Data collected by AUSTLANG

Data on the Burarra language

Alternatives names: Barara, Burera.

For a full list of alternative names and spelling, see Austlang

Main dialects:

Gun-narta, Gun-narda, Gun-nartpa, are considered dialects of Burarra.

Classification: Arnhem Land, Burarran (or Maningrida) languages.

The classification of the four Burarran languages (Burarra, Ndjebbana, Guragone, Nakara)  remains unclear.

The very existence of Arhnem Land languages group is controversial, it is highly likely that this grouping is based purely on geographical factors (all these languages are spoken in neighbouring zones).

The Burarran group has also been related the Gunwingguan languages by other sources, such as the Ethnologue 16th edition.

Area: Australia, Northern Territory. Blyth River region.

Burarra people’s country is in Central Arnhem Land, along the Blyth and Cadell Rivers and the coastal and inland areas around between them. Many people now live to the west of this, at Maningrida, a settlement on the mouth of the Liverpool.

Number of speakers :

The 2005 National Indigenous Languages Survey Report estimated approximately 800 speakers of Burarra, whereas the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census counted 1074 speakers.

Vitality and transmission:

Unesco and Austlang give no data on Burarra’s vitality.

Bibliography

Glasgow, Kathy. 1994. Burarra-Gun-nartpa dictionary: with English finder list. Darwin:SIL.

Green, Rebecca. 1987. A sketch grammar of Burarra, Australian National University: BA (Hons).

McConvell, Patrick and Nicholas Evans. (eds.) Archaeology and Linguistics: Global Perspectives on Ancient Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press (1997).

See the Austlang website for a complete bibliography about Burarra.

Map

Harvey, Mark. 2008. Non-Pama-Nyungan Languages: land-language associations at colonisation (ASEDA 802).

Links

Burarra Gathering, Website by Questacon, about Burarra People’s traditional knowledge and technologies

AUSTLANG website