Wergaia or Werrigia is an Australian Aboriginal language in the Wimmera region of north-Western Victoria. The Wergaia language consisted of four distinct dialects: Wudjubalug/Wotjobaluk, Djadjala/Djadjali, Buibadjali, Biwadjali.[2] Wergaia was in turn apparently a dialect of the Wemba Wemba language, a member of the Kulinic branch of Pama–Nyungan.[3]
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 started up at the Wotjobaluk Knowledge Place, established in December 2020 at Dimboola. A Wergaia language program would run over 20 weeks.[8]
Sounds
The following is the Djadjala dialect.
| 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 |
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
Notes
- ^ S17 Wergaia at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ Clark 1990.
- ^ Dixon 2002, p. xxxvi.
- ^ Clark 1995, pp. 177–183.
- ^ "Wooroonook Lakes". Charlton. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Rural Northwest Health service absorbs Aboriginal culture". Victorian Government Health Information: Health Victoria. Government of Victoria. July 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Cultural Awareness Training – Wimmera Primary Care Partnership Inc". Wimmera Primary Care Partnership. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ Kelso, Andrew (3 June 2021). "Dimboola to 'revive' Wergaia language, in Victorian first". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ Hercus 1969.
- ^ a b c d Mathews, R. H. (1902). "Aboriginal languages of Victoria". Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. 36: 71–106.
References
- Clark, Ian (1990). Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800-1900. Monash publications in geography, No.37. ISBN 978-0-909-68541-6.
- Clark, Ian (1995). Scars in the Landscape: A Register of Massacre Sites in Western Victoria, 1803-1859. Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 978-0-855-75595-9.
- Dixon, Robert M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-47378-1.
This page was last edited on 2 July 2023, at 16:09