Gurindji Kriol language: Difference between revisions

|region=[[Kalkaringi]] and [[DagaraguDaguragu, Northern Territory|Daguragu]], [[Northern Territory]], [[Australia]]

|speakers=1,00025

|date=20122021 census

|iso3=nonegjr

'''Gurindji Kriol'''<ref name=intro>This page is based on Meakins 2012b</ref> is a [[mixed language]] which is spoken by [[Gurindji people|Gurindji]] people in the Victoria River District of the [[Northern Territory]] (Australia). It is mostly spoken at [[Kalkaringi]] and [[Daguragu, Northern Territory|Daguragu]] which are Aboriginal communities located on the traditional lands of the Gurindji. Related mixed varieties are spoken to the north by [[Ngarinyman]] and [[Bilinarra]] people at [[Yarralin]] and [[Pigeon Hole, Northern Territory|Pigeon Hole]]. These varieties are similar to Gurindji Kriol, but draw on Ngarinyman and Bilinarra which are closely related to Gurindji (Eastern Ngumpin languages).<ref name=intro>This page is based on Meakins 2012b</ref>

Gurindji Kriol emerged in the 1970s from pervasive code-switching practices. It combines the lexicon and structure of Gurindji and Kriol. [[Gurindji language|Gurindji]] is a highly endangered language of the [[Ngumpin]]-Yapa languages|Ngumpin-Yapa]] subgroup ([[Pama-Nyungan]] family) and [[Australian Kriol language|Kriol]] is an English-lexifier creole language spoken as a first language by most Aboriginal people across northern Australia (with the exception of [[Arnhem Land]] and [[Daly River (Northern Territory)|Daly River]] area).

Gurindji Kriol exhibits a structural split between the noun phrase and verb phrase, with Gurindji contributing the noun structure including case-marking, and the verb structure including tense-aspect-mood (TAM) auxiliaries coming from Kriol. In this respect, Gurindji Kriol is classified as a verb-noun (V-N) mixed language. Other examples of V-N mixed languages include [[Michif]] and [[Light Warlpiri]]. The maintenance of Gurindji within the mixed language can be seen as the perpetuation of [[Australian Aboriginal identity|Aboriginal identity]] under massive and continuing cultural incursion.

'''==Background'''==

Gurindji Kriol originated from contact between non-Indigenous colonists and the [[Gurindji people|Gurindji]] people. From 1855 onwards, the traditional lands of the Gurindji and neighbouring groups were seized by colonists who were searching for good cattle pastures. After initial attempts to cull the original inhabitants, cattle stations were set up and the remaining Gurindji people were brought to work on the stations in slave-like conditions with other Aboriginal groups. In 1966, the Gurindji initiated a workers' strike to protest against their poor conditions of employment and ultimately regain control of their traditional lands. Their campaign was called the [[Wave Hill Walk-off]] and went on for nine years, resulting in the first successful land claim by an Aboriginal group in Australia. Today the Gurindji continue to live on their traditional lands in two main communities - Kalkaringi and Daguragu.<ref>Meakins 2008a and see also [[Frank Hardy]]'s 'The Unlucky Australians' and Deborah Roses' 'Hidden Histories'</ref>

The linguistic practices of the Gurindji are closely tied to these social circumstances. Before colonisation the Gurindji were multilingual, speaking the languages of neighbouring groups with whom they had familiar and ceremonial connections. The establishment of the cattle stations by colonisers saw the introduction of the cattle station pidgin and later Kriol into the linguistic repertoire of the Gurindji. In the 1970s Patrick McConvell<ref>McConvell's home page: https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/mcconvell-p</ref><ref>see McConvell 1985, 1988</ref> observed that code-switching between Kriol and Gurindji was the dominant language practice of Gurindji people. It is likely that this code-switching and a certain amount of levelling between Gurindji and closely related neighbouring languages such as Ngarinyman and Bilinarra provided fertile ground for the formation of the mixed language. At this time, similar changes to local linguistic ecologies occurred in other places in northern Australia with Kriol becoming the dominant language in many areas such as [[Timber Creek, Northern Territory|Timber Creek]] and Katherine. Yet in Kalkaringi, a mixed language emerged from this situation.<ref>see McConvell and Meakins 2005; McConvell, 2008; Meakins 2011c</ref> [[Felicity Meakins ]]<ref>Meakins's home page: http://www.slccs.uq.edu.au//index.html?page=127733&pid=124851</ref><ref>Meakins 2008b:86-87</ref> argues that maintenance of Gurindji elements in the mixed language relates closely to the land rights movement and can be considered an expression of the persistence of their ancestral identity. Additionally McConvell <ref>(McConvell 2007)</ref> suggests that the homogeneity of the linguistic situation (one traditional language spoken at Kalkaringi) may have also aided the maintenance of Gurindji.

'''==Current Linguisticlinguistic Situation'''situation==

Gurindji Kriol is situated within a complex picture of multilingualism, contact and [[code-switching]]. Gurindji continues to be spoken by older people and a neighbouring traditional Australian language, [[Warlpiri language|Warlpiri]] is also used by people of Warlpiri heritage. [[Standard Australian English]] is the language of government services and the school, though its use is generally restricted to these domains. Kriol and Aboriginal English are spoken with Aboriginal visitors from other communities.<ref>see Meakins 2008b</ref> In this respect, Gurindji Kriol continues to be spoken alongside Gurindji and Kriol, and is a 'symbiotic' [[mixed language]]. In addition, code-switching continues to be an everyday practice at Kalkaringi, and it is common to find code-switching between Gurindji and Kriol, and between Gurindji Kriol and its source languages.

'''==Lexicon'''==

Lexically there is a mix between Kriol and Gurindji. Despite the verb-noun structural split, some verbs are derived from Kriol and others from Gurindji. Similarly nouns from both languages are present. In general, based on a 200 word [[Swadesh list]], 36.6% of vocabulary is derived from Kriol and 35% finds its origins in Gurindji. The remaining 28.4% are synonymous forms from both languages, where the choice of word depends on a number of factors including the interlocutors. For example, more Gurindji vocabulary is used when addressing older Gurindji people or in the presence of outsiders.<ref>Meakins & O’Shannessy, 2005:45</ref> Some lexical specialisation can be noted, for example ''{{lang|gjr|karnti''}} which means "branch", "stick" or "tree" in Gurindji is generally only used to mean "branch" or "stick" in Gurindji Kriol whereas the Kriol form ''{{lang|gjr|tri''}} is used to mean "tree".

'''==Phonology'''==

The phonological system of Gurindji Kriol is relatively stratified, i.e. it has maintained separate Gurindji and Kriol phoneme inventories, syllable structures and many phonological processes.<ref>see Jones, Meakins, and Buchan 2011; Jones, Meakins, and Muawiyath to appear</ref>

{| class="wikitable IPA" style="text-align:center;"

|-

The consonant inventory is a complex fusion of Gurindji and Kriol consonants. Words of Gurindji origin contain a three-way coronal contrast for stops, nasals and laterals, and a distinction between a post-alveolar rhotic and an apical trill (sometimes pronounced as a tap). Kriol-derived words contrast with those from Gurindji in containing fricatives. No voicing distinction is made for stops or fricatives in either Gurindji- or Kriol-derived words; voicing depends on position within word or utterance, and place of articulation.

{| class="wikitable IPA" style="text-align:center;"

|-

Stress is word initial for words of both Gurindji and Kriol origin. The maintenance of the two phonological systems is more obvious in syllable structure. A range of structures are permissible in words of both origins, e.g. CV and CVC, however VC syllables are only allowed in Kriol words. Gurindji and Kriol source words also diverge in their use of stop-final consonant clusters. Gurindji words allows syllable-final consonant clusters, though the cluster combination is rather restricted. The first consonant must be a liquid and the final consonant, a non-coronal stop or velar nasal. Even in the more acrolectal forms of Kriol words, final consonant clusters are never present at the surface level. Finally different phonological processes apply to the different component languages of Gurindji Kriol. For example, in Kriol words, the plosive series is occasionally hypercorrected to fricatives of a similar place of articulation. This process never occurs in words of Gurindji origin.

'''==Noun Phrase'''phrase==

|}}

Gurindji Kriol contains many nominal suffixes, most of which are derived from Gurindji. These include case suffixes, number marking and derivational morphology. A number of these suffixes have Kriol-derived periphasticperiphasic counterparts. For example, the privative suffix ''{{transl|gjr|-murlung''}} can also be expressed by ''gat no'' 'has no'.

| Ergative || ''{{color|green|-ngku, -tu''}} || Gurindji || And || ''{{color|green|-purrupurru''}} || Gurindji

| Locative || ''{{color|green|-ngka, -ta''}} || Gurindji || Privative || ''{{color|green|-murlung''}} || Gurindji

| Dative || ''{{color|green|-yu, -wu, -ku''}} || Gurindji || Comparative || ''{{color|green|-marraj''}} || Gurindji

| Allative || ''{{color|green|-ngkirri, -jirri''}} || Gurindji || Factive || ''{{color|green|-k''}} || Gurindji

| Ablative || ''{{color|green|-nginyi(ng)''}} || Gurindji || Alone || ''{{color|green|-wariny(j)''}} || Gurindji

| Comitative || ''{{color|green|-jawung, -yawung''}} || Gurindji || Another || ''{{color|green|-kari''}} || Gurindji

| Plural || ''{{color|green|-rrat''}} || Gurindji || Nominaliser || {{color|purple|-wan}} || Kriol

| Dual || ''{{color|green|-kujarra''}} || Gurindji || Adjective || {{color|purple|-bala}} || Kriol

| Paucal || ''{{color|green|-walija''}} || Gurindji || Focus || {{color|purple|{{=}}na}} || Kriol

| Associative || ''{{color|green|-nganyjuk''}}, {{color|purple|-mob}} || Gur/Kriol || Topic || ''{{color|green|{{=}}ma''}} || Gurindji

| Dual Assoc || ''{{color|green|-kuwang''}} || Gurindji || Restrictive || ''{{color|green|{{=}}rni''}} || Gurindji

'''==Pronouns'''==

'''==Verb phrase'''==

|}}

Gurindji Kriol distinguishes between past (bin) and present tense (zero-marked for nouns, ''-m'' for pronouns) and marks future time using a potential marker (garra) which is also used to express obligation. Many of the auxiliaries also have reduced forms which attach to subject pronouns, such as ''ai-rra'' > ''ai garra'' 'I will'.

'''==Simple sentences'''==

''[[Verbless clause|Verbless clauses]]:''

|}}

Ditransitive clauses consist of an accusative object and dative indirect object, and alternate with a clause with two accusative objects.

| man ||3SG.SBJ i || bin ||PST get ||bite bait || ''warlakudog-nginyi'' ||ABL ''wartanhand-ta''LOC

'''==Complex sentences'''==

A number of Kriol-derived conjunctions can be used to join verbal or nominal clauses such as an (and) and o (or). Others are only used to relate verbal clauses such as {{transl|gjr|dumaji}} (because), {{transl|gjr|bikos}} (because), bat (but), ib (if), den (then).

*{{cite journal |last=Jones |first=Caroline |coauthorsauthor2=Meakins, Felicity & Buchan|author3=Muawiyath, Heather |year=2011Shujau |title=Citation-speechLearning vowelsvowel incategories Gurindjifrom Kriolmaternal andspeech localin AustralianGurindji EnglishKriol |journal=AustralianLanguage Journal of LinguisticsLearning |volume=3162 |issue=34 |pages=305–3271052–1078 |doi=10.10801111/07268602j.20111467-9922.5986292012.00725.x|year=2012 }}

*{{cite journal |last=McConvell |first=Patrick |year=19852008 |chaptertitle=DomainsMixed andLanguages codeswitchingas amongoutcomes bilingualof Aboriginescode-switching: |editor=M.Recent Clyneexamples from |title=Australia, Meetingand Placetheir implications |journal=Journal of LanguagesLanguage Contact |placevolume=Canberra2 |publisherpages=Pacific187–212 Linguistics|doi=10.1163/000000008792525327|hdl=1885/50173 |pageshdl-access=95–125free }}

*{{citecitation journal|mode=cs1 |last=McConvellMeakins |first=PatrickFelicity |year=19882008a |chapter=Mix-im-upLand, language and identity: AboriginalThe codeswitchingsocio-political oldorigins andof newGurindji Kriol. |editor=M. HellerMeyerhoff |titleeditor2=Codeswitching:N. AnthropologicalNagy and|title=Social Lives Sociolinguisticin PerspectivesLanguage |place=BerlinAmsterdam |publisher=Mouton deJohn GruyterBenjamins |pages=97–12469–94}}

*{{citecitation journal|mode=cs1 |last=McConvellMeakins |first=PatrickFelicity |year=20072009 |chapter=LanguageThe ecologycase asof determinantthe ofshifty languageergative marker: A pragmatic shift orin languagethe hybridity:ergative marker in Someone Australian Aboriginalmixed caseslanguage |editor=J. Barddal |editor2=S. Chelliah |title=PaperThe presentedRole atof theSemantics Internationaland SymposiumPragmatics onin Bilingualismthe Development of Case |place=Hamburg,Amsterdam Germany|publisher=John Benjamins |pages=59–91}}

*{{cite journal |last=McConvellMeakins |first=PatrickFelicity |year=20082011a |title=MixedSpaced Languagesout: asInter-generational outcomeschanges ofin code-switching:the Recentexpression examplesof fromspatial Australiarelations andby theirGurindji implicationspeople |journal=Australian Journal of Language ContactLinguistics |volume=231 |issue=1|pages=187–21243–78 |doi=10.1080/07268602.2011.532857|s2cid=61447438 }}

*{{citecitation journal|mode=cs1 |last=Meakins |first=Felicity |year=2012a2012b |titlechapter=WhichGurindji Mix?Kriol -|editor=S. Code-switchingMichaelis or|editor2=P. aMaurer mixed|editor3=M. languageHaspelmath -|editor4=M. Gurindji KriolHuber |journaltitle=JournalAtlas of Pidgin and Creole LanguagesStructures, |volume=27vol II: The language surveys |issueplace=1Oxford |pagespublisher=105–140Oxford University Press}}