What’s new

August 2016 update

Another 75 items have been added to the Virtual Library, bringing the total number of items to over 500, representing over 150 languages ... read more

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Update 2024

This site is no longer current and is not being updated. Since 2016, happily, the number of online sources of knowledge about Australian Indigenous languages exploded in number and diversity of sources, especially from Indigenous organisations and individuals. As a result, it became impossible to keep ALoA up to date. It is no longer a key resource.

As the main web portal for Australian Aboriginal languages on the web (part of Tim Berners-Lee’s official W3C Virtual Library (now defunct at https://www.vlib.org/ - see its history) this site provided summaries, guidance and links to quality resources on Aboriginal languages, especially those produced from communities and by community members. It was listed in most of the major international libraries and other institutions as a key site for Australian languages, and attracted over 500,000 hits a year.

Approximately half of the linked sites still exist and the site’s back-end database remains valuable because it contains data which tracks 20 years of the emergence, expansion and changes in the online presence of Australian First Nations languages from the birth of the web.

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RESULTS: 38 ITEMS FOR CATEGORY Dictionaries

Bilinarra [aus-x-biq] see all Bilinarra
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Burarra [bvr] see all Burarra
Source: ARDS
A range of dictionaries for several Yol?u languages; also specialised English-Yol?u anatomy and legal dictionaries.
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Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Source: Kathleen Glasgow and David Glasgow/AuSIL
Dictionary consists of approximately 4000 headwords. Burarra is spoken by the Burarra and Gun-nartpa people (approximately 600 speakers) in the Blyth and Cadell River regions and in the town of Maningrida in North-Central Arnhem Land.
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Source: ARDS
Background information and 900-word dictionary of the Dha?u languages of Yol?u matha -- (Wangurri, G
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Source: ARDS
English wordlist for the Dha?u Dictionary.
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Burduna [bxn] see all Burduna
Source: Eleanora Deak/Albert Burgman/Peter Austin/Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Dictionary, finderlist and topical index.
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Djangu [dhg] see all Djangu
Source: ARDS
A range of dictionaries for several Yol?u languages; also specialised English-Yol?u anatomy and legal dictionaries.
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Source: ARDS
Background information and 900-word dictionary of the Dha?u languages of Yol?u matha -- (Wangurri, G
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Source: ARDS
English wordlist for the Dha?u Dictionary.
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Djinang [dji] see all Djinang
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Gupapuyngu [guf] see all Gupapuyngu
Source: ARDS
A range of dictionaries for several Yol?u languages; also specialised English-Yol?u anatomy and legal dictionaries.
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Gurindji [gue] see all Gurindji
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Iwaidja [ibd] see all Iwaidja
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Source: Noreen Pym and Bonnie Larrimore/AuSIL
Dictionary consists of approximately 1600 headwords. Iwaidja is spoken by around 150 people on Croker Island and the Cobourg Peninsula in Western Arnhem Land.
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Jiwarli [mem] see all Jiwarli
Source: Peter K. Austin
General information, references and short story with audio, for Jiwarli. There is also a short dictionary sample with the promise of a comprehensive online dictionary.
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Source: Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Dictionary, finderlist and topical index. Revised version of Peter Austin’ 1992 dictionary.
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Juwaliny [wmt] see all Juwaliny
Source: Sally Dixon/Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Dictionary, finderlist and topical index, in a graphical hypertext/interactive format (using Flash).
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Kaanju [kbe] see all Kaanju
Source: Clair Hill / ELAR
Archive deposit: documentation of highly endangered Paman languages of Cape York Peninsula. Includes audio, video, texts and dictionary. Like all ELAR deposits, this material is accessible according to access protocols and access may require negotiation with the depositor.
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Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay [kld] see all Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay
Source: Peter Austin and David Nathan
Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay comes from northern NSW, from around Tamworth west across beyond Moree. This is the first formatted hypertext dictionary published on the Internet.
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Source: Yuwaalaraay Language Program/John Giacon
Dictionaries and a range of links and learning materials for Yuwaalaraay and Gamilaraay.
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Kriol and pidgins [rop] see all Kriol and pidgins
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Kuku Thaypan [typ] see all Kuku Thaypan
Source: Bruce Rigsby / ELAR
Archive deposit: an Awu Alaya Dictionary in Toolbox (text) format, along with scans of original fieldwork notebooks. Like all ELAR deposits, this material is accessible according to access protocols and access may require negotiation with the depositor.
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Kuuku Ya’u [kuy] see all Kuuku Ya’u
Source: Clair Hill / ELAR
Archive deposit: documentation of highly endangered Paman languages of Cape York Peninsula. Includes audio, video, texts and dictionary. Like all ELAR deposits, this material is accessible according to access protocols and access may require negotiation with the depositor.
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Manyjilyjarra [mpj] see all Manyjilyjarra
Source: Sue Hanson/Albert Burgman/James Marsh/Joshua Booth/Others/Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Dictionary, finderlist and topical index.
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Martu Wangka [mpj] see all Martu Wangka
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Source: James Marsh/Albert Burgman/Others/Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Dictionary, finderlist and topical index, with many audio examples.
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Mawng [mph] see all Mawng
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Source: Ruth Singer/Mawng Ngaralk/Storytellers
A revised Mawng-English dictionary, information about the Mawng language spoken on Warruwi (South Goulbourn Island), and many videos and sound recordings of stories told by Mawng speakers.
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Source: Ruth Singer/Isabel O’Keefe/Elizabeth Langslow/Janet Mardbinda/others
Mawng-English dictionary (as online interactive or as downloadable PDF, together with English-Mawng finderlist), together with many video and audio stories videos and sound recordings. Also some downladable posters on fish, shells and plant medicine.
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Ngaanyatjarra [ntj] see all Ngaanyatjarra
Source: NPY Women
This page hosts a downlodable PDF document called Uti Kulintjaku: A compendium of words for talking about mental health. It includes terms in Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra, as well as translations from English into these languages.
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Ngarluma [nrl] see all Ngarluma
Source: Sally Dixon et al (see acknowledgements)/Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Dictionary, finderlist and topical index, in a graphical hypertext/interactive format (using Flash). See also Ngarluma Morphological Description by Allison Kohn.
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Noongar [nys] see all Noongar
Source: South West Aboriginal Land & Sea Council
This site contains a wealth of language and cultural materials and references to Noongar resources. Its language page links to a a wordlist, a full Noongar Dictionary by Rose Whitehurst, and an audio Welcome to Country performance.
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Nyamal [nly] see all Nyamal
Source: Biddy Norman/Dann Murphy/Teddy Allen/Alice Mitchell/Linda Mitchell/Geoff O
Hypertext/interactive dictionary, finderlist and topical index.
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Nyangumarta [nna] see all Nyangumarta
Source: Geoffrey O'Grady/Albert Burgman/Others/Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Grammatical description, dictionary, finderlist and topical index.
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Pitjantjatjara [pjt] see all Pitjantjatjara
Source: NPY Women
This page hosts a downlodable PDF document called Uti Kulintjaku: A compendium of words for talking about mental health. It includes terms in Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra, as well as translations from English into these languages.
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Thalanyji [dhl] see all Thalanyji
Source: Peter Austin/Rosie Campbell/Laura Hicks/Valerie Ashburton/Judy Hughes/Others/Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Hypertext/interactive dictionary, finderlist and topical index.
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Tiwi [tiw] see all Tiwi
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Source: Jenny Lee/AuSIL
Dictionary consists of approximately 5000 headwords. Tiwi is spoken by approximately 1500 speakers on Bathurst and Melville Islands.
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Umpila [ump] see all Umpila
Source: Clair Hill / ELAR
Archive deposit: documentation of highly endangered Paman languages of Cape York Peninsula. Includes audio, video, texts and dictionary. Like all ELAR deposits, this material is accessible according to access protocols and access may require negotiation with the depositor.
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Uw Oykangand [kjn] see all Uw Oykangand
Source: Philip Hamilton
Uw Oykangand and Uw Olkola are Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in central Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland. This dictionary is a community-based initiative of the Kowanyama Aboriginal Community Council.
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Wagiman [waq] see all Wagiman
Source: Stephen Wilson, University of Sydney
Comprehensive dictionary, texts, and other information about Wagiman, a language of the Northern Territory. Searchable in English and Wagiman.
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Walmajarri [wmt] see all Walmajarri
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Source: Eirlys Richards and Joyce Hudson
Dictionary based on the Walmajarri-English dictionary compiled from materials Eirlys Richards and Joyce Hudson gathered in and around Fitzroy Crossing between 1967 and 1984.
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Warlpiri [wbp] see all Warlpiri
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Source: Kevin Jansz, Christopher Manning, and Nitin Indurkhya
A unique graphical-browsing semantic dictionary aimed at the needs of native speakers and children, as well as being useful to professional linguists.
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Source: Steve Swartz/AuSIL
Warlpiri is spoken by about 3000 people in the Tanami Desert area. See also the About Warlpiri page for background to the dictionary.
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Warnman [wbt] see all Warnman
Source: Nicholas Thieberger/Pijuka Eidwun/Minyawu Miller/Desmond Taylor/Muuki Taylor/Waka Taylor/Others/Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Languages Centre
Dictionary, finderlist and topical index. See the Acknowledgements and Copyright tab for the full list of many contributors.
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Wik-Mungkan [wim] see all Wik-Mungkan
Source: AuSIL / Various
Web and downloadable dictionaries for Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan. The page also has links to over 90 linguistic and other language-related articles.
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Source: Christine Kilham, Mabel Pamulkan, Jennifer Pootchemunka and Topsy Wolmby/AuSIL
Wik-Mungkan is spoken on the western side of Cape York Peninsula.
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Yankunytjatjara [kdd] see all Yankunytjatjara
Source: NPY Women
This page hosts a downlodable PDF document called Uti Kulintjaku: A compendium of words for talking about mental health. It includes terms in Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra, as well as translations from English into these languages.
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Yanyuwa [jao] see all Yanyuwa
Source: John Bradley and Jean Kirton
Dictionary and cultural resource that includes Yanyuwa-English and English-Yanyuwa dictionary, text, maps, illustrations and bibliography.
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Yolngu [aus-x-yoq] see all Yolngu
Source: ARDS
Background information and 900-word dictionary of the Dha?u languages of Yol?u matha -- (Wangurri, G
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Source: ARDS
A dictionary of anatomy (the human body) in Yol?u Matha and English. Has extensive definitions in Yol?u Matha; also contains information on polite word choices.
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Source: ARDS
English wordlist for the Dha?u Dictionary.
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Source: ARDS/Aboriginal Interpreter Service/North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency
A downloadable PDF containing detalled descriptions and translations of legal terms in plain English and in Yol?u Matha.
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Source: Charles Darwin University
Innovative dictionary covering most of the Yolngu languages and providing a variety of search methods, including Fuzzy Search, Filter Find, and English Finderlist. Many of the Yolngu words have audio pronunciation.
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Yuwaalaraay [aus-x-yuq] see all Yuwaalaraay
Source: Yuwaalaraay Language Program/John Giacon
Dictionaries and a range of links and learning materials for Yuwaalaraay and Gamilaraay.
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Many languages or language not specified
Source: Myf Turpin/IAD Press
The first comprehensive dictionary of the Kaytetye language, with sentence examples, finderlist, cultural information etc. See also the Jane Simpson’s review.
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Source: David Nash
Links to several online dictionaries.
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