Warlpiri is a Pama-Nyungan language (Ngarrka group) spo­ ken by over 3,000 people in Central Australia. Neighbour­ ing languages (all Pama-Nyungan) include its closest relatives, Warlmanpa and Ngardily, to the north-east and west respec­ tively, Warumungu (Warumungic) and the Arandic languages, Kaytetye and Alyawarr, to the east, the Western Desert lan­ guages, Pintupi and Kukatja, to the south and west respectively, the Ngumbin language Jaru to the north-west, the Arandic lan­ guage, Anmatyerre, to the south-east, and the Ngumbin lan­ guages, Gurindji and Mudburra, to the north. Warlpiri country encompasses a huge area of semi-desert stretching west of Tennant Creek to the Western Australian border. For