Anangu

Anangu, more accurately "Aṉaŋu" or "Arnangu" (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable: ) is a word found in a number of eastern varieties of the Western Desert Language (WDL), an Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan family, spoken in the desert regions of western and central Australia. Before the arrival of non-Aboriginal people in Central Australia the core meaning of anangu was probably "human being, person". Now however it is used to mean "Aboriginal human being, person" and is rarely applied to non-Aboriginal people. As a Western Desert Language word for "(Aboriginal) person", and given that other Aboriginal languages have their own words for "(Aboriginal) person" the word anangu has come to be very closely associated with the WDL speaking people who use it to the extent that it is now commonly used to refer to them, mainly by non-Aboriginal people but also by the speakers themselves. Used in this way it seems never to be used to refer to any traditional grouping but rather to any collection of WDL people. It may also be used to refer to other Aboriginal people, especially where the speaker is uncertain who they are.