Dealing with disorder : strategies of accommodation among the Southern Pitjantjatjara, Australia

Abstract

I have utilised the orthography favoured by teachers and organisations associated with the Pitjantjatjara; my first lessons in the language were taught by Nancy Sheppard, previously of Ernabella who used this system (cf.Sheppard,1975). Pitjantjatjara uses seventeen consonants, and six vowels. The plosives p, k, t and tj are unaspirated. The language has two sounds indicated by r; a rolled r, symbolised as rr; and a retroflexed r. I have not indicated these retroflexes in the text, but point out here that the two words containing retroflexed r so.unds I use most frequently in the thesis are malu (red kangaroo), a retroflexed lateral; and anangu (Aboriginal person), a retroflexed nasal. There are three long vowel sounds, symbolised as ii, aa and uu; short vowels are i as in 'hit'; a as in 'cut' and u as in 'put'. Consonants are pronounced as follows: tj as an unaspirated English 'j'; ng as in 'long'; ny as in 'canyon'; ly has no English equivalent; w, y and m are pronounced as in English.