Yulparija is one of the

Wati languages The Wati languages are the dominant Pama–Nyungan languages of central Australia. They include the moribund Wanman language and the Western Desert dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics) ...

of the large Pama–Nyungan family of Australia. It is sometimes counted as a dialect of the

Western Desert language The Western Desert language, or Wati, is a dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages in the Pama–Nyungan family. The name ''Wati'' tends to be used when considering the various varieties to be distinct languages, ''Western Desert'' w ...

, but is classified as a distinct language in Bowern.Claire Bowern and Quentin Atkinson. 2012. Computational phylogenetics and the internal structure of Pama-Nyungan. Language 88. 817-845. Johns Hopkins University Press. It is one of the components of the Martu Wangka koine.

Phonology

Yulparija has a typical phonemic inventory for languages of the Kimberley area. It uses 17 consonants in five distinct places of articulation.

Vowels

Yulparija uses a three vowel system, with a length contrast for the open vowel and the close back vowel .

References

Endangered indigenous Australian languages in Western Australia {{ia-lang-stub Western Desert language