Saving language (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Saving language
National Indigenous Times
 Issue 44 - 12 Nov 2003
http://www.nit.com.au/thearts/story.aspx?id=860

A Warnman to English and English to Warnman wordlist, together with a sketch
grammar, has been produced after the Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language
Centre received funding from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Studies to conduct research into the language.
Warnman country is in the Western Desert in the Pilbara region of Western
Australia. The country extends from the Rudall River area north-west almost to
Telfer. Included in Warnman country is Punmu and Lake Dora.
There are less than 100 speakers of Warnman living in the Pilbara area. It is
now spoken at Punmu, Parngurr, Nullagine, Jigalong, Newman, Strelley, Tjalku
Wara, Warralong, Marble Bar and Hedland.
Senior Linguist Albert Burgman, who worked with many Warnman language speakers
and specialists to produce the work, conducted the research project. Key
language specialists in the project included Desmond Taylor, Muuki Taylor,
Barbara Hale, Yirlirti Oderson, Minyawu Miller and Nancy Taylor. Fieldtrips
were made to Nullagine to further develop the work with speakers there.
“In such a short time it is impossible to do a complete study of a language.
Hopefully there will be an opportunity to do more in-depth further research in
the future,” Mr Burgman said.
The project is the next stage in the long and ongoing process of collecting,
recording and maintaining the Warnman language.
It is very satisfying for the language speakers to get the language maintenance
work to this stage, however, like all other Pilbara languages, Wangka Maya has
struggled to provide a full account of Warnman.
The research work on Warnman will continue through the annual work of Wangka
Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre, as will work on the other 30 languages
of the region.
The Warnman sketch grammar and word list are available at Wangka Maya, phone 08
9172 2344.
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