The Pichianchiara language is a language spoken by the Anangu or Pchianchiaras, an Australian Aboriginal people living in the western deserts of Central Australia , between northwestern South Australia and the Northern Territory border, south of Lake Amadeo .
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 Geographical situation
- 2 Features
- 3 Sample text in Pichianchiara language
- 4 Sources
Geographic situation
They call themselves ‘anangu’ , which in the Pichianchiara language probably means ‘human being’.
It is very common to see it written “pitjantjatjara”. The Pichianchiara themselves pronounce / ˈpɪɟanɟaɟaɾa / [Pichianchiachiara] or / ˈpɪɟanɟaɾa / [Pichianchiara]. In English it is pronounced / pɪtʃəntʃəˈtʃɑːrə / [pichanchára]. It is spoken by an Aboriginal people from the desert of central Australia.
The Pichianchiara language is one of a group of closely related Australian languages that are spoken in the north-western regions of South Australia (the Pichianchiara yankunychiachiara lands) and spread to neighboring parts of Western Australia and Northern Territories.
The yankunychiachiara, antikirinya, kukachia, ngaanyachiara, and pintupi languages are the names of some of the languages that are very similar to the Pichianchiara, while the family as a whole is known as the “pama-ñunganas” or western desert languages.
features
Australian languages have complex and elegant grammar, and culturally and environmentally specialized vocabularies. Pichianchiara is spoken by several thousand people in traditional lands and in Port Augusta, Ceduna, Alice Springs and Adelaide . The total number of Western Desert speakers is around 5000. It is one of the few remaining languages of the 250 original Australian languages that are used daily and that children are learning as a normal part of growing up. It is one of the best known Australian languages, with a good quality dictionary , published grammars , cultural information and a written tradition dating back to the 1940s when it was first used in school bilingual programs.
Its spelling system is regular and easy to master. The primary form of the language remains in its oral use, and the verbal art of píchianchiara includes highly developed forms of rhetoric , narration of stories , songs and epics sung, and styles of respect and deference based on kinship .
Aboriginal people who choose to learn Pichianchiara, even if it is not their own language, extend and affirm their identity as Aboriginal Australians with a distinct set of indigenous traditions and values . Non-Aboriginal students will engage with a language that is essentially Australian, allowing them to enrich and authenticate their commitment to Aboriginal Australians and contribute to reconciliation. By learning Pichianchiara in language school, all students will not only begin to learn to communicate in a grammatical and culturally appropriate manner, but will also begin to understand some of the richness, variety, complexity and contemporary relevance of Australia’s indigenous linguistic heritage.
Sample text in Pichianchiara language
Ngayuku, ini Raelene-nya, ngayulu wangkapai pchianchiara.
Ngayulu ngura Areyonga-la.
Munu ngayuku nyunychiu mama-kulu wangkapai picianchiara, ka ngayuku chiamu walkapi ngaachiachiarra.
Ka ngayuku kami wangkapai pchianchiara.
Ngayuku kulta nyinapai ngura, ka t ukachiara-la ka pa l umpa chiiji kuchiara, kungka munu nitayira.
Ka ngayuku kangkuru kuchiara pa l umpa pulampa ini Karen-nya munu Janie-nya, palupula nyinapai Mutichiulula.
Translation
Hi, I’m Raelene, I speak Pichianchiara.
I live in Areyonga.
My grandmother speaks Pichianchiara and my grandfather speaks Ngaachiachiarra.
My father speaks Pichianchiara and my brother speaks Pichianchiara too.
He lives in Katukachiara River Docker and has a girl and a boy.
My cousins their names are Karen and Janie, they live in Mutuchiulu Ayers Rock.