Wardaman language

Wardaman
Yangmanic
Native to	Australia
Region	Northern Territory
Ethnicity	Wardaman, Dagoman, Yangman
Native speakers	50 (2016 census)
Language family	Language isolate
Dialects	Wardaman Dagoman Yangman
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Variously: wrr – Wardaman dgn – Dagoman jng – Yangman
Glottolog	yang1287
AIATSIS	N35 Wardaman, N38 Dagoman, N68 Yangman
Yangmanic languages (purple), among other non-Pama-Nyungan languages (grey)

Wardaman is an Australian Aboriginal language isolate. It is one of the northern non-Pama–Nyungan languages. Dagoman and Yangman (both extinct) were either dialects or closely related languages; as a family, these are called Yangmanic. Though previously classified as Gunwinyguan, Wardaman has not been demonstrated to be related to other languages.

Sounds

The inventory of Wardaman proper:

Consonants

	Peripheral		Alveolo- palatal	Apical
	Bilabial	Velar		Alveolar	Retroflex
Stop	b	ɡ	d̠ʲ	d	ɖ
Nasal	m	ŋ	n̠ʲ	n	ɳ
Lateral			l̠ʲ	l	ɭ
Flap				ɾ
Approximant	β̞		j	ɹ̠

The alveolo-palatals are pronounced with the blade of the tongue; at the end of a syllable they may sound like yn and yl to an English ear. Even the y is said to have lateral spread and to be pronounced with the blade and body of the tongue. There is very little acoustic difference between the two apical series compared to other languages in the area. The alveolars may add a slight retroflex onglide to a following vowel, and the retroflexes may assimilate alveolars in the same word. Nonetheless, they remain phonemically distinct. Francesca describes the w as bilabial, and notes that there is little or no lip rounding or protrusion (except in assimilation to a following /u/ or /o/). The r is post-alveolar.

Vowels

	Front	Back
High	i	u
Mid	e	o
Low	a

References

• Merlan Francesca. 1983. A Grammar of Wardaman. A Language of the Northern Territory of Australia. Mouton de Gruyter. 1994.