Jarrakan languages

Jarrakan
Djeragan
Geographic distribution:	northern Australia
Linguistic classification:	a primary family of Australian languages.
Subdivisions:	Kija Miriwoongic
Jarrakan (at left in inset)

The Jarrakan (formerly Djeragan) languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. The name is derived from the word jarrak, which means "language" in Kija.

The three main Jarrakan languages are:

• Kija (about 100 speakers)
• Miriwoong (about 20 speakers)
• Gajirrabeng (three or four speakers)

These are divided into two groups: Kijic, consisting of only Kija, and Miriwoongic, consisting of Miriwoong and Gajirrabeng; Dixon (2002) considers the latter to be a single language.

Doolboong may also have been a Jarrakan language, but this uncertain as it is extinct and essentially unattested.

References

• McGregor, William (2004). The Languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia. London, New York: Taylor & Francis. p. 40. 

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