Yolŋu languages (green) among other Pama–Nyungan (tan)
Yolŋu Matha (IPA:[ˈjuːlŋuˈmat̪a]), meaning the 'Yolŋu tongue', is a linguistic family that includes the languages of the Yolngu (also known as the Yolŋu and Yuulngu languages), the indigenous people of northeast Arnhem Land in northern Australia. The ŋ in Yolŋu is pronounced as the ng in singing, while "th" is dental (pronounced with the tongue tip against the back of the top teeth).
Varieties
Yolŋu Matha consists of about six languages, some mutually intelligible, divided into about thirty clan varieties and perhaps twelve different dialects, each with its own Yolŋu name. Put together, there are about 4600 speakers of Yolŋu Matha languages. Exogamy has often meant that mothers and fathers speak different languages, so that children traditionally grew up at least bilingual, and in many cases polylingual, meaning that communication was facilitated by mastery of multiple languages and dialects of Yolŋu Matha. The linguistic situation is very complicated, given that each of the 30 or so clans also has a named language variety. Dixon (2002) distinguishes the following:[1]
A bilingual sign in both English and Yolŋu Matha warning about crocodiles in Yirrkala, Northern Territory.
Yolŋu languages have a fortis–lenis contrast in plosive consonants. Lenis/short plosives have weak contact and intermittent voicing, while fortis/long plosives have full closure, a more powerful release burst, and no voicing.
A three-way vowel distinction is shared between Yolŋu varieties, though not all Yolŋu varieties have a contrast in vowel length. In the varieties that do have a length contrast, long vowels occur only in the initial syllable of words.[3]
In popular culture
The films Ten Canoes (2006) and Charlie's Country (2013), both directed by Rolf de Heer and featuring actor David Gulpilil, feature dialogue in Yolŋu Matha. Ten Canoes was the first feature film to be shot entirely in Australian indigenous languages, with the dialogue largely in the Ganalbiŋu variety of Yolŋu Matha.
Dr. G. Yunupingu was a popular Australian singer who sang in the Gumatj dialect of Yolŋu Matha, as did the Aboriginal rock group Yothu Yindi.
Gapumirr 'with water' (bucket with water), 'watery'.[11]
Manymak 'good, OK'
Yol or Yo (pronounced 'yo') 'yes'
Yo manymak when used together the expression can be synonymous with either of its two component words and also used as a friendly greeting, the 'o' in yo is usually held for longer when used as part of this expression.
Yaka 'ghost'
Yothu 'child'
Akka ‘sister’
Yindi 'big'
Yothu Yindi denotes the link between two different entities which is characterised as a mother-child relationship.[12]
Austronesian loanwords
Like other languages of the Top End, Yolŋu-Matha contains many loanwords from Austronesian languages due to abundant contact with seafaring peoples from the Indonesian archipelago.[13][14][15][16] Walker and Zorc[13] have identified 179 Yolŋu-Matha words that are clearly of Austronesian origin, and have identified a further 70 possible Austronesian loanwords requiring further study.
Examples of Austronesian loanwords in Yolngu-Matha[13]
^"Spanning the gap". ARDS Aboriginal Cultural and Creative Services Northern Territory. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
^Trudgen, Richard, 2000, 'Thirteen years of wanting to know', Why warriors lie down and die, Aboriginal Resource and Development Services, Inc. Darwin, pp. 97-112
^Christie, Michael J. (2013). Yolŋu language and culture: Study Notes. Darwin, Australia: Yolŋu Studies, Charles Darwin University. p. 40. ISBN978-1-921576-20-1.
^Evans, Nicholas (1 August 1997). Archaeology and Linguistics: Aboriginal Australia in Global Perspective. OUP Australia and New Zealand. pp. 237–260. ISBN0195506707.
