Wemba Wemba language
Extinct Australian Aboriginal language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wemba Wemba is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language once spoken along the Murray River and its tributaries in North Western Victoria and South Central New South Wales.
| Wemba-Wemba | |
|---|---|
| Eastern Central Murray | |
| Region | Victoria |
| Ethnicity | Wemba-Wemba, Nari-Nari, Barababaraba, Wergaia, Wotjobaluk, Marditjali, ?Jardwadjali |
| Extinct | (date missing)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xww – inclusive codeIndividual codes: rnr – Nari-Narirbp – Barababarabaweg – Wergaiaxwt – Wotjobaluk |
| Glottolog | west2443 incl. Madhi–Ladji–Wadi |
| AIATSIS[2] | D1 |
| ELP | Wemba-Wemba |
| Nari Nari | |
Nari Nari, a dialect of Wemba Wemba, is as of 2020[update] part of a language revival project. Other dialects are Barababaraba and Wergaia.
Jardwadjali (with dialects Jagwadjali, Nundadjali, Mardidjali) may be Wemba-Wemba,[3] or may be closer to the Madhi–Ladji–Wadi varieties.
Phonology
Consonants
Vowels
Voiced consonant sounds only occur within prenasalized stops. Prenasal consonants include: /mb/ /nd/ /ndy/ /ng/ and /rnd/. In phonetic form they are pronounced as [mb] [nd] [ɲɟ] [ŋɡ] and [ɳɖ].[4]
Vocabulary
Below is a basic vocabulary list from Blake (1981).[5]
English Wemba-Wemba man beng woman lerg mother guinggurin father mam head murreng eye mir nose ganyug ear wirimbula mouth dyarb tongue dyaling tooth lia hand manye breast gurm stomach bili urine gir faeces guni thigh gareburdug foot dyine bone merderug blood gurg dog wilgar snake gurnwil kangaroo gure (grey), bara (red) possum wile fish yauwirr spider wirimbeliny mosquito liri emu dyurung-wil eaglehawk banggel crow wa sun nyaui star durd stone la water gaden camp lar fire wanab smoke burd meat benggug stand dyerriga sit nyengga see nyaga go yangga get garga hit daga (barrangguna 'kill') I yandang you ngin one gebin two buledya
Influence on English
At least four botanical terms in Australian English are thought to have been introduced into local speech from Wemba-Wemba:
- dilanj = nitre bush/dillon
- lerep = lerp/honeydew or lerp manna[6]
- gambang = bulrush/cumbungi[6]
- mali = mallee[6]
- The word yabby, a type of crayfish, comes from Wemba-Wemba.[7]
