Jarrakan languages
The Jarrakan (formerly Djeragan) languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. The name is derived from the word jarrak, which means "language" in Kija.
| Jarrakan | |
|---|---|
| Djeragan | |
| Geographic distribution | from Halls Creek to Wyndham and Kununurra along the Ord River in the eastern Kimberley region |
| Linguistic classification | One of the world's primary language families |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Glottolog | jarr1235[1] |
 Jarrakan languages (purple), among other non-Pama-Nyungan languages (grey) | |
The three main Jarrakan languages are:
- Kija (about 160 speakers)
- Miriwoongic
- Miriwoong (about 150 speakers)
- Gajirrabeng (three or four speakers)
These are divided into two groups: Kijic, consisting of only Kija, and Miriwoongic, consisting of Miriwoong and Gajirrabeng; Dixon (2002) considers the latter to be a single language.
Doolboong may also have been a Jarrakan language, but this uncertain as it is extinct and essentially unattested.
References
- Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Jarrakan". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- McGregor, William (2004). The Languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia. London, New York: Taylor & Francis. p. 40.
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