Peramangk language is also known as Merildekald and is a Pama-Nyungan language of the

Peramangk The Peramangk are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands traditionally comprise the Adelaide Hills, as well as lands to the west of the Murray River in mid Murraylands and through to the northern part of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the Au ...

lands in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Like its congener the

Kaurna language Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...

, it was previously considered endangered.

History

Many Peramangk place names, cultural practices and dreamtime character names are well known. A proportion of the vocabulary and grammatical elements of the language may potentially be shared with

as well as

Nganguruku The Nganguruku are an indigenous Australian people of the state of South Australia. Language The Nganguruku traditionally spoke a language similar to that of the Ngaiawang, but with significant dialect differences. The similarity has caused them ...

language, and to some extent the

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

and

Ngadjuri The Ngadjuri people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands lie in the mid north of South Australia with a territory extending from Gawler in the south to Orroroo in the Flinders Ranges in the north. Name Their ethno ...

languages among others. Some elements of the Peramangk language may be considered distinctive from Kaurna. Peramangk language may be held dear by

elders, and hence it was cited that a Peramangk descendant is collecting and compiling language data. It is likely that Peramangk elders knew each of the surrounding languages, as surrounding tribes often met on Peramangk land at their invitation. A work compiled by The Lutheran Missionary Society within a short period after colonisation of mainland South Australia constitutes a reference manual for the

and hence also for the Peramangk language, and the content of an available downloadable version is entirely searchable by text so serving as a handy resource for all ages.

References

Lower Murray languages Thura-Yura languages {{ia-lang-stub