Kija (variously spelled Gija, Kitja, Gidja) is an
Australian Aboriginal language
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
today spoken by about 100 people, most of whom live in the region from
Halls Creek to
Kununurra and west to Lansdowne and Tableland Stations in
Western Australia. It is a member of the Jarragan language family, a non-Pama-Nyungan family in the East Kimberleys. The
Argyle Diamond Mine, on the south western corner of
Lake Argyle is on the borders of
Gija and
Miriwoong country. The Purnululu (pronounced as 'Boornoolooloo')
Bungle Bungle National Park is mostly in Gija country.
Kuluwarrang and Walgi may have been dialects.
See also
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References
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External links
Bibliography of Kija people and language resources at the
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Jarrakan languages
Severely endangered languages
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