Aboriginal languages





Pitjantjatjara
The main language spoken in the Pitjantjatjara Lands (commonly referred to as the 'Pit Lands') in the north-west of SA in communities including Ernabella (Pukatja), Fregon, Amata in SA, Wingellina (Irrunytju) in WA and around Docker River (Kaltukatjara), Mutitjulu and Areyonga (Utju) in NT.



Yankunytjatjara
The dialect spoken more to the east of Pitjantjatjara. Speakers can also be found in communities in the north of SA at Mimili and Indulkana and the south of NT in areas around Finke and Mutijtulu.

Luritja

Spoken to the east of the Pit Lands (see above) from Oodnadatta in SA (in the past) through Finke (Aputula), Maryvale (Titjikala), Kings Canyon area, Areyonga (Utju), Jay Creek, Imanpa and Mutijtulu in the NT. It has often been used as the lingua franca between Western Desert and Arandic and Warlpiri speakers. There are various ideas about the origin of the term Luritja, one being that it comes from the Arrernte word for non-Arrernte people, Ulerenye. At Hermannsburg Mission all the Western Desert speaking people were called Lurinya/Luritja and this label remains today (Heffernan and Heffernan 1999).

Pintupi Luritja

This is the name given to the Western Desert dialect as spoken from around Papunya to the WA border. It exhibits features of neighbouring languages such as Warlpiri and Arrernte, since once the Pintupi came out of the bush, relatively recently, they have often lived in close proximity at Hermannsburg Mission and Papunya and Haasts Bluff ration stations.

Pintupi

Speakers of Pintupi tend to come from across the border in the WA desert region around Kiwirrkura community. People who identify as Pintupi tend to be from the west, whereas Pintupi Luritja speakers tend to have had more contact with the mission at Hermannsburg and the ration stations at Papunya and Haasts Bluff.

Kukatja

Speakers can be found around Kintore in the NT through to Kiwirrkura in WA and north as far as the Balgo region. This label is confusing as it also refers to the original landowners around Haasts Bluff (Heffernan and Heffernan 1999:5), as well as to dialects that were spoken in SA and Ql