Wergaia dialect

Endangered Australian Aboriginal language From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wergaia or Werrigia is an Australian Aboriginal language in the Wimmera region of north-Western Victoria. The Wergaia language consists of four distinct dialects: Wudjubalug/Wotjobaluk, Djadjala/Djadjali, Buibadjali, Biwadjali.[2] Wergaia is considered a dialect of the Wemba Wemba language, which belongs to the Kulinic branch of Pama–Nyungan.[3]

RegionVictoria
Extinct(date missing)
Revival2020–2021
Quick facts Region, Ethnicity ...
Wergaia
RegionVictoria
EthnicityWergaia, Wotjobaluk
Extinct(date missing)
Revival2020–2021
Dialects
  • Biwadjali
  • Wudjubalug
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
weg  Wergaia
xwt  Wotjobaluk
Glottologwerg1234
AIATSIS[1]S17
ELPWergaia
Map of Victorian Aborigines language territories
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The Aboriginal people who speak Wergaia dialects include the Maligundidj or Wergaia people, which means the people belonging to the mali (mallee) eucalypt bushland which covers much of their territory,[4][5] and the Wotjobaluk people.[6][7]

In mid-2021, a language revival project was launched at the Wotjobaluk Knowledge Place in Dimboola, which had been established in December 2020. A Wergaia language program would run over 20 weeks.[8]

Sounds

The following is the Djadjala dialect.

More information Labial, Alveolar ...
Consonant sounds
Labial Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar
Stop b d ɖ ɟ ɡ
Nasal m n ɳ ɲ ŋ
Rhotic r ɽ
Lateral l
Approximant w j
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Vowels given are /a e i u/.[9]

Some words

  • dhallung (male or buck kangaroo)
  • gal (dog)[10]
  • kulkun (a boy)
  • laiaruk (a woman)
  • lanangurk (a girl)[10]
  • mindyun (a kangaroo)
  • muty (doer or female kangaroo)[10]}
  • winya nyua (Who is there?)[10]
  • wotjo (a man)

Notes and references

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