Bardi language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bardi
Spoken in:	Australia
Total speakers:	20 speakers of Bardi proper
Language family:	Nyulnyulan Western Bardic Bardi
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	`aus`
ISO 639-3:	variously: `bcj` – Bardi `djw` – Djawi `nyv` – Njul-Njul `dyb` – Djabirr-Djabirr `nmp` – Nimanburru
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Bardi (also Baardi, Baard) is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language. Currently there are approximately 25 fluent speakers of language, mostly of the eastern dialect, however up to a thousand people identify as Bardi.

[edit] Classification

Bardi is a member of the Nyulnyulan language family. It is a member of the Western branch of the family.

According to R. M. W. Dixon (2002), the following dialects are mutually intelligible with Bardi:

Djawi
Njul-Njul
Djabirr-Djabirr
Ngumbarl
Nimanburru

Ethnologue (206) treats all but Ngumbarl as distinct languages, and this view is supported by those linguists who have worked on the languages, including Claire Bowern and William McGregor.

There is considerable documentation of the Bardi language, but most of it is unpublished. The earliest work on the language dates from the 1880s, although that has been lost. The earliest records are from the very early 20th century. Gerhardt Laves spent some time on Sunday island in the late 1920s and recorded extensive textual materials, and steady documentation has progressed since the late 1960s.

[edit] References

Aklif, G. (1999). Ardiyooloon Bardi Ngaanka, One Arm Point Bardi dictionary. Halls Creek, Western Australia: Kimberley Language Resource Centre.
Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.