Additional information
by Tom Ennever (Joint Author), Marie Mudgedell (Joint Author), Tjama Napanangka (Joint Author)
Ngardi is the language of the western regions of the Tanami Desert and the north-central region of the Great Sandy Desert. Ngardi country is known locally as 'Ngururrpa' or 'central country' and is situated between Ngumpin languages to the north and west (languages like Jaru and Walmajarri) and Western Desert languages to the south (like Kukatja and Pintupi). Though Ngardi speakers are few, Ngardi language and culture remain core components of Ngardi identity. Numerous Ngardi words are still in use by people of all ages and there is a strong enthusiasm to see the language revitilised. Traditional Ngardi beliefs and cultural practices are maintained in many of the modern-day communities in which Ngardi people live: Balgo, Mulan, Billiluna (Kururrungku) and Ringer's Soak. Prospectors, linguists and anthropologists started making short Ngardi word lists in the 1920s, 1940s and 1950s. From 1990 onwards, poet and linguist Lee Cataldi began systematically documenting the language with Peggy Rockman, and then later intensively with Tjama Napanangka and other senior Ngardi women in Balgo. From their work, the first dictionary began to be compiled.
