Arabana language

Arabana
Arabana-Wangkangurru
An Arabana man making fire, c. 1904
RegionSouth Australia; west side Lake Eyre to Stuart Range, Maree, Port Augusta
EthnicityArabana people, Wongkanguru
Native speakers
31 (2021 census)[1]
Dialects
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
ard – Arabana
wgg – Wangganguru
Glottologarab1266
AIATSIS[3]L13 Arabana (cover term), L27 Wangkangurru
ELPArabana-Wangkangurru
Arabana is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Arabana or Arabuna /ˈʌrəbʌnə/[4] is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan family, spoken by the Wongkanguru and Arabana people.

The language is in steep decline, with an estimated 250 speakers according to 2004 NILS, to just 21 speakers found in the 2006 census.[3]

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021). "Cultural diversity: Census". Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  2. ^ RMW Dixon (2002), Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, p xxxvii
  3. ^ a b L13 Arabana (cover term) at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies  (see the info box for additional links)
  4. ^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh