(As such, Amangu may have been synonymous with a dialect known as Nhanhagardi, which has also been classified, at different times, as a part of Nhanda, Noongar, or Widi.)
[citation needed] The Koreng (Goreng) people are thought to have spoken a dialect of, or closely related to, Wudjari, in which case their language would have been part of the Noongar subgroup.
[citation needed] Njakinjaki (Nyakinyaki) was possibly a dialect of Kalaamaya – a language related to, but separate from, the original Noongar subgroup.
However, according to Norman Tindale, the Njunga people rejected the name Wudjari and had adopted some of the customs of their non-Noongar-speaking eastern neighbours, the Ngadjunmaya.
[11] A later review and synthesis of recorded names and consultation with Noongars produced a list of recommended orthography and pronunciation for birds (2009) occurring in the region.
[12] A number of small wordlists were recorded in the early days of the Swan River Colony, for example Robert Menli Lyon's 1833 publication A Glance at the Manners and Language of Aboriginal Inhabitants of Western Australia.
[13] During August and October 1839 the Perth Gazette published Vocabulary of the Aboriginal people of Western Australia, written by Lieutenant Grey of HM 83rd Regiment.
Much to Grey's disappointment, his work was published in an unfinished list as he was leaving the colony, but he believed that the publication would assist in communication between settlers and Noongar people.
The first modern linguistic research on Noongar was carried out by Gerhardt Laves on the variety known as "Koreng", near Albany in 1930, but this material was lost for many years and has only recently been recovered.
Beginning in the 1930s and then more intensively in the 1960s Wilfrid Douglas learnt and studied Noongar, eventually producing a grammar, dictionary, and other materials.
[citation needed] Peter Bindon and Ross Chadwick have compiled an authoritative cross referenced "A Nyoongar Wordlist: from the South West of Western Australia", by assembling material from all of the above writers[specify] in their original spelling.
It is clear from this reference that the orthographies used reflected not only dialectical differences, but also how the various authors "heard" and transcribed spoken Noongar.
[23] Since the late 20th century, there has been increased interest in reviving the Noongar/Nyungar language, including teaching it at many schools throughout the south west of Western Australia.
[5] The Noongar Language and Culture Centre was set up at the Bunbury Aboriginal Progress Association in 1986, and grew to include offices in Northam and Perth.
[26] Educators Glenys Collard and Rose Whitehurst started recording elders speaking using Noongar language in 1990.
[29] In 2015 Professor Len Collard from the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia challenged the science behind the claim that it is an endangered language, citing the lack of rigour in the data.
Collard began leading a project to create the "Noongarpedia", recording the language in a wiki format, allowing for expansion over time.
The play, named Hecate, is produced by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company with Bell Shakespeare, and performed by an all-Noongar cast.
Noongar grammar is fairly typical of Pama–Nyungan languages in that it is agglutinating, with words and phrases formed by the addition of affixes to verb and noun stems.
[44][45] Nouns (as well as adjectives) take a variety of suffixes which indicate grammatical case, specifically relating to motion or direction, among other distinctions.
[50] Noongar features a set of dual number pronouns which identify interpersonal relationships based on kinship or marriage.
Daisy Bates suggests that central to Noongar culture was the karlupgur, referring to those that gather around the hearth (karlup).