Kija (variously spelled Gija, Kitja, Gidja) is an Australian Aboriginal language 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.

Gija
Kija
Region	From Halls Creek to Kununurra, Western Australia
Ethnicity	Gija
Native speakers	169 (2016 census)[1]
Language family	Jarrakan Gija
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	gia
Glottolog	kitj1240
AIATSIS[2]	K20
ELP	Kija
Kija is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Kuluwarrang and Walgi may have been dialects.

See also

• Shirley Purdie; Peggy Patrick; Lena Nyadbi; et al. (2018). Gija plants and animals: Aboriginal flora and fauna knowledge from the east Kimberley, north Australia. Northern Territory Botanical Bulletin. Vol. 47. ISBN 978-1-74350-130-6. Wikidata Q109466091.

References

• Blythe, J. Yuwurriyangem Kijam (our Language Kija): a Phrasebook of the Kija Language. Halls Creek: Kimberley Language Resource Centre.
• Kofod, F. M. (1996). Introduction to the Kija Language. Halls Creek: Kimberley Language Resource Centre.
• Kofod, F. M. (2016). Gija~Kija-English Dictionary. Warmin: Warmun Arts.
• Taylor, P.; Taylor, J. (1971). "A tentative statement of Kitja phonology". Papers on the Languages of Australian Aboriginals: 100–19.
• Taylor, P.; Hudson, J. (1976). "Metamorphosis and Process in Kija". Talanya. 3: 25–36.

External links

• Bibliography of Kija people and language resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

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