Wardaman language

Though previously classified as Gunwinyguan, the Yangmanic languages have not been demonstrated to be related to other languages.Bowern, Claire. [http://anggarrgoon.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/austlangs-masterlanguagelist-dec2011.xlsx How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?] 2011.

The isolate Wagiman shares a very similar morphosyntactic profile with the Yangmanic languages, although they share very low cognacy rates (about 10% according to Stephen Wilson{{Citation | author1=Wilson, Stephen | author2=Center for the Study of Language and Information (U.S.) | title=Coverbs and complex predicates in Wagiman | date=1999 | publisher=CSLI ; Cambridge : Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-1-57586-172-2 | pages=5–6}}). Francesca Merlan supports its grouping together with Yangmanic,{{Citation | author1=Merlan, Francesca | title=A grammar of Wardaman : a language of the Northern Territory of Australia | date=1994 | publisher=Mouton de Gruyter | isbn=978-3-11-012942-7 | pages=3–4 }} citing that both together differ from neighbouring languages (such as the Gunwinyguan language Jawoyn and Mangarrayi) while sharing very similar syntax with each other, such as their similar use of 'verbal particles'.

The phonological inventory of Wardaman proper:

The alveolo-palatals are pronounced with the blade of the tongue; at the end of a syllable they may sound like yn and yl to an English ear. Even the y is said to have lateral spread and to be pronounced with the blade and body of the tongue. There is very little acoustic difference between the two apical series compared to other languages in the area. The alveolars may add a slight retroflex onglide to a following vowel, and the retroflexes may assimilate alveolars in the same word. Nonetheless, they remain phonemically distinct. Francesca describes the w as bilabial, and notes that there is little or no lip rounding or protrusion (except in assimilation to a following /u/ or /o/). The r is post-alveolar.

Capell (1940) lists the following basic vocabulary items for Wadaman (Wardaman):Capell, Arthur. 1940. [https://glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/4167 The Classification of Languages in North and North-West Australia]. Oceania 10(3): 241-272, 404-433. {{doi|10.1002/j.1834-4461.1940.tb00292.x}}

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{{sister project |project=wiktionary |text=Wiktionary has a word list at Appendix:North Australian word lists}}

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• Merlan Francesca. 1983. [https://books.google.com/books?id=x3T3ITLFh-EC&dq=wardaman+phonology&pg=PA11 A Grammar of Wardaman]. A Language of the Northern Territory of Australia. Mouton de Gruyter. 1994.

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{{Australian Aboriginal languages}}

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Category:Language isolates of Australia

Category:Endangered indigenous Australian languages in the Northern Territory

Category:Endangered language isolates