Gamilaraay language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gamilaraay | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Central northern New South Wales | |
| Total speakers: | 3 (1997) | |
| Language family: | Pama-Nyungan Central NSW Wiradhuric Gamilaraay |
|
| Writing system: | Latin alphabet | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | aus | |
| ISO/FDIS 639-3: | kld | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
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 Kamilaroi people, but is now moribund—according to Ethnologue, there were only 3 speakers left in 1997. However, there are thousands of people of mixed descent both within the native populations as well as immigrant populations, who identify themselves as Kamilaroi. Kamilaroi is also taught in some Australian schools.
Contents |
[edit] Classification
[edit] Name
The name Gamilaraay means gamil-having, 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 Langue d'oc in France, distinguished by their respective words for "yes".)
Spellings of the name, pronounced [ɡ̊aˌmilaˈɻaːj] (listen) in the language itself , include:
- Camilaroi
- Kamalarai
- Kamilaroi
- Gamilaraay
- Gamilaroi
[edit] Geographic distribution
[edit] Dialects
- Yuwaalaraay
- Yuwaaliyaay (Euahlayi)
- Gunjbaraay
- Gawambaraay
- Wirayaraay (Wiriwiri)
- Walaraay
[edit] History
A basic wordlist collected by Major Thomas Mitchell in February, 1832 is the earliest written record of Gamilaraay.
The Presbyterian missionary William Ridley studied the language from 1852 to 1856.
[edit] Phonology
[edit] Vowel
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i, iː | u, uː |
| Low | a, aː | |
/wa/ is realized as [wo].
[edit] Consonants
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
|
| Stop | b | ɡ | ɟ | d̪ | d | |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n̪ | n | |
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Rhotic | r | ɻ | ||||
| Semivowel | w | j | ||||
Initially, /wu/ and /ji/ may be simplified to [u] and [i].
[edit] Stress
All long vowels in a word get equal stress. If there are no long vowels, 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.
[edit] Grammar
[edit] 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 that stick in one's feet. |
| brolga | burralga | A bird species, Grus rubicunda. |
| possibly budgerigar | gidjirrigaa | A bird species, Melopsittacus undulatus. |
| Proper nouns | ||
| Anglicised form | Gamilaraay | Meaning |
| Kamilaroi | gamilaraay | The Gamilaraay people or language. |
| Placenames | ||
| Anglicised form | Gamilaraay | Meaning |
| Boggabri | bagaaybaraay | having creeks |
| Boggabilla | bagaaybila | full of creeks |
| Collarenebri | galariinbaraay | having acacia blossoms |
[edit] References
- 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-10: 0521473780, ISBN-13: 9780521473781.
- Mathews, R. H. (Jul.–Dec. 1903). "Languages of the Kamilaroi and Other Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 33: 259–283.
- Ridley, William (1856). "On the Kamilaroi Tribe of Australians and Their Dialect". Journal of the Ethnological Society of London 4: 285–293.
