Introduction

Eastern/Central Arrernte (ECA) is a mesh of closely related dialects in the area around and to the east of Alice Springs in central Australia. These dialects form part of a larger dialect mesh for which there is no vernacular term. The language which incorporates the ECA dialects has been variously defined and labelled as Upper Aranda (Hale 1962), Eastern Arrernte (Wilkins 1989: 15) and Arrernte (Aranda) (Dixon 2001). ECA and Wilkins' Eastern Arrernte are more or less coextensive terms. Much of the description in this chapter cannot be extended to Arandic varieties beyond ECA.

There are estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000 speakers of ECA, and probably around 4,500 speakers of Arandic group varieties in total (Henderson and Dobson 1994). ECA is under considerable pressure from English, which dominates local media, education and government. Nearly all ECA speakers also speak at least some English, often a distinctive Aboriginal variety. Many older people believe that younger speakers are not learning or using ECA as well as they should be, particularly in the areas closer to Alice Springs. Some of the phenomena described in the latter part of this chapter have been recorded primarily from middle-aged or older speakers. Principal sources on ECA are Wilkins (1989), Breen (1990), Henderson and Dobson (1994), Henderson (1998) and Breen and Pensalfini (1999).