Kaytetye language

Kaytetye
Native to Australia
Region central Northern Territory
Ethnicity Kaytetye people
Native speakers
145 (2006 census)[1]
Akitiri Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3 gbb
Glottolog kayt1238[2]
AIATSIS[1] C13

Kaytetye (Kaititj) is an Australian Aboriginal language of central Northern Territory. The language is considered to be threatened; The language is used for face-to-face communication within all generations, but it is losing users.[3]


The Kaytetye have (or had) a well-developed sign language.

Phonology

Kaytetye is phonologically unusual in a number of ways. Words start with vowels and end with schwa; full CV(C) syllables only occur within a word, as in the word arrkwentyarte 'three' (schwa is spelled e, unless initial, in which case it is not written and often not pronounced). Stress falls on the first full syllable. There are only two productive vowels, but numerous consonants, including pre-stopped and pre-palatalized consonants.[4]

Consonants

Consonants occur plain and labialized.

Peripheral Coronal
Laminal Apical
Bilabial Velar Palatal Dental Prepalatalized Alveolar Retroflex
Stop p pʷ k kʷ c cʷ t̪ t̪ʷ ʲt ʲtʷ t tʷ ʈ ʈʷ
Nasal m mʷ ŋ ŋʷ ɲ ɲʷ n̪ n̪ʷ ʲn ʲnʷ n nʷ ɳ ɳʷ
Prestopped nasal ᵖm ᵖmʷ ᵏŋ ᵏŋʷ ᶜɲ ᶜɲʷ ᵗn̪ ᵗn̪ʷ ʲᵗn ʲᵗnʷ ᵗn ᵗnʷ ᵗɳ ᵗɳʷ
Lateral Approximant ʎ ʎʷ l̪ l̪ʷ ʲl ʲlʷ l lʷ ɭ ɭʷ
Approximant ɰ w j jʷ ɻ ɻʷ
Tap ɾ ɾʷ

[w] is phonemically /ɰʷ/. In the orthography, /ɰ/ is written h.

Vowels

Front Central Back
High (i) ɨ ~ ə
Mid
Low a

/i/ is marginal.

Two-vowel systems are unusual, but occur in closely related Arrernte as well as in some Northwest Caucasian languages. It seems that the vowel system derives from an earlier one with the typical Australian /i a u/, but that *u lost its roundedness to neighboring consonants, resulting in the labialized series of consonants, while *i lost its frontness (palatal-ness) to other consonants as well, resulting in some cases in the prepalatalized series.

Grammar

Kin terms are obligatorily possessed, though with grammatically singular pronouns. There's a dyadic suffix as well:[4]

Kaytetye kin inflections
Elder brotherMother
1 alkere-ye
my/our brother
arrwengke
my/our mother
2 ngk-alkere
your brother
ngk-arrwengke
your mother
3 kw-alkere
his/her/their brother
kw-arrwengke
his/her/their mother
dyadic alkere-nhenge
elder and younger brother
arrwengke-nhenge
mother and child

Dual and plural pronouns distinguish clusivity as well as moiety (or 'section') and generation. That is, for a male speaker, different pronouns are used for I and my sibling, grandparent, grandchild (even generation, same moiety), I and my father, I and my brother's child (odd generation, same moiety), and I and my mother, spouse, sister's child (opposite moiety). This results in twelve pronouns for 'we':[4]

Kaytetye pronouns for 'we'
Number & person Even generation
(same moiety)
Odd generation
(same moiety)
Opposite moiety
Dual inclusive aylemeaylakeaylanthe
Dual exclusive ayleneaylenakeaylenanthe
Plural inclusive aynangkeaynakeaynanthe
Plural exclusive aynenangkeaynenakeaynenanthe

That is, root ay-, dual suffix -la or plural -na, exclusive infix en, an irregular nasal for even generation, and a suffix for same moiety -ke or opposite moiety -nthe.

Verbs include incorporated former verbs of motion that indicate direction and relative timing of someone, usually the subject of the verb. There are differences depending on whether the verb is transitive or intransitive:[4]

Kaytetye 'associated motion' stems
Time angke 'talk' Gloss kwathe 'drink' Gloss
Prior motion
(go/come and X)
angke-ye-ne-talk after going kwathe-ye-ne-drink after going
angke-ye-tnye-talk after coming kwathe-ye-tnye-drink after coming
angke-ya-lpe-talk after returning kwathe-ya-lpe-drink after returning
angke-ya-yte-talk after someone arrives kwathe-ya-yte-drink after someone arrives
Subsequent motion
(X and go/come)
angke-rra-yte-talk before leaving kwathe-la-yte-drink before leaving
angke-rra-lpe-talk before returning kwathe-la-lpe-drink before returning
Concurrent motion
(X while going/coming)
angke-yerna-lpe-talk while coming kwathe-yerna-lpe-drink while coming
angke-rra-pe-talk while going along kwathe-rra-pe-yne-drink while going along
angke-rra-ngke-rre-nye-talk continuously while going along kwathe-la-the-la-rre-drink continuously while going along
angke-lpa-ngke-talk once when on the way kwathe-lpa-the-drink once when on the way
Prior and subsequent angke-nya-yne-go and talk and come back kwathe-nya-yne-go and drink and come back

References

  1. 1 2 Kaytetye at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  2. Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Kaytetye". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
  3. https://www.ethnologue.com/cloud/gbb
  4. 1 2 3 4 Koch, 2006. "Kaytetye". In the Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 2nd ed.


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