Gamilaraay language
 | This article has an unclear citation style. (October 2015) |
| Gamilaraay | |
|---|---|
| Darling tributaries | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Central northern New South Wales |
| Ethnicity | Gamilaraay, Ualarai, Kawambarai |
| Extinct | "recently extinct" as of 2007[1][2] |
| Revival | 105 claim to speak Gamilaraay, 1% of total population (2016 census) |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Dialects | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kld |
| Glottolog | gami1243 |
| AIATSIS[5] | D23 |
| ELP | Gamilaraay |
 A map of the tribes of New South Wales, published in 1892. Gamilaraay is marked I. | |
The Gamilaraay or Kamilaroi (see below for other spellings) language is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup found mostly in south-east Australia. It was the traditional language of the Gamilaraay, but is now endangered—according to Ethnologue, only 35 speakers were left in 2006, all mixing Gamilaraay and English.[6] However, thousands of Australians of mixed descent identify as Gamilaraay. The Gamilaraay language is also taught in some Australian schools.
Name
The name Gamilaraay means gamil-having, with gamil being the word for "no". Other dialects and languages are similarly named after their respective words for "no". (Compare the division between langues d'oïl and langues d'oc in France, distinguished by their respective words for "yes".)
Spellings of the name, pronounced [ɡ̊aˌmilaˈɻaːj] in the language itself, include:
- Goomeroi
- Kamilaroi
- Gamilaraay
- Gamilaroi
Geographic distribution
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
Dialects
History
Southern Aboriginal guides led the surveyor John Howe to the upper Hunter River above present-day Singleton in 1819. They told him that the country there was "Coomery Roy [=Gamilaraay] and more further a great way", meaning to the north-west, over the Liverpool Ranges (see O'Rourke 1997: 29). This is probably the first record of the name.
A basic wordlist collected by Thomas Mitchell in February, 1832, is the earliest written record of Gamilaraay.
Presbyterian missionary William Ridley studied the language from 1852 to 1856.
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
Phonology
Vowels
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i ⟨i⟩, iː ⟨ii⟩ | u ⟨u⟩, uː ⟨uu⟩ |
| Low | a ⟨a⟩, aː ⟨aa⟩ | |
/wa/ is realized as [wo].
Consonants
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | |
| Stop | b | ɡ | ɟ ⟨dj⟩ | d̪ ⟨dh⟩ | d | |
| Nasal | m | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ | ɲ ⟨ny⟩ | n̪ ⟨nh⟩ | n | |
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Rhotic | r ⟨rr⟩ | ɻ ⟨r⟩ | ||||
| Semivowel | w | j ⟨y⟩ | ||||
Initially, /wu/ and /ji/ may be simplified to [u] and [i].
Stress
All long vowels in a word get equal stress. If no long vowels are present, stress falls on the first syllable. Secondary stress falls on short vowels, which are two syllables to the right or to the left of a stressed syllable.
Grammar
Pronouns
Gawambaraay Dialect
Subject pronouns[9]:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | ngaya | ngali | ngiyaani |
| 2nd person | ngindu | ngindaali | ngindaay |
| 3rd person | nguru | (nguru)gali | ganu |
Gamilaraay words in English
Several loanwords have entered Australian English from Gamilaraay, including:
| Common nouns | ||
|---|---|---|
| Anglicised form | Gamilaraay | Meaning |
| bindi-eye, bindii, bindies | bindayaa | The burrs of several plant species (Emex australis, Tribulus terrestris, and Soliva sessilis) that stick in one's feet |
| brolga | burralga | A bird species, Grus rubicunda |
| possibly budgerigar | gidjirrigaa | A bird species, Melopsittacus undulatus |
| galah | gilaa | A bird species, Eolophus roseicapilla |
| yarran | yarraan | A species of acacia tree, Acacia homalophylla[10] |
| Proper nouns | ||
| Anglicised form | Gamilaraay | Meaning |
| Kamilaroi | gamilaraay | The Gamilaraay people or language |
| Place names | ||
| Anglicised form | Gamilaraay | Meaning |
| Boggabri | bagaaybaraay | having creeks |
| Boggabilla | bagaaybila | full of creeks |
| Collarenebri | galariinbaraay | having acacia blossoms |
| ||
References
- ^ Gamilaraay language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ ABS. "Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2+)". stat.data.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
- ^ a b There is quite some confusion over the names Wirray Wirray, Wiriyarray, and Wirraayarray. See AIATSIS:Wirray Wirray
- ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xxxiv.
- ^ D23 Gamilaraay at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ "Gamilaraay". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
- ^ For more information on the Euahlayi dialect and tribe, see The Euahlayi Tribe. A Study of Aboriginal Life in Australia by K. Langloh Parker.
- ^ This map is indicative only.
- ^ Austin, P. (1993) A Reference Grammar of Gamilaraay, Northern New South Wales.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of English, p 2,056
Bibliography
- Austin, Peter (1993). A Reference Dictionary of Gamilaraay, northern New South Wales. La Trobe University.
- Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-47378-0.
- Mathews, R. H. (Jul–Dec 1903). "Languages of the Kamilaroi and Other Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales" (PDF). The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 33. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 33: 259–283. doi:10.2307/2842812. JSTOR 2842812.
- O'Rourke, Michael. "The Kamilaroi Lands. Canberra, 1997".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Ridley, William (1856). "On the Kamilaroi Tribe of Australians and Their Dialect". Journal of the Ethnological Society of London. 4. Journal of the Ethnological Society of London (1848-1856), Vol. 4: 285–293. doi:10.2307/3014109. JSTOR 3014109.
Further reading
- Ash, Anna et al. Gamilaraay, Yuwaaaraay and Yuwaalayaay Dictionary. Alice Springs: IAD Press 2003.
- Parker, K. Langloh (1905). . London: Archibald Constable and Company.
- Ridley, William (1855). "On the Kamilaroi Language of Australia". Transactions of the Philological Society. 2 (6): 72–84. doi:10.1111/j.1467-968X.1855.tb00794.x.
External links
- http://yuwaalaraay.org/ has information about recent Gamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay language development and links to numerous language resources.
- The Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi) Language, northern New South Wales — A Brief History of Research (PDF)
- Gutenberg Project Browse By Language: Gamilaraay
- Online dictionary
- Gamilaraay Online dictionary by Peter Austin and David Nathan
- A Reference Grammar of Gamilaraay
- Bibliographies of published, rare or special materials on Gamilaraay language and people, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- Bibliographies of published, rare or special materials on Yuwaalaraay language and people, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies