Kaytetye language


Kaytetye is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in the Northern Territory north of Alice Springs by the Kaytetye people, who live around Barrow Creek and Tennant Creek. It belongs to the Arandic subgroup of the Pama-Nyungan languages and is related to Alyawarra, which is one of the Upper Arrernte dialects. It has an unusual phonology and there are no known dialects.
The language is considered to be threatened; it is used for face-to-face communication within all generations, but it is losing users, with only 120 speakers of the language in the 2016 census.
The Kaytetye have a well-developed sign language known as Akitiri or Eltye eltyarrenke.

Phonology

Kaytetye is phonologically unusual in a number of ways. Words start with vowels and end with schwa; full CV syllables only occur within a word, as in the word arrkwentyarte 'three'. Stress falls on the first full syllable. There are only two productive vowels, but numerous consonants, including pre-stopped and pre-palatalized consonants.

Consonants

Consonants occur plain and labialized.
is phonemically. In the orthography, is written.

Vowels

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, but that *u lost its roundedness to neighboring consonants, resulting in the labialized series of consonants, while *i lost its frontness 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:
Elder brotherMother
1alkere-ye
my/our brother		arrwengke
my/our mother
2ngk-alkere
your brother		ngk-arrwengke
your mother
3kw-alkere
his/her/their brother		kw-arrwengke
his/her/their mother
dyadicalkere-nhenge
elder and younger brother		arrwengke-nhenge
mother and child

Dual and plural pronouns distinguish clusivity as well as moiety and generation. That is, for a male speaker, different pronouns are used for I and my sibling, grandparent, grandchild, I and my father, I and my brother's child, and I and my mother, spouse, sister's child. This results in twelve pronouns for 'we':
Number & personEven generation
Odd generation
Opposite moiety
Dual inclusiveaylemeaylakeaylanthe
Dual exclusiveayleneaylenakeaylenanthe
Plural inclusiveaynangkeaynakeaynanthe
Plural exclusiveaynenangkeaynenakeaynenanthe

That is, root ay-, dual suffix -la or plural -na, exclusive infix , 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:
Timeangke 'talk'Glosskwathe 'drink'Gloss
Prior motion
angke-ye-ne-talk after goingkwathe-ye-ne-drink after going
Prior motion
angke-ye-tnye-talk after comingkwathe-ye-tnye-drink after coming
Prior motion
angke-ya-lpe-talk after returningkwathe-ya-lpe-drink after returning
Prior motion
angke-ya-yte-talk after someone arriveskwathe-ya-yte-drink after someone arrives
Subsequent motion
angke-rra-yte-talk before leavingkwathe-la-yte-drink before leaving
Subsequent motion
angke-rra-lpe-talk before returningkwathe-la-lpe-drink before returning
Concurrent motion
angke-yerna-lpe-talk while comingkwathe-yerna-lpe-drink while coming
Concurrent motion
angke-rra-pe-talk while going alongkwathe-rra-pe-yne-drink while going along
Concurrent motion
angke-rra-ngke-rre-nye-talk continuously while going alongkwathe-la-the-la-rre-drink continuously while going along
Concurrent motion
angke-lpa-ngke-talk once when on the waykwathe-lpa-the-drink once when on the way
Prior and subsequentangke-nya-yne-go and talk and come backkwathe-nya-yne-go and drink and come back

People