| Gaagudju | |
|---|---|
| Kakadu | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity | Gaagudju,Watta |
| Extinct | May 2002, with the death ofBig Bill Neidjie[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gbu |
| Glottolog | gaga1251 |
| AIATSIS[2] | N50 |
| ELP | Gagudju |
 Gaagudju | |
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Gaagudju (also speltGagadu,Gaguju, andKakadu) is an extinctAustralian Aboriginal language formerly spoken in the environs ofKakadu National Park, inArnhem Land,Northern Territory, Australia.
ExplorerBaldwin Spencer incorrectly ascribed the name "Kakadu tribe" to all of the people living in theAlligator Rivers area,[3][4] but Gaagudju was confined to the plains South and East Alligator Rivers.[2]
The language is classed asextinct, since its last fluent speaker,Big Bill Neidjie, died on 23 May 2002;[5][6]
Gaagudju has traditionally been classified with theGunwinyguan languages. However, in 1997Nicholas Evans proposed anArnhem Land family that includes Gaagudju.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | iiː | uuː |
| Mid | eeː | ooː |
| Low | aaː | |
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Stop | p | k | c | t | ʈ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n | ɳ |
| Lateral | ʎ | l | 𝼈 | ||
| Rhotic | r | ɻ | |||
| Semivowel | w | j | |||
Capell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:[7]
| gloss | Gagadu |
|---|---|
| man | djereiŋi |
| woman | djireːwan |
| head | ŋaːṙi |
| eye | bɔːrɔ |
| nose | geːni |
| mouth | djaːbul |
| tongue | ŋaːndjil |
| stomach | mabulu |
| bone | benaːgăra |
| blood | maneŋul |
| kangaroo | baːgu |
| opossum | mɔɳɔ |
| emu | gabaṙɛːbi |
| crow | mawaːga |
| fly | ŋɔrmul |
| sun | gobolbara |
| moon | maɖba |
| fire | gudjäli |
| smoke | uŋari |
| water | gaṙu |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
