Nyiyaparli language

Nyiyaparli
Nyiyaparli
"Nijadali"
Native to	Western Australia
Ethnicity	Bailgu, Niabali
Native speakers	8 (2025)
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Ngayarda Nyiyaparli; ;
Dialects	Palyku; Nankilakuthu ('high' or padupadu dialect); Martuyitha ('low' dialect); ?Ngulipartu (self-reported);
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xny
Glottolog	nija1241
AIATSIS	A50
ELP	Palyku; Nyiyaparli;

Nyiyaparli (Nyiyabali, Njijabali, or misspelled Nijadali) is a nearly extinct Pama–Nyungan language spoken by the Palyku (Bailko) and Niabali (Jana) people of Western Australia. There is also a formal language register known as padupadu.

Phonology

	Labial	Alveolar	Retroflex	(Alveolo-) palatal	Velar
Plosive	p	t	ʈ ⟨rt⟩	c ⟨j⟩	k
Nasal	m	n	ɳ ⟨rn⟩	ɲ ⟨ny⟩	ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Rhotic		ɾ ⟨rr⟩
Approximant		ɹ ⟨r⟩		j ⟨y⟩	w
Lateral		l	ɭ ⟨rl⟩	lʲ ⟨ly⟩

/ɲ, c, l̠ʲ/ can also be heard as dental [n̪, t̪, l̪] in free variation among speakers, with a possible phonemic distinction.
Rhotics /ɾ, ɹ/ can be heard in free variation as [r, ɻ] among speakers.

	Front	Central	Back
High	i		u
Low		ɐ ⟨a⟩

↑ "Game designed to save dying Aboriginal language wins global awards". ABC News. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
↑ Bowern & Koch (2004) Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method
↑ A50 Nyiyaparli at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
↑ Battin, Jacqueline (2019). Topics in Nyiyaparli morphosyntax. Australian National University.