Ngaanyatjarra dialect

Ngaanyatjarra (; also Ngaanyatjara, Ngaanjatjarra) is a dialect of the Western Desert language spoken primarily by the Ngaanyatjarra people.

It is very similar to its close neighbour Ngaatjatjarra, with which it is highly mutually intelligible.

Name

The name Ngaanyatjarra derives from the word 'this' which, combined with the comitative suffix means 'having (as the word for 'this')'. This distinguishes it from its near neighbour Ngaatjatjarra, which has for 'this'.

Phonology

Orthography is in brackets.

Vowels

	Front	Back
High	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr
Low	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr

• Before alveolar consonants, the two vowels are pronounced as .
• Before velar consonants, the three vowels are pronounced as .
• Vowel sounds are rhotacized when preceding retroflex consonants.

Consonants

	Peripheral		Laminal		Apical
	Labial	Velar	Dental	Palatal	Alveolar	Retroflex
Plosive	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	(Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr)	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr
Nasal	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	(Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr)	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr
Lateral			Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	(Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr)	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr
Rhotic					Template:IPAlink~Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr
Approximant	Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr			Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr		Template:IPAlink Template:Angbr

• Laminal stop sounds tend to vary, across the dialects of Ngaanyatjarra. In the Western dialects, they are always pronounced as dental, and in the Eastern dialects they are pronounced as palatal. Yet they are still orthographically transcribed the same as palatal sounds, as in the other dialects.
• When occurring after nasal sounds, stop consonants become slightly voiced.

External links

• ELAR archive of Western Desert Special Speech Styles Project