| Pitjantjatjara | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | [ˈpɪɟanɟaɟaɾa] [ˈpɪɟanɟaɾa] |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Northwest South Australia, Pitjantjatjara freehold lands, Yalata; southwest corner, Northern Territory; also in Western Australia |
| Ethnicity | Pitjantjatjara |
Native speakers | 3,458 (2021 census)[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pjt |
| Glottolog | pitj1243 |
| AIATSIS[2] | C6 |
| ELP | Pitjantjatjara |
Pitjantjatjara (/pɪtʃəntʃəˈtʃɑːrə/;[3] Pitjantjatjara: [ˈpɪɟanɟaɟaɾa] or [ˈpɪɟanɟaɾa])[4] is a dialect of the Western Desert language traditionally spoken by the Pitjantjatjara people of Central Australia. It is mutually intelligible with other varieties of the Western Desert language, and is particularly closely related to the Yankunytjatjara dialect. The names for the two groups are based on their respective words for 'come/go.'[5]
Pitjantjatjara is a relatively healthy Aboriginal language, with children learning it. It is taught in some Aboriginal schools. The literacy rate for first language speakers is 50–70%; and is 10–15% for second-language learners. There is a Pitjantjatjara dictionary, and the New Testament of the Bible has been translated into the language, a project started at the Ernabella Mission in the early 1940s and completed in 2002. Work continues on the Old Testament.
- ^ "SBS Australian Census Explorer". Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ C6 Pitjantjatjara at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ Bauer (2007).
- ^ Through a process of haplology, the name Pitjantjatjara is usually pronounced (in normal, fast speech) with one of the repeated syllables -tja- deleted, thus: pitjantjara. In slow, careful speech all syllables will be pronounced (Goddard 1985:?).
- ^ Goddard (1996), p. ?.