Djukun language

Not to be confused with Jukun Takum language or Jukunoid languages.

Djukun
Jukun
Region	Western Australia
Ethnicity	Jukun
Extinct	by 1982[1] rememberers possible
Language family	Nyulnyulan Eastern Yawuru–Djukun Djukun
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	dyd
Glottolog	dyug1238
AIATSIS[1]	K2

Jukun or Djugun is an Australian Aboriginal language of Western Australia. There are no longer any fluent speakers of Jukun, but some people may remember it to some degree. It is an Eastern Nyulnyulan language, closely related to Yawuru.^[2]

Revitalization

A book titled 50 Words in Djukun: A Language Of The West Kimberley was published in 2025, facilitating the revitalization of the Djukun language.^[3][4]

Notes

1. K2 Djukun at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
2. Djukun language at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
3. Davidson, Jamie (12 December 2025). "50 words in Djukun - A language of the West Kimberley". Faculty of Arts. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
4. Advertiser, Cain AndrewsBroome (29 January 2026). "New Broome children's book helping preserve Djukun language". Broome Advertiser. Retrieved 28 April 2026.

References

• Nekes, H.; Worms, E. A. (1953). Australian Languages. Fribourg: Anthropos Institut.
• Stokes, B; McGregor, W. B. (2003). "Classification and subclassification of the Nyulnyulan languages". In N. Evans (ed.). The Non-Pama-Nyungan Languages of Northern Australia: Comparative Studies of the Continent's Most Linguistically Complex Region. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 29–74.