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Warlmanpa Sign Language is a highly developed Australian Aboriginal sign language used by the Warlmanpa people of northern Australia.[1]

Documentation
The first recorded documentation of Warlmanpa Sign Language was carried out by British linguist Adam Kendon. In 1978, Kendon began his initial work on gathering Aboriginal sign language material. During this time, he travelled to many areas within the North Central Territory, documenting the signed languages of Warlpiri, Waramungu, Mudbura, Anmatyerre, Kaytej, and Djingili, including trips to Tennant Creek, an area where Warlmanpa is located.

On his second visit to Tennant Creek, Kendon along with fellow researchers gathered a vocabulary of about 900 Warlmanpa signs.

Simultaneous use of sign and speech have been observed in daily situations among Warlmanpa speakers.

Geographic distribution
Banka Banka Station, which lies to the west of their original traditional area, has been a center for Warlmanpa people for several generations.

Sign Structure
In contrast to primary sign languages such as American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL), Warlmanpa (and sign languages in the Central Northern Territory) makes almost no use of facial action and/or cues in sign formation. In addition, the majority of signs are performed with only one hand and the range of handshapes and body locations used are significantly different.

Principles for analysis
In documentation of Warlmanpa signs, Kendon and researchers followed the approach originally developed by William Stokoe for the description of signs in ASL. In this sense, signs are regarded as actions which can be viewed in terms of three aspects: what is performing the action, the action taken and where the action is done. These aspects are named Sign Actor, Sign Action, and Sign Location, respectively.

=== Sign Actor, Action, and Location ===

Sign Actor
The body parts manipulated in the production of the sign and how they are organized during production.

Sign Action
The pattern of action that is employed to produce the sign.

Sign Location
Where the utilized body parts are placed as they carry out the action performed.

Formula
The Stokoe notation, a phonemic script used for writing down sign languages, was adapted by Kendon for use in recording Australian Aboriginal signs.

The formula is arranged in a special order where L is Sign Location; ap, HS, and OR are the three components of the Sign Actor, arm position, hand shape, and orientation, respectively; AC is the Sign Action.

Grammar
Many verbs in spoken Warlmanpa are compounds of a root verb and a preverb. This compound morphology is reflected in Warlmanpa Sign Language.

Use
The use of sign language across Australia is less common amongst men and is typically associated with women.