Австралия аборигендерінің Батыс Шөл тілдері тобы

Dialect cluster of Australian Aboriginal languages

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 when considering them dialects of a single language, or Wati as Warnman plus the Western Desert cluster.

The Western Desert Language consists of a network of closely related dialects; the names of some of these have become quite well known (such as Pitjantjatjara) and they are often referred to as "languages". As the whole group of dialects that constitutes the language does not have its own name it is usually referred to as the Western Desert Language. WDL speakers referring to the overall language use various terms including wangka ("language") or wangka yuti ("clear speech"). For native speakers, the language is mutually intelligible across its entire range.

as of 2019, scientists from the University of Queensland have been undertaking a research project on the Kukatja language in Balgo, the local lingua franca which is fluently spoken "by residents of all ages and across at least seven tribal groups". Researchers are recording conversations and mapping the language, believing that Kukatja could provide clues to how languages are spread around the world. Dr Luis Miguel Rojas Berscia believes that the mission, as in other places such as the Amazon and West Africa could be the common thread, bringing different ethnic groups together in isolated spots. Berscia, along with Balgo woman Melissa Sunfly and other residents, is working on developing a dictionary of the language and a teacher's guide, before English is taken up more widely by the younger generation. as of 2020, AIATSIS distinguishes two Western Desert dialects with the same name: A68: Kukatja and C7: Kukatja.

The Western Desert Language has thousands of speakers, making it one of the strongest indigenous Australian languages. The language is still being transmitted to children and has substantial amounts of literature, particularly in the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara dialects in South Australia where there was formerly a long running bilingual program.

In the following tables of the WDL sound system, symbols in angle brackets give a typical practical orthography used by many WDL communities. Further details of orthographies in use in different areas are given below. Phonetic values in IPA are shown in [square brackets].

While the dialects of the WDL have very similar phonologies there are several different orthographies in use, resulting from the preferences of the different early researchers as well as the fact that the WDL region extends into three states (Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory), with each having its own history of language research and educational policy.

Most of the peoples of central Australia have (or at one point had) signed forms of their languages. Among the Western Desert peoples, sign language has been reported specifically for Kardutjara and Yurira Watjalku, Ngaatjatjarra (Ngada), and Manjiljarra. Signed Kardutjara and Yurira Watjalku are known to have been well developed, though it is not clear from records that signed Ngada and Manjiljarra were.