Pitjantjatjara
Pama-Nyungan (Wati, Western Desert)
Pitjantjatjara is one of the largest Western Desert languages of central Australia, with ~3,000 speakers in the area around Uluru in the cross-border tristate region of South Australia, Northern Territory, and Western Australia. It is a Pama-Nyungan language of the Wati subgroup, mutually intelligible with Yankunytjatjara. The orthography uses sub-dotted letters (ṟ ḻ ṉ ṯ) to mark retroflex consonants, an essential phonemic distinction. Pitjantjatjara has a sophisticated kinship-based grammatical system and remains in active daily use in remote APY Lands communities.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Pitjantjatjara
Water
kapi
/kapi/
Fire
waru
/waɻu/
Sun
tjintu
/cintu/
Moon
pira
/piɻa/
Mother
ngunytju
/ŋuɲcu/
Father
mama
/mama/
Eat
ngalkuni
/ŋalkuni/
Drink
tjikini
/cikini/
Love
mukulya
/mukuʎa/
Heart
kurunpa
/kuɻunpa/
Tree
punu
/punu/
House
ngura
/ŋuɻa/
Dog
papa
/papa/
Cat
pusi
/pusi/
Hand
mara
/maɻa/
Eye
kuru
/kuɻu/
Hello
palya
/paʎa/
Thank you
palya
/paʎa/
One
kutju
/kucu/
Good
palya
/paʎa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Pama-Nyungan (Wati, Western Desert) languages
| Meaning | Pitjantjatjara | Pintupi-Luritja | Warnman | Martu Wangka | Nhanda | Olkol | Adnyamathanha |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kapi /kapi/ | kapi /kapi/ | kapi /kapi/ | kapi /kapi/ | kapi /kapi/ | kupa /kupa/ | awi /awi/ |
| Fire | waru /waɻu/ | waru /waɻu/ | waru /waɻu/ | waru /waɾu/ | warla /waɻla/ | paral /paɻal/ | warlu /waɻlu/ |
| Sun | tjintu /cintu/ | tjintu /cintu/ | tjirntu /cinʈu/ | tjirntu /cɪɳʈu/ | ngama /ŋama/ | naŋkari /naŋkaɻi/ | yidnu /jidnu/ |
| Moon | pira /piɻa/ | pira /piɻa/ | kintirriny /kinʈiriɲ/ | kayalany /kajalaɲ/ | kanyala /kaɲala/ | kakal /kakal/ | vuyu /vuju/ |
| Mother | ngunytju /ŋuɲcu/ | ngunytju /ŋuɲcu/ | ngurra /ŋuɻa/ | yakaji /jakaɟi/ | ngamaji /ŋamadʒi/ | ngangi /ŋaŋi/ | nyangka /ɲaŋka/ |
| Father | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | kirrki /kiɻki/ | mama /mama/ | kuthurra /kutʰuɻa/ | kaba /kaba/ | arndu /aɳɖu/ |
| Eat | ngalkuni /ŋalkuni/ | ngalkuni /ŋalkuni/ | ngarra /ŋaɻa/ | ngalku- /ŋalku/ | ngarna /ŋaɻna/ | ngarinya /ŋaɻiɲa/ | ngalkanha /ŋalkan̪a/ |
| Drink | tjikini /cikini/ | tjikini /cikini/ | nyaa /ɲaː/ | tjiki- /cɪki/ | nyuna /ɲuna/ | kupa nyaa /kupa ɲaː/ | ulpanha /ulpan̪a/ |
| Love | mukulya /mukuʎa/ | mukulya /mukuʎa/ | kanyji /kaɲɟi/ | mukulyu /mukuʎu/ | kanyji /kaɲdʒi/ | kanyji /kaɲɟi/ | mukunha /mukun̪a/ |
| Heart | kurunpa /kuɻunpa/ | kurunpa /kuɻunpa/ | kurda /kuɖa/ | kurtu /kʊɻʈu/ | pulpara /pulpaɻa/ | piku /piku/ | kurda /kuɖa/ |
| Tree | punu /punu/ | punu /punu/ | watiya /watija/ | watarrka /wataɻka/ | parntany /paɳʈaɲ/ | warray /waɾaj/ | urtu /uʈu/ |
| House | ngura /ŋuɻa/ | ngura /ŋuɻa/ | ngurra /ŋuɻa/ | ngurra /ŋura/ | nhurra /ɳuɻa/ | mariŋ /maɻiŋ/ | vakali /vakali/ |
| Dog | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | walyamarra /waʎamaɻa/ | papa /papa/ | kuwiyarl /kuwijaɻl/ | kunpa /kunpa/ | vurlpu /vuɻlpu/ |
| Cat | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | ngarda /ŋaɖa/ | — /—/ | paka /paka/ | paka /paka/ | vunmara /vunmaɻa/ |
| Hand | mara /maɻa/ | mara /maɻa/ | mara /maɻa/ | mara /maɾa/ | mara /maɻa/ | mara /maɻa/ | mara /maɻa/ |
| Eye | kuru /kuɻu/ | kuru /kuɻu/ | kuru /kuɻu/ | kuru /kuɾu/ | kuru /kuɻu/ | mil /mil/ | mina /mina/ |
| Hello | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | — /—/ | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ |
| Thank you | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | walytjarra /waʎcaɻa/ | — /—/ | marlu /maɻlu/ | marlu /maɻlu/ | mukunha /mukun̪a/ |
| One | kutju /kucu/ | kutju /kucu/ | kuyu /kuju/ | kutjarra-wangu /kucara waŋu/ | kuyu /kuju/ | kuyu /kuju/ | mukuna /mukuna/ |
| Good | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | walykumarra /waʎkumaɻa/ | palya /paʎa/ | ngarrkanha /ŋaɻkan̪a/ |
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