Wapparr: Language (page 7)

Wappar

Language

Warumungu is one of more than 300 Australian Indigenous languages. Warumungu speakers live at Tennant Creek, to the north and east at Elliot, Kunturlpara, Ngurrara, Wogayala and Alroy Downs and on several outstations such as Likkapartta and Pigala; and to the south at Alekarenge and Karlinjarangi.

In most of these communities other languages are spoken, and so when people in different communities speak Warumungu they may use words shared with other languages. For example when someone speaks Warumungu at Alekarenge they may use one or two words that are also shared with Alyawarr; at Kalumpurlpa they may use a word shared with Warlmanpa. However Warumungu, Alyawarr, Warlpiri, Wakaya and Kaytetye are different languages, not different dialects. Just because you can understand one of them, doesn't mean you can understand the others.

Location doesn't make much difference to how people speak Warumungu. The main differences are usually between older speakers and younger people.

All languages change, with younger people speaking differently from older people. But the changes tend to be larger and take place faster when languages which have small numbers of speakers, such as Warumungu, come into contact with languages like English, which have large numbers of speakers.