reuther), Dieri (T), Dieyerie (Gason), Diyari (AIAS), Tiyari (IAD)

Other dialect: Dhirari (Austin), Tirari (Reuther)

Closely related languages: Ngamini (Breen, Austin), Ngamani (Breen) Yarluyandi (Austin), Yalyuyandi (Breen)

Classification of the language:

Karnic (originally Dieric) group, Karna subgroup

Identification codes:

Oates '73: 74.1a

AIAS: L.017

Capell: L8

Present number and distribution of speakers:

Less than ten speakers remain; they live in Port Augusta and Marree, S.A. and Birdsville, Qld. (Austin in 1978 found about 20 speakers, all multilingual with English and Arabana or Wangganguru.

People who have worked intensively on the language:

Peter Austin

Practical orthography:

Reuther's orthography has been established, but falls short of being pracatical.

A suitable practical orthography is used in Austin, 1981b.

Word lists:

Reuther mss., Gason (1879), Planert (1908),Fitzherbert ms., Schoknecht (1947), Meier ms., Austin (1981, ms.).

Grammar or sketch grammar:

Reuther mss., Schoknecht (1947), Austin (1978,1981).

See the commentary on previous work in Austin (1978).

Material available on the language:

(See the comprehensive bibliography in Austin 1978:540-45)

Austin, Peter K. 1975. Introductory grammar of the Dhirari language with notes on the Diyari dialect. n.p., 1975. lv (unpaged) bibl.maps.tbls. ms. 48

---------- 1976. Dhirari, pp.757-763 in Grammatical Categories in Australian Languages, ed. by R.M.W. Dixon. AIAS.

---------- 1978. A grammar of the Diyari language of north east South Australia. 553p. Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University.

---------- ms. A dictionary of Diyari, South Australia.

---------- 1981a. A grammar of Diyari, South Australia. Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 32. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

---------- 1981b. Switch-reference in Australia. Language 57.2. (1980 version in UCLA Papers in Syntax, 8).

---------- 1981c. Transitivity and cognate objects in Australian languages, to appear in Studies in Transitivity, ed. by P. Hopper and S.A. Thompson. New York: Academic Press.

---------- (to appear). The Afghan Snake Charmer. Paradise Crossing. In The Way It Was, ed. by Peter Sutton and Luise Hercus. AIAS.

----------, R. Ellis & Luise A. Hercus. 1976. 'Fruit of the Eyes': semantic diffusion in the Lakes Languages of South Australia. Pacific Linguistics A.47:57-77 (Papers in Australian

Linguistics, 10)

Berndt, R.M. & T. Vogelsang. 1941. Comparative vocabularies of the Ngadjuri and Dieri tribes, South Australia. Royal Society of S.A., Transactions. 65:3-10.

Berndt, R.M. 1953. A day in the life of a Dieri man before alien contact. Anthropos 48:171-201.

Breen, J. Gavan. Dieri field notes. (very brief).

---------- 1976. Yandruwantha, Ngamini, and note on Midhaga, pp.594-7,745-56 in Grammatical Categories in Australian Languages. Linguistic Series 22, ed. by R.M.W. Dixon. AIAS.

(Nothing on Diyari; Ngamini is closely related.)

---------- & L.A. Hercus, ed. [1974?]. Three central Australian grammars: Diari, Jandruwanta, Wongkanguru. Diari, 25+3p. Incorporates L.A. Hercus and T. Schwarzschild's 1972

translation from German of Reuther (1899). Revised June 1980. ts. AIAS.

Capell, A. 1976. Dieri, pp.742-5 in Grammatical Categories in Australian Languages, ed. by R.M.W. Dixon. AIAS.

Donaldson, Tamsin. 1979. Translating oral literature: Aboriginal song texts. Aboriginal History 3.1:62-83. (pp.76-78 quote two short Diyari songs)

Fitzherbert, J.A. [1920's?] Dieri grammar and dictionary.

Handwritten. approx 100p. (Said to have been in S.A. Museum; no longer held there.)

Flierl, J. 1879. Dieri and Wongkanguru grammars. ms. Lutheran Archives, Adelaide.

Fry 1937. Dieri legends. Folkore 48:187-206,269-287.

Gason, Samuel. 1886. Mt. Freeling to Pirigundi Lake, pp.75-107 in Vol. 2, The Australian Race, ed. by E.M. Curr. [Reprint of: 1874. The Dieyerie tribe of Australian Aborigines: their manners and customs. 51p. pamphlet Adelaide; and 1879. The "Dieyerie" tribe, pp.66-83 in The Folklore, Manners, Customs and Languages of S.A. Aborigines, by G. Taplin. (Vocabulary of 1300 items); also reprinted elsewhere.]

Hale, Kenneth L. 1959. Dieri field notes. (Transcription of tape recorded at Alice Springs, 1959). AIAS (MS 872) (See Parrish 1980)

Hercus, Luise A. -- see Breen & Hercus, ed.

---------- 1971. Review of Trefrey (1970). Lingua 29:91-94.

---------- 1972. [See under Arabana]

---------- 1979. In the margins of an Arabana-Wangganguru dictionary: the loss of initial consonants. Pacific Linguistics C.54:621-52 (Australian Linguistic Studies, ed. by S.A. Wurm.)

---------- (to appear) 'Afghan' stories from the north-east of South Australia. Canberra Anthropology.

---------- & Peter Sutton (forthcoming) This is What Happened. AIAS.

Homann, E. 1879. Declension of [Diyari] pronouns, p.86 in The Folklore, Manners, Customs and Languages of S.A. Aborigines, by G. Taplin.

Meier, A. Vocabulary of the Dieri tribe. approx. 1000 cards in the S.A. Museum. (21p. ms. copy made by Peter Austin, 1977: AIAS pMS 217).

Murray, Ben & Peter Austin. 1981. Aborigines and Afghans: Diyari Texts, to appear in Canberra Anthropology.

Parrish, Lucy. 1980. Tiyari word list. (based on field notes by Ken Hale). 10p. ts. IAD.

Planert, W. 1908. Australische forschungen II Dieri-Grammatik. Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie 40:686-97.

Reuther, J.G. The Diari. Translated from the German by Peter A. Scherer, 1974. S.A. Museum.

---------- Vocabulary of the Diari and related dialects. 13 notebooks, 18 bd. vols. (4 vols.; vols. of place names, myths, ethnography, etc.) ms. South Australian Museum.

---------- 1899. Diari Grammar. ms. dated 6 July 1899. Translated by L.A. Hercus and T. Schwarzschild -- see Breen & Hercus.

Schoknecht, Carl. 1947. A dictionary Dieri-English, English-Dieri. Translated from German and prepared by J.C. Schoknecht. v+33p. ts. Melbourne. (AIAS pMS 1540)

---------- 1947. Grammar of the language of the Dieri Aborigines. 15p. ts. Melbourne. (AIAS pMS 1539, 2668)

Schere, P.A. (translator) 197?. A Diari dictionary. ms. AIAS. (translation from German of Reuther's 1901 dictionary)

Trefrey, D. 1968. Linguistic routine report. Depth study of Dieri. Dictionary and tapes. AIAS (Doc 66/397, File 66/91(77)).

---------- 1970. The phonological word in Dieri, pp.65-74 in Linguistic Trends in Australia, ed. by D.C. Laycock. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 23. AIAS. See Hercus (1971).

---------- 1974. The theory of segmental phonology and its application to Dieri. ix+443p. diags. illus. tbls. Ph.D. thesis, Macquarie University.

Literacy material:

Reuther, J.G. & C.G. Strehlow. 1897. Testamenta Marra. [ New Testament.] Jesuni Christuni Ngantjani Jaura ninaia Karitjimalakana wonti Dieri Jaurani. Tanunda: G. Auricht.

Riedel, W. 1914(?) Ngujangujara pepa Diari -- talini. ms.

(Old Testament). Lutheran Archives, Adelaide.

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

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