Wikipedia
Gija language
Kija (variously spelled Gija, Kitja, Gidja) is an Australian Aboriginal language today spoken by about 100 people, most of whom live in the region from Halls Creek to Kununurra and west to Lansdowne and Tableland Stations in Western Australia. It is a member of the Jarragan language family, a non-Pama-Nyungan family in the East Kimberleys. The Argyle Diamond Mine, on the south western corner of Lake Argyle is on the borders of Gija and Miriwoong country. The Purnululu (pronounced as 'Boornoolooloo') Bungle Bungle National Park is mostly in Gija country.
| Gija | |
|---|---|
| Kija | |
| Region | From Halls Creek to Kununurra, Western Australia |
| Ethnicity | Gija |
Native speakers | 170 (2016 census)[1] |
Jarrakan
| |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gia |
| Glottolog | kitj1240 |
| AIATSIS[2] | K20 |
| ELP | Kija |
Kija is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Kuluwarrang and Walgi may have been dialects.
See also
- Shirley Purdie; Peggy Patrick; Lena Nyadbi; et al. (2018). Gija plants and animals: Aboriginal flora and fauna knowledge from the east Kimberley, north Australia. Northern Territory Botanical Bulletin. Vol. 47. ISBN 978-1-74350-130-6. Wikidata Q109466091.
References
- ^ Gija at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ K20 Gija at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- Blythe, J. Yuwurriyangem Kijam (our Language Kija): a Phrasebook of the Kija Language. Halls Creek: Kimberley Language Resource Centre.
- Kofod, F. M. (1996). Introduction to the Kija Language. Halls Creek: Kimberley Language Resource Centre.
- Kofod, F. M. (2016). Gija~Kija-English Dictionary. Warmin: Warmun Arts.
- Taylor, P.; Taylor, J. (1971). "A tentative statement of Kitja phonology". Papers on the Languages of Australian Aboriginals: 100–19.
- Taylor, P.; Hudson, J. (1976). "Metamorphosis and Process in Kija". Talanya. 3: 25–36.