Gooniyandi is a member of the Bunuban language family, along with Bunuba. It is spoken by about 100 people in Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia, and in a number of outstation communities in the river areas between there and Halls Creek.
Gooniyandi is also known as Konejandi, Koneyandi, Kunian, Kunan, Konean, Konajan, Kuniandu, Kunian, Kunan, Goonien, Gunian, Gun-ian or Gunan.
A system of writing Gooniyandi using the Latin alphabet was adopted by the community in 1984, and was subsequently revised in 1990 and again in 1999. It is not phonemic, as it omits some distinctions made in speech.
Gooniyandi is not being passed on to children in families. However, since 1982 various programmes have been developed to teach it in some schools, and increasing numbers of children are using the language on a daily basis.
Download an alphabet chart for Gooniyandi (Excel)
Information compiled by Wolfram Siegel.
Information about the Gooniyandi people, language and culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gooniyandi_language
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/gni
http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/gni
http://www.sorosoro.org/en/gooniyandi/
http://www.fatsil.org/LOTM/june00.htm
http://www.rosettaproject.org/archive/gni
http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_goo
Recordings of spoken Gooniyandi
http://globalrecordings.net/language/3698
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page last modified: 23.04.21
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