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
31 core words in Pitjantjatjara
Water
kapi
/kapi/
Fire
waru
/waɻu/
Sun
tjintu
/cintu/
Moon
pira
/piɻa/
Star
kililpil
/kiˈlilpil/
Mother
ngunytju
/ŋuɲcu/
Father
mama
/mama/
I
ngayulu
/ŋajulu/
You
nyuntu
/ɲuntu/
Name
ini
/ini/
Eye
kuru
/kuɻu/
Hand
mara
/maɻa/
Heart
kurunpa
/kuɻunpa/
Love
mukulya
/mukuʎa/
Tree
punu
/punu/
House
ngura
/ŋuɻa/
Dog
papa
/papa/
Cat
pusi
/pusi/
Eat
ngalkuni
/ŋalkuni/
Drink
tjikini
/cikini/
One
kutju
/kucu/
Two
kutjara
/kucaɻa/
Hello
palya
/paʎa/
Thank you
palya
/paʎa/
Good
palya
/paʎa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Pama-Nyungan (Wati, Western Desert) languages
| Meaning | Pitjantjatjara | Pintupi-Luritja | Warnman | Martu Wangka | Nhanda | Warlpiri | Ngunnawal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kapi /kapi/ | kapi /kapi/ | kapi /kapi/ | kapi /kapi/ | kapi /kapi/ | ngapa /ŋapa/ | kungal /kuŋal/ |
| Fire | waru /waɻu/ | waru /waɻu/ | waru /waɻu/ | waru /waɾu/ | warla /waɻla/ | warlu /waɭu/ | warba /waɻba/ |
| Sun | tjintu /cintu/ | tjintu /cintu/ | tjirntu /cinʈu/ | tjirntu /cɪɳʈu/ | wurʼa /wuɾʔa/ | wanta /wanta/ | guma /ɡuma/ |
| Moon | pira /piɻa/ | pira /piɻa/ | kintirriny /kinʈiriɲ/ | kayalany /kajalaɲ/ | kanyala /kaɲala/ | pira /piɻa/ | birrang /biɻaŋ/ |
| Star | kililpil /kiˈlilpil/ | kililpi /kiˈlilpi/ | biyi /biji/ | piriny /piriɲ/ | indiya /indija/ | wanjirlpirri /waɲɟiɭpiri/ | dyurra /ɟura/ |
| Mother | ngunytju /ŋuɲcu/ | ngunytju /ŋuɲcu/ | ngama /ŋama/ | yakaji /jakaɟi/ | ngamaji /ŋamadʒi/ | ngati /ŋati/ | guni /ɡuni/ |
| Father | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | kirrki /kiɻki/ | mama /mama/ | kuthurra /kutʰuɻa/ | kirda /kiɖa/ | pumba /pumba/ |
| I | ngayulu /ŋajulu/ | ngayulu /ŋajulu/ | ngayu /ŋaju/ | ngayu /ŋaju/ | ngayi /ŋaji/ | ngaju /ŋaɟu/ | ngaya /ŋaja/ |
| You | nyuntu /ɲuntu/ | nyuntu /ɲuntu/ | nyuntu /ɲuntu/ | nyuntu /ɲuntu/ | nyini /ɲini/ | nyuntu /ɲuntu/ | ngindu /ŋindu/ |
| Name | ini /ini/ | yini /jini/ | yini /jini/ | yini /jini/ | yini /jini/ | yirdi /jiɖi/ | yini /jini/ |
| Eye | kuru /kuɻu/ | kuru /kuɻu/ | kuru /kuɻu/ | kuru /kuɾu/ | kuru /kuɻu/ | milpa /milpa/ | mil /mil/ |
| Hand | mara /maɻa/ | mara /maɻa/ | mara /maɻa/ | mara /maɾa/ | mara /maɻa/ | rdaka /ɖaka/ | mara /maɻa/ |
| Heart | kurunpa /kuɻunpa/ | kurunpa /kuɻunpa/ | kurda /kuɖa/ | kurtu /kʊɻʈu/ | pulpara /pulpaɻa/ | wankaru /waŋkaɻu/ | gauar /ɡauar/ |
| Love | mukulya /mukuʎa/ | mukulya /mukuʎa/ | kanyji /kaɲɟi/ | mukulyu /mukuʎu/ | kanyji /kaɲdʒi/ | nyangu /ɲaŋu/ | marmit /maɻmit/ |
| Tree | punu /punu/ | punu /punu/ | watiya /watija/ | watarrka /wataɻka/ | parntany /paɳʈaɲ/ | watiya /watija/ | warabi /waɻabi/ |
| House | ngura /ŋuɻa/ | ngura /ŋuɻa/ | ngurra /ŋuɻa/ | ngurra /ŋura/ | nhurra /ɳuɻa/ | ngurra /ŋura/ | kuni /kuni/ |
| Dog | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | walyamarra /waʎamaɻa/ | papa /papa/ | kuwiyarl /kuwijaɻl/ | jarntu /caɳʈu/ | mirri /miɻi/ |
| Cat | pusi /pusi/ | pusi /pusi/ | ngarda /ŋaɖa/ | — /—/ | paka /paka/ | mungalpa /muŋalpa/ | poosi /puːsi/ |
| Eat | ngalkuni /ŋalkuni/ | ngalkuni /ŋalkuni/ | ngarra /ŋaɻa/ | ngalku- /ŋalku/ | ngarna /ŋaɻna/ | ngarni /ŋaɳi/ | daring /daɻiŋ/ |
| Drink | tjikini /cikini/ | tjikini /cikini/ | nyaa /ɲaː/ | tjiki- /cɪki/ | nyuna /ɲuna/ | purrami /purami/ | nyu /ɲu/ |
| One | kutju /kucu/ | kutju /kucu/ | kuyu /kuju/ | kutjarra-wangu /kucara waŋu/ | kuyu /kuju/ | jinta /cinta/ | guma /ɡuma/ |
| Two | kutjara /kucaɻa/ | kutjarra /kucaɾa/ | kujarra /kuɟara/ | kujarra /kucara/ | wuthada /wut̪aɖa/ | jirrama /ɟiɾama/ | bula /bula/ |
| Hello | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | yumalundi /jumalundi/ |
| Thank you | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | walytjarra /waʎcaɻa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | miyamala /mijamala/ |
| Good | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | palya /paʎa/ | walykumarra /waʎkumaɻa/ | ngurrju /ŋurcu/ | walunga /waluŋa/ |
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