Djaru language

Djaru (Tjaru) is a Pama–Nyungan language spoken in the south-eastern Kimberley region of Western Australia. As with most Pama-Nyungan languages, Djaru includes single, dual and plural pronoun numbers. Djaru also includes sign-language elements in its lexicon (a common trait of Aboriginal Australian languages generally). Nouns in Djaru do not include gender classes, and apart from inflections, words are formed through roots, compounding or reduplication. Word order in Djaru is relatively free (again a common trait of Aboriginal Australian languages) and has the ability to split up noun phrases.^[3][4] The Djaru language has a relatively small number of verbs, as compared to most languages, and thus utilizes a system of 'preverbs' and complex verbs to compensate. Djaru also has an avoidance language. Avoidance languages, sometimes known as 'mother-in-law languages', are special registers within a language that are spoken between certain family members (typically a married man and his mother-in-law) – such registers are common throughout native Australian languages.^[3]

The population of Djaru speakers has greatly diminished since the late 19th century when white settlers entered the Djaru region and massacred its inhabitants. The Djaru people have since adopted certain aspects of western living (working and living on farmsteads and in towns) and have moved away from the daily practice of certain traditional ways of living. As a result, the Djaru language faces the combined pressures of a decrease in speaker population, an increased reliance of English among its speakers, as well as a white Australian government that has traditionally stood against the use or education of any original Australian languages.^[3][4]