Gija
Kija
RegionFrom Halls Creek to Kununurra, Western Australia
EthnicityGija
Native speakers
266 (2021 census)[1]
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3gia
Glottologkitj1240
AIATSIS[2]K20
ELPKija
Kija is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Kija (variously spelled Gija, Kitja, Gidja) is an Australian Aboriginal language today spoken by about 200 people, most of whom live in the region from Halls Creek to Kununurra and west to Lansdowne and Tableland Stations in Western Australia. It is a member of the Jarragan language family, a non-Pama-Nyungan family in the East Kimberleys. The Argyle Diamond Mine, on the south western corner of Lake Argyle is on the borders of Gija and Miriwoong country. The Purnululu (pronounced as 'Boornoolooloo') Bungle Bungle National Park is mostly in Gija country.

Kuluwarrang and Walgi may have been dialects.

Phonology

Consonants

Peripheral Laminal Apical
Labial Velar Dental Palatal Alveolar Retroflex
Stop p k c t ʈ
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n ɳ
Lateral ʎ l ɭ
Rhotic r ɻ
Approximant w j

Vowels

Front Central Back
High i ɨ u
Low a aː
Phoneme Allophones
/i/ [i], [ɪ]
/ɨ/ [ɨ], [ɯ]
/u/ [u], [ʊ]
/a/ [ä], [e], [ʌ], [ɔ]

See also

References

  1. ^ "SBS Australian Census Explorer". Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. ^ K20 Gija at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies