| Gamilaraay | |
|---|---|
| Darling tributaries Kamilaroi | |
| Gamilaraay | |
 gurre kamilaroi, a 19th-century Gamilaraay text | |
| Pronunciation | [ɡ̊aˌmilaˈɻaːj] |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Central northernNew South Wales |
| Ethnicity | Gamilaraay,Ualarai,Kawambarai |
Native speakers | 1,065 (2021 census)[1][2][3] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kld |
| Glottolog | gami1243 |
| AIATSIS[4] | D23 |
| ELP | Gamilaraay |
| Yuwaalaraay | |
 A map of the tribes of New South Wales, published in 1892. Gamilaraay is markedI. | |
 Gamilaraay is classified as Critically Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger. | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
TheGamilaraay orKamilaroi language (Gamilaraay pronunciation:[ɡ̊aˌmilaˈɻaːj]) is aPama–Nyungan language of theWiradhuric subgroup found mostly in south-eastern Australia. It is the traditional language of theGamilaraay (Kamilaroi), anAboriginal Australian people. It has been noted as endangered, but the number of speakers grew from 87 in the2011 Australian Census to 105 in the2016 Australian Census. Thousands of Australians identify as Gamilaraay, and the language is taught in some schools.
Wirray Wirray,Guyinbaraay,Yuwaalayaay,Waalaraay andGawambaraay are dialects;Yuwaalaraay/Euahlayi is a closely related language.
The name Gamilaraay means 'gamil-having', withgamil being the word for 'no'. Other dialects and languages are similarly named after their respective words for 'no'. (Compare the division betweenlangues d'oïl andlangues d'oc in France, distinguished by their respective words for 'yes'.)
Spellings of the name, pronounced[ɡ̊aˌmilaˈɻaːj] in the language itself, includeGoomeroi;Kamilaroi;Gamilaraay andGamilaroi.
WhileAUSTLANG cites Euahlayi, Ualarai, Euhahlayi, and Juwalarai as synonyms for Gamilaraay in earlier sources,[2] it has updated its codes to reflect more recent sources suggest different distinctions. AIATSIS groups the Yuwaalaraay/Euahlayi/Yuwaaliyaay language and people in its resource collection,[5][6] and gives it a separate code (D23).[7] AUSTLANG assigns separate codes to the following dialects, all related and part of the Gamilaraay group:[7]
According to Robert Fuller of the Department of Indigenous Studies atMacquarie University and his colleagues, the Gamilaraay and Euahlayi peoples are a cultural grouping of north and northwestNew South Wales (NSW), and the Gamilaraay dialect groups are known as Gamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay, while the Euahlayi (Euayelai[14]) have a similar but distinct language.[15]
Southern Aboriginal guides led the surveyorJohn Howe to the upperHunter River above present-daySingleton 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 theLiverpool Ranges.[16] This is probably the first record of the name.
A basic wordlist collected byThomas Mitchell in 1832 is the earliest written record of Gamilaraay.
PresbyterianmissionaryWilliam Ridley studied the language from 1852 to 1856.
In 2013 Gamilaraay was noted asendangered byEthnologue, with only 35 speakers left in 2006 (AUSTLANG says 37 at that date), all mixing Gamilaraay and English.[3] At the 2011 census there were 87 speakers recorded and in 2016, 105.[2] There are no known fluent speakers of the language.
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i⟨i⟩,iː⟨ii⟩ | u⟨u⟩,uː⟨uu⟩ |
| Low | a⟨a⟩,aː⟨aa⟩ | |
/wa/ is realised as[wo].
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Dental | Alveolar | Post- alveolar | |
| Stop | b⟨b⟩ | ɡ⟨g⟩ | ɟ⟨dj⟩ | d̪⟨dh⟩ | d⟨d⟩ | |
| Nasal | m⟨m⟩ | ŋ⟨ng⟩ | ɲ⟨ny⟩ | n̪⟨nh⟩ | n⟨n⟩ | |
| Lateral | l⟨l⟩ | |||||
| Rhotic | r⟨rr⟩ | ɻ⟨r⟩ | ||||
| Semivowel | w⟨w⟩ | j⟨y⟩ | ||||
Initially,/wu/ and/ji/ may be simplified to[u] and[i].
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.
Gawambaraay Dialect
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | ngaya | ngali | ngiyaani |
| 2nd person | ngindu | ngindaali | ngindaay |
| 3rd person | nguru | (nguru)gali | ganu |
Severalloanwords have enteredAustralian 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, andSoliva sessilis) that stick in one's feet |
| brolga | burralga | A bird species,Grus rubicunda |
| possiblybudgerigar | gidjirrigaa | A bird species,Melopsittacus undulatus |
| galah | gilaa | A bird species,Eolophus roseicapilla |
| yarran | yarraan | A species of acacia tree,Acacia homalophylla[18] |
| 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 | havingacacia blossoms |
| ||
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