The Miriwoong people, also written Miriwung and Miriuwung , are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia .
13-505: Miriwoong language ( AIATSIS "Miriwoong / Miriuwung") is one of the three surviving tongues of the Jarrakan languages , the word jarrak meaning language, talk, speech . Miriwung is on the verge of extinction with only 20 fluent speakers remaining. A word in the language is jendoobang , which means 'string' and has a comitative suffix. Miriwoong traditional lands stretched over some 10,000 square kilometres (4,000 sq mi), from
26-508: A coverb and an inflecting verb (Newry 2015: 20-21). The inflecting verbs are a closed class and number around 20 while the coverbs are an open class. This type of verb system has been observed in other Australian languages, particularly in languages spoken in the north of Australia. Australian Kriol language Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
39-592: A strong preference for Aboriginal English. The Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre has been tasked with the preservation and revitalisation of the Miriwoong language since the 1970s. MDWg engages in a wide range of language revitalisation and documentation activities including a language nest, public language classes and on-country training camps. The language nest reaches around 300 children every week, both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous. A significant part of MDWg's revitalisation efforts
52-498: Is the publication of books in Miriwoong . The vowel system of Miriwoong comprises the following four vowel phonemes . Length is not phonemic. Miriwoong distinguishes 19 consonant phonemes. The consonant inventory of Miriwoong is fairly typical for Indigenous Australian languages , having multiple lateral and nasal consonants, no voicing contrast , and no fricatives. / ɻ / may be heard as either [ ɻ ] or [ ɹ ] . The largely phonemic orthography of Miriwoong
65-806: The claim had been lodged. The claim covers 7,095 square kilometres (2,739 sq mi), and includes Kununurra in the east Kimberley, Lake Argyle , the Keep River and the Ord River Irrigation scheme . Another claim, determined in November 2006, covers 6,758 square kilometres (2,609 sq mi), with the Carlton Hill Station , Ivanhoe Station and the WA pastoral leases of the Rosewood Station. Exclusive possession
78-413: The fluent speakers are elderly and the Miriwoong language is considered to be critically endangered. However, younger generations tend to be familiar with a lot of Miriwoong vocabulary which they use when speaking Kimberley Kriol or Aboriginal English , and there is active language revitalization . Ancestral Miriwoong territory covered an estimated 4,000 square miles (10,000 km ) and extended from
91-809: The northeastern flank the Jamindjung , followed by the Ngarinman due east, the Gija at their southern confines and the Ngarinyin to their west. The Miriwoong people were represented in a successful native title claim by the Kimberley Land Council in two joint claims with the Gajirrawoong people, as "Miriuwung Gajerrong". The Federal Court recognised the native title rights of the two peoples on 9 December 2003, nearly ten years after
104-488: The noun. There are two genders, designated masculine and feminine. Nouns are not marked for case in Miriwoong, although arguments are cross-referenced on the verb, in most cases using a nominative-accusative pattern. Verbs in Miriwoong have a compound system of coverbs, which are generally uninflected and carry the main semantic content, and inflecting verbs, which carry the grammatical information. Both coverbs and verbs can stand alone but most verbal expressions comprise both
117-652: The south at the Ord River valley , north to present day Carlton Hill Station , and upriver to Ivanhoe Station . Its eastern flank lay just across the border with the Northern Territory , at Newry Station . They dwelt also along the Keep River down to the coast. Running clockwise from the north, the neighbours of the Miriwung (excluding the poorly attested Doolboong ), were the Gajirrawoong , then on
130-466: The spoken languages of the community. Despite the endangered status of the Miriwoong language, the Miriwoong community is vibrantly multilingual. Languages spoken include Miriwoong (for a small number of speakers), the Miriwoong signed language, Kimberley Kriol , and English. Two varieties of English are present in the community, Aboriginal English , and Standard Australian English . Many speakers are bi-dialectical in both varieties while many others have
143-421: The valley of the Ord River north to Carlton Hill Station , upstream to Ivanhoe Station , and east to Newry Station , and along the Keep River to near the coastal swamps. Miriwoong is categorised by linguists as a Non-Pama-Nyungan language and part of the Jarrakan subgroup. As is common in many Australian language communities , the Miriwoong people have a signed language that is used in addition to
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#1732772377440156-684: Was developed at the Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring. Some sounds that do not have a standard character in the Latin script are represented by digraphs . The vowel /u/ is spelled oo in Miriwoong. MDWg is working with local organisations to conform to the standardised orthography when Miriwoong is written in documents or signage. See also : Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages Some notable features of Miriwoong grammar are as follows: Miriwoong nouns have grammatical gender and adjectives and demonstratives agree with
169-531: Was recognised across several community-leased areas. Most traditional Miriwung live in Kununurra and outlying stations. Miriwoong language (purple) other Jarrakan languages Miriwoong , also written Miriuwung and Miriwung , is an Aboriginal Australian language which today has fewer than 20 fluent speakers, most of whom live in or near Kununurra in Western Australia . All of
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