Interesting Facts about the Upper Arrernte (Aranda) Language

Aboriginals have lived in central Australia for at least 20,000 years. Although few details of their history is known, languages of the Aboriginals remain today. The Aranda were originally nomadic hunters and gatherers before Whites first came to Central Australia.

Arrernte, Aranda, Upper Arrernte, Arunta, Arrarnta, or Upper Aranda, is a very rare dialect cluster that’s spoken in and around Alice Springs in Northern Australia. It has a Latin writing system and a highly developed sign language. The spoken language is only spoken by 2,800 native speakers, according to a 2006 census. The total number of people around the world who speak Upper Arrernte is not believed to exceed 3,000, which makes it one of the more obscure languages.

There are a number of varieties of Upper Arrernte. There have not been many studies into each variety and even now, despite some exploration, we’re unsure whether these varieties should be classified as dialects of the Arrernte language or as separate languages. Having said that, Lower Arrernte, spoken in the Finke River area close to Alice Springs, is distinct from Upper Arrernte.

Here are the varieties of the Aranda language:

• Alyawarr (Alyawarra), spoken by the Alyawarre
• Anmatjirra (Anmatyerre)
• Antekerrepenhe (Andegerebinha)
• Ayerrerenge (Ayerreyenge)
• Eastern Arrernte (Ikngerripenhe) and Central Arrernte (Mparntwe Arrernte; east of Alice Springs)
• Western Arrernte (Akarre, Tyuretye Arrernte, Arrernte Alturlerenj; west of Alice Springs)

Western Aranda, spoken in the Hermannsburg / Alice Springs district, is the most commonly spoken of the Arandic dialects along with Eastern Aranda, spoken in the Alice Springs / Santa Teresa district.

Education and Employment

Arrernte is taught to all students in the primary schools of Alice Springs. It is also available as an option in high schools in and around Alice Springs. Students who take up Arrernte in high school have, on average, a better chance of employment in Alice Springs as employers look for this. Many employers in Alice Springs actually encourage their employees to learn the Aranda language to improve relations and they will provide the funding for education.

Example

Here is sample text in Arrernte as taken from Omniglot.com.

Anwerne Mparntwe-arenye tyerrtye mapele arrenhantherre welcome-ileme apmere anwerne-kenhe-werne. Anwerne ahentye-aneme arrantherre akaltye-irremele respectem-iletyeke apmere nhenhe.

This translates to:

We, the people who belong to Alice Springs, welcome you to our country. We hope you will learn about, and respect our country. We, the people who belong to Alice Springs.