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| Noongar language | |
|---|---|
| Name | Noongar |
| Altname | Nyungar |
| Region | Southwestern Western Australia |
| Familycolor | Australian |
| Fam1 | Pama–Nyungan |
| Iso3 | nys |
Noongar language is an Australian Aboriginal language traditionally spoken in the southwest corner of Western Australia by the Noongar peoples, including groups around Perth, Fremantle, Bunbury, Albany, and the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River. It is associated with cultural practices of the Yamatji and other Indigenous communities, and figures in legal and political matters such as the Noongar native title settlement and discussions involving the High Court of Australia and the Native Title Act 1993. Contemporary use intersects with institutions like the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and educational initiatives at universities including Curtin University and the University of Western Australia.
Noongar belongs to the Pama–Nyungan languages family and is classified within a southwestern branch alongside languages documented by researchers from the Australian National University and the Linguistic Society of America. Early descriptions were produced by figures connected to the Royal Society of Western Australia and collectors such as missionaries tied to the London Missionary Society and the Church Mission Society. Dialectal variation traditionally included groups identified with places like Nyungar, Bibbulmun, Wardandi, Ballardong, Njakinjaki, Wudjari, and Minang, recognized in studies by linguists associated with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and archives at the State Library of Western Australia. Modern classification debates have involved researchers from Monash University, Griffith University, and international centres such as the University of Melbourne and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Phonological inventories were recorded in fieldwork by linguists affiliated with the Australian National University, the University of Western Australia and the British Museum collections, noting a consonant system typical of Pama–Nyungan languages with stops, nasals and laterals at multiple places of articulation described in papers presented to the Linguistic Society of America and archived by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Vowel systems were reported in grammars produced under auspices of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and in mission-era wordlists held by the State Library of Western Australia. Orthographic conventions have been the subject of policy discussions involving the Department of Education (Western Australia), community organisations like the Noongar Boodjar Language Cultural Aboriginal Corporation and standards proposed in collaborations with the Australian National Dictionary Centre and language centres supported by the Australian Government.
Descriptive grammars emerging from research at institutions such as the University of Sydney, Monash University and the Australian National University outline morphosyntactic features including ergative-absolutive alignments and agglutinative morphology characteristic of Pama–Nyungan languages. Case marking and pronominal systems were analyzed in theses submitted to the University of Western Australia and published in journals of the Linguistic Society of America and the Australian Linguistic Society. Verbal morphology and complex predicate constructions have been treated in comparative studies involving scholars from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and the University of Cambridge. Syntax descriptions have been used in curriculum materials distributed through the Department of Education (Western Australia) and language programs run by organisations such as the Noongar Language Centre.
Lexical records compiled by collectors associated with the London Missionary Society, the Church Mission Society and colonial administrators in archives at the National Library of Australia show semantic shifts due to contact with English, trades and pastoral expansion linked to events like the founding of Swan River Colony and the development of settlements such as Fremantle and Guildford. Loanwords and calques appear in exchanges documented in studies from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, with semantic change influenced by interactions involving the Royal Australian Navy during wartime and later urbanisation linked to the City of Perth. Lexicography efforts have been produced in collaboration with the Noongar Boodjar Language Cultural Aboriginal Corporation and publishers associated with the University of Western Australia Press.
Historical linguistics research tracing Noongar’s development situates it within patterns described by scholars at the Australian National University and comparative workers at the University of Sydney and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Contact history includes early encounters with explorers connected to voyages by ships like those of the HMS Beagle and officials of the Swan River Colony, later interactions with missionaries from the London Missionary Society and traders tied to ports such as King George Sound. Legal and political histories involving the Noongar native title settlement, cases in the High Court of Australia, and negotiations with the Western Australian Government have shaped contemporary trajectories.
Revitalization has been led by community organisations including the Noongar Boodjar Language Cultural Aboriginal Corporation, education providers like the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, and tertiary programs at Curtin University and the University of Western Australia. Initiatives have involved curriculum development for schools in the Department of Education (Western Australia), training of language teachers through partnerships with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and funding from the Australian Government and state-level cultural programs. Collaborative projects with media organisations such as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) and museums including the Western Australian Museum support resources, while legal instruments like the Noongar native title settlement influence institutional recognition.
Noongar features in literature and arts supported by organisations like the Black Swan State Theatre Company, festivals such as the Perth Festival, and publishing initiatives with the University of Western Australia Press. Media presence includes programming by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), community radio stations tied to the Koori Radio network, and digital projects developed in partnership with the State Library of Western Australia and the National Film and Sound Archive. Educational and cultural outputs draw on collaborations with institutions such as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, and galleries like the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
Category:Australian Aboriginal languages Category:Pama–Nyungan languages