Arabana language

Arabana
	Arabana-Wangkangurru
Region	South Australia; west side Lake Eyre to Stuart Range, Maree, Port Augusta
Ethnicity	Arabana people, Wongkanguru
Native speakers	15 (2016 census)[1]
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Karnic Arabana; ;
Dialects	Arabana; Wangganguru; Pilta-Palta; Wangkakupa; Midlaliri; Mikiri-nganha[2];
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either:; ard – Arabana; wgg – Wangganguru
Glottolog	arab1266[3]
AIATSIS[1]	L13 Arabana (cover term), L27 Wangkangurru

Arabana or Arabuna /ˈʌrəbʌnə/[4] is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan family, spoken by the Wongkanguru and Arabana people.

The language is in steep decline, with an estimated 250 speakers according to 2004 NILS, to just 21 speakers found in the 2006 census.[1]

Geographic Distribution

Arabana is spoken at Neales River on the west side of Lake Eyre west to the Stuart Range; Macumba Creek south to Coward Springs; at Oodnadatta, Lora Creek, Lake Cadibarrawirracanna, and The Peake. Their boundary with the Kokatha People to their west is marked by the margin of the scarp of the western tableland near Coober Pedy.[1]

Dialects

An Arabana man making fire, c. 1904.

Arabana has three dialects: Piltapalta, which Hercus refers to as 'Arabana Proper', Wangkakupa, and Midhaliri.[1] Wangganguru was also considered a dialect.

Phonology

Most of the nasals and laterals are allophonically prestopped.[5]

	Peripheral		Laminal		Apical
	Bilabial	Velar	Palatal	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex
Stop	p	k	c	t̪	t	ɖ
Nasal	m ~ bm	ŋ	ɲ ~ ɟɲ	n̪ ~ d̪n̪	n ~ dn	ɳ
Lateral			ʎ ~ ɟʎ	l̪ ~ d̪l̪	l ~ dl	ɭ
Vibrant					ɾ ~ r
Approximant	w		j		ɻ

Arabana uses the three vowel sounds, /a/, /i/, and /u/, as typically used in other Aboriginal Australian languages.

Bibliography

Hercus, Luise. 1994. A grammar of the Arabana-Wangkangurru language Lake Eyre Basin, South Australia: Pacific Linguistics C128. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

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References

L13 Arabana (cover term) at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)
RMW Dixon (2002), Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, p xxxvii
Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Arabana–Wangganguru". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
Jeff Mielke, 2008. The emergence of distinctive features, p 135

External links

Arabana Aboriginal Corporation, representing Traditional Owners of Arabana Country
Bibliographies of published, rare or special materials on Arabana language and people, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

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[AIATSIS-1] L13 Arabana (cover term) at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)

[2] RMW Dixon (2002), Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, p xxxvii

[Glottolog-3] Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Arabana–Wangganguru". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

[4] Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh

[5] Jeff Mielke, 2008. The emergence of distinctive features, p 135