Anangu Languages
Anangu is the term that Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal people from the Western Desert region of Australia use to refer to themselves.
In the past the word Anangu had a more specific usage, being used to refer to a person or people as opposed to other non-human forms of life. Over the years, since contact with Europeans, it has come into common use in the region as a term referring to Aboriginal people, as opposed to non-Aboriginal people, as well as Aboriginal people who come from other parts of Australia.
Approximate distribution of languages
and dialects associated with Uluru
Many Mutitjulu Anangu speak Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara. Ngaanyatjarra and Luritja are also spoken in this region. These are all dialects of what linguists term the Western Desert Language, Aboriginal Australia's largest language group. Western Desert dialects are sometimes grouped together and conveniently, though inaccurately, labelled Pitjantjatjara. Anangu who speak Western Desert dialects can be found from Halls Creek and Balgo in the north of Western Australia through to Oodnadatta and Yalata in South Australia.
The many different Aboriginal languages and dialects throughout Australia are evidence of the cultural diversity of Aboriginal peoples. Around 250 languages have been recorded and these languages are spoken by more than 500 named language groups.
Pitjantjatjara word definitions
Generally Pitjantjatjara words are used throughout the Park, however significant numbers of people in the Mutitjulu community speak Yankunytjatjara. Here are some words you might encounter:
| Yankunytjatjara | Pitjantjatjara | English |
|---|---|---|
| tjakipiri | kalaya | emu |
| kuniya | kuniya | woma python |
| kurkapi | kurkara | desert oak |
| wami | liru | poisonous snake |
| kalamita, langka | lungkata | blue tongue lizard |
| ruulpa | luunpa | kingfisher |
| mala | mala | rufous hare wallaby |
| malu | malu | red kangaroo |
| ngura | ngura | home |
| piyanpa | piranpa | white person, non-Aboriginal |
| waparitja | tjukuritja | ancestral beings of the creation period |
| wapar | tjukurpa | Law, referring to the creation period |
| kanku | wiltja | house, shelter |
| kurku | wanari | mulga tree |
| mungawayuru | wayuta | brush tail possum |
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