Anindilyakwa (Amamalya Ayakwa) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Anindilyakwa people on Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory of Australia. Anindilyakwa is a multiple-classifying prefixing language in which all traditional nouns, adjectives, personal and demonstrative pronouns are prefixed for person, number and gender.[3] According to the 2021 Australian Census, Anindilyakwa was spoken natively by 1,516 people, an increase from 1,283 in 2006.[4]
The local Anindilyakwa people refer to the language as Amamalya Ayakwa (Amamalya means 'true' and Ayakwa means 'words'). However, Anindilyakwa is still commonly used.[5]
Before a standard orthography was established, the name Anindilyakwa had been spelt in multiple ways. These included Andiljangwa, Andilyaugwa, Aninhdhilyagwa, Enindiljaugwa, Enindhilyagwa, Wanindilyaugwaz. The language was also known as Ingura, Yingguru, and Groote Eylandt after its location.[2]
Once considered a family level isolate, Van Egmond (2012) has demonstrated Anindilyakwa to be part of the Eastern branch of the Gunwinyguan family, relating it to Nunggubuyu and (more distantly) Ngandi, using correspondences between core vocabulary, verbal morphological forms, phonemes, and verbal inflectional paradigms.[6][7]
The analysis of Anindilyakwa's vowels is open to interpretation. Stokes[8] analyses it as having 4 phonemic vowels, /i e a u/. Leeding[9] analyses it as having just 2, /ɨ a/ with allophones [ i ɪ u ɯ ə o a ] and [ a æ aɪ æɪ e eɪ ɒ aʊ ], respectively.
Anindilyakwa words almost always end with a final vowel 'a'. Clusters of up to 3 consonants such as 'ngw' can occur within words.
Anindilyakwa has 5 noun classes, or genders, each marked by a prefix:
For bound pronouns, instead of "human male" and "non-human male" classes there is a single "male" class.
All traditional Anindilyakwa nouns carry a class prefix, but some loanwords may lack them.
The language traditionally had numerals up to 20 but since the introduction of English, English words are now used almost exclusively for numbers above 5.[10]
Anindilyakwa uses a quinary number system. The numbers are also adjectival and must be qualified with their corresponding noun class. 'One crocodile' becomes dawilyaba dingarrbiya, '2 turtles' becomes yambilyuma yimenda.
'Nothing' is expressed by nara ebina, 'not any'. There is no term for '"infinity", but the concept "innumerable" can be expressed by: yinguwurramur.dinama dakwulyingarrijanga 'there are too many stars to count.'[11]
Size degrees is done in 2 grades the positive and a diminutive (warrngka), although reduplication of this word is possible for an intensifying effect.[9]
Anindilyakwa features 5 grammatical numbers for pronouns: singular, feminine dual, masculine dual, trial, and plural.
The language has a clusivity distinction common in many Aboriginal Australian languages – ngakwurruwa 'inclusive we' and yirruwa 'exclusive we'. 'Inclusive we' includes explicitly the addressee (that is, 'you and I, and possibly others'). 'Exclusive we' excludes explicitly the addressee (that is, 'he/she/they and I, but not you'), regardless of who else may be involved.
With the exception of my, possessive pronouns in Anindilyakwa replace the -uwa suffix from the singular or plural pronouns with -langwa 'belonging to'.
For kinship nouns, there are 7 possessive suffixes used that distinguish between first, second and thirds, singular or plural numbers, and third person genders.
The Groote Eylandt Language Centre (GELC) promotes, maintains, and preserves Anindilyakwa. They are based in Angurugu with offices in Umbakumba and Bickerton Island. It hosts a significant collection of language and cultural resources relating to the Warnindilyakwa people. The Centre undertakes language projects both large and small and offers services such as language recording and resource development, language advice and expertise, and translation.[12]
Previously known as Groote Eylandt Linguistics, Church Mission Society ran the department until 2006. The CMS created the orthography with the Latin script to translate Bible texts into Anindilyakwa. The centre now operates under the "Preserving Culture" department of the Anindilyakwa Land Council.[13]
GELC has compiled and published the Anindilyakwa dictionary Eningerriberra-langwa jurra "The Book about Everything",[14] as well as producing an online dictionary,[15] and a web app with the assistance of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation.[16] They also run a YouTube channel with an expanding content of videos and resources in Anindilyakwa.[17]
Makassar people from the region of Sulawesi (modern-day Indonesia) began visiting the coast of northern Australia sometime around the early to middle 1700s.[18] This happened yearly until the introduction of the White Australia Policy in 1906.[19] The Macassans visited Groote Eylandt for trade, particularly for highly prized trepang in the South China Sea. The Macassans also brought with them tamarinds (jamba), dugout canoes (malamukwa), tobacco (dambakwa) and beer (anija). Evan analyses that there are potentially 35 Makassarese words, mostly nouns, that have entered the Anindilyakwa language, including many place names such as Umbakumba (Malay word ombak-ombak for 'lapping of waves') and Bartalumba Bay (Macassan word batu lompoa for 'the big rock').[6]
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