Anindilyakwa language

Anindilyakwa is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Anindilyakwa people on Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory of Australia. Anindilyakwa is a multiple-classifying prefixing language in which all traditional nouns, adjectives, personal and demonstrative pronouns are prefixed for person, number and gender. According to the 2021 Australian Census, Anindilyakwa was spoken natively by 1,516 people, an increase from 1,283 in 2006.

Names

The local Anindilyakwa people refer to the language as Amamalya Ayakwa. However, Anindilyakwa is still commonly used.
Before a standard orthography was established, the name Anindilyakwa had been spelt in multiple ways. These included Andiljangwa, Andilyaugwa, Aninhdhilyagwa, Enindiljaugwa, Enindhilyagwa, Wanindilyaugwaz. The language was also known as Ingura, Yingguru, and Groote Eylandt after its location.

Linguistic classification

Once considered a family level isolate, Van Egmond has demonstrated Anindilyakwa to be part of the Eastern branch of the Gunwinyguan family, relating it to Nunggubuyu and Ngandi, using correspondences between core vocabulary, verbal morphological forms, phonemes, and verbal inflectional paradigms.

Phonology

Vowels

The analysis of Anindilyakwa's vowels is open to interpretation. Stokes analyses it as having 4 phonemic vowels,. Leeding analyses it as having just 2, with allophones and, respectively.

Phonotactics

Anindilyakwa words almost always end with a final vowel 'a'. Clusters of up to 3 consonants such as 'ngw' can occur within words.

Grammar

Noun classes

Anindilyakwa has 5 noun classes, or genders, each marked by a prefix:

Male	human	n-
Male	non-human	y-
Female	human or non-human	d-
Inanimate	neuter	a-
Inanimate	vegetable	m-

For bound pronouns, instead of "human male" and "non-human male" classes there is a single "male" class.
All traditional Anindilyakwa nouns carry a class prefix, but some loanwords may lack them.

Numerals

The language traditionally had numerals up to 20 but since the introduction of English, English words are now used almost exclusively for numbers above 5.
Anindilyakwa uses a quinary number system, where numbers act like adjectives and must agree with the noun class of the word they describe. For example, 'one crocodile' is dawilyaba dingarrbiya, and 'two turtles' is yambilyuma yimenda, with the number prefix matching the noun class of the noun.
'Nothing' is expressed by nara ebina, 'not any'. There is no term for '"infinity", but the concept "innumerable" can be expressed by: yinguwurramur.dinama dakwulyingarrijanga 'there are too many stars to count.'

1	Awilyaba	11	Ememberrkwa awilyaba
2	Ambilyuma	12	Ememberrkwa ambilyuma
3	Abiyakarbiya	13	Ememberrkwa abiyakarbiyia
4	Abiyarbuwa	14	Ememberrkwa abiyarbuwa
5	Amangbala	15	Amaburrkwakbala
6	Amangbala awilyaba	16	Amaburrkwakbala awilyaba
7	Amangbala ambilyuma	17	Amaburrkwakbala ambilyuma
8	Amangbala abiyakarbiya	18	Amaburrkwakbala abiyakarbiya
9	Amangbala abiyarbuwa	19	Amaburrkwakbala abiyarbuwa
10	Ememberrkwa	20	Wurrakiriyabulangwa

Adjectives

Size degrees is done in 2 grades the positive and a diminutive, although reduplication of this word is possible for an intensifying effect.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Anindilyakwa features 5 grammatical numbers for pronouns: singular, feminine dual, masculine dual, trial, and plural.
The language has a clusivity distinction common in many Aboriginal Australian languages – ngakwurruwa 'inclusive we' and yirruwa 'exclusive we'. 'Inclusive we' includes explicitly the addressee. 'Exclusive we' excludes explicitly the addressee, regardless of who else may be involved.

Possessive pronouns

With the exception of my, possessive pronouns in Anindilyakwa replace the -uwa suffix from the singular or plural pronouns with -langwa 'belonging to'.

English	Anindilyakwa
My	Nganyangwa
Yours	Nungkwa-langwa
Yours	Nungkwurra-langwa
Ours	Yirra-langwa
Ours	Ngakwurra-langwa
Theirs	Aburra-langwa
His	Ena-langwa
Hers	Ngala-langwa

Suffix	Gloss
-baba	because
-dangwa	the one that's better or best
-manja	by, in, at, on, when, with
-minjena	mother of child
-mubaba	because
-mulangwa	about, of, from ; after
-murra	from, with
-murriya	etc., and the rest
-langwa	belonging to, from, of
-langwa-langwa	around, along
-langwiya	along, along and around, over, through
-ma	in ; only, just ; with
-yada	for, so, to make, used on time words
-wiya	all over, still, used on time words
-wa	to

For kinship nouns, there are 7 possessive suffixes used that distinguish between first, second and thirds, singular or plural numbers, and third person genders.

Language maintenance

Groote Eylandt Language Centre

The Groote Eylandt Language Centre promotes, maintains, and preserves Anindilyakwa. They are based in Angurugu with offices in Umbakumba and Bickerton Island. It hosts a significant collection of language and cultural resources relating to the Warnindilyakwa people. The Centre undertakes language projects both large and small and offers services such as language recording and resource development, language advice and expertise, and translation.
Previously known as Groote Eylandt Linguistics, Church Mission Society ran the department until 2006. The CMS created the orthography with the Latin script to translate Bible texts into Anindilyakwa. The centre now operates under the "Preserving Culture" department of the Anindilyakwa Land Council.
GELC has compiled and published the Anindilyakwa dictionary Eningerriberra-langwa jurra "The Book about Everything", as well as producing an online dictionary, and a web app with the assistance of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation. They also run a YouTube channel with an expanding content of videos and resources in Anindilyakwa.

Lexicon

Macassan influence

Makassar people from the region of Sulawesi began visiting the coast of northern Australia sometime around the early to middle 1700s. This happened yearly until the introduction of the White Australia Policy in 1906. The Macassans visited Groote Eylandt for trade, particularly for highly prized trepang in the South China Sea. The Macassans also brought with them tamarinds, dugout canoes, tobacco and beer. Evan analyses that there are potentially 35 Makassarese words, mostly nouns, that have entered the Anindilyakwa language, including many place names such as Umbakumba and Bartalumba Bay.

English	Makassarese	Anindilyakwa	English	Makassarese	Anindilyakwa
lapping of waves	ombak-ombak	Umbakumba	the big rock	batu lompoa	Batalumba Bay
alcohol	anisi	anija	tobacco	tambako	dambakwa
anchor	balaŋo	balangwa	horse	jarang	jarrangwa
trepang	taripaŋ	derriba	shovel spear	lamaŋ	lama
fish hook	pekaŋ	bikanga	machete	kalewaŋ	kaliwanga
tamarind	jampa	jamba	fish bait	eppaŋ	libanga
material/cloth	sombala	dumbala	knife	ladiŋ	lyelyinga
dug-out canoe	lepalepa	libaliba	coconut	kaluku	kalukwa
book	surat	jurra	boss	puŋgawa	bungawa
white person	balanda	balanda	lantern	baraccuŋ	bajananga
gun	sinapaŋ	jinaba	billycan	bassi kaleŋ	bajikala
nail	paso	baja	axe	paŋkulu	bangkilya
boat	biseaŋ	mijiyanga	rudder	gulin	kulunga
box	patti	bada	mast/sail	pallayarraŋ	baliyerra
north-west wind	bara	barra	south wind	sallataŋ	dalada
north-east wind	tuŋkara 'SE wind'	lungkurrma	north-east wind	timoro	dimburra
east wind	tuŋkara 'SE wind'	dungkwarra

Animals

English	Anindilyakwa	English	Anindilyakwa
Dog	Wurrawarda	Pig	Bikibiki
Chicken	Jukwajukwa	Cat	Bujikeda
Horse	Jarrangwa	Cow	Bulukwa
Deer	Bambi	Goat	Nenukwuda

In popular culture

Music

Emily Wurramara is an ARIA-nominated Anindilyakwa singer and songwriter from Groote Eylandt. She writes and sings songs in both English and Anindilyakwa.
Yilila is a band from Numbulwar. Lead vocalist Grant Nundhirribala is a master of traditional music and a highly respected song man and dancer. The band performs their music in Wubuy, Anindilyakwa, Maccassan language and English.
Other noteworthy bands include Mambali from Numbulwar, Groote Eylandt Band from Angurugu and Salt Lake Band from Umbakumba.

Film and television

The Last Wave is a 1977 Australian mystery drama film directed by Peter Weir where a white lawyer represents a group of Aboriginal men accused of murder. Also starring Yolngu man David Gulpilil, local Anindilyakwa men Nandjiwarra Amagula, Walter, Roy Bara, Cedrick Lalara, and Morris Lalara portray the men on trial.

Bakala is a 2017 award-winning short film written and directed by Nikolas Lachajczak and told entirely in the Anindilyakwa language. It follows the story of Anindilyakwa man, Steve 'Bakala' Wurramara, who is afflicted with Machado-Joseph Disease, a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder that results in a lack of muscle control and coordination of the upper and lower extremities.
Anija is a 2011 award-winning short film written and directed by David Hansen. It is filmed mainly in the Anindilyakwa language and follows the experiences of one family dealing with the effects of alcohol addiction. The film won Best Indigenous Resource at the Australian Teachers of Media Awards in 2011.
Anindilyakwa was featured in Spread the Word, an Indigenous Australian languages show on The Disney Channel. The show featured the Anindilyakwa word Ngarrarndirrarjena which translates to 'kicking a tree to get something off of it.'

Commemoration

In 2019 the Royal Australian Mint issued a 50 cent coin to celebrate the International Year of Indigenous Languages which features 14 different words for 'money' from Australian Indigenous languages including awarnda for Anindilyakwa. The coin was designed by Aleksandra Stokic in consultation with Indigenous language custodian groups.