| Wemba-Wemba | |
|---|---|
| Eastern Central Murray | |
| Region | Victoria |
| Ethnicity | Wemba-Wemba,Nari-Nari,Barababaraba,Wergaia,Wotjobaluk,Marditjali, ?Jardwadjali |
| Extinct | (date missing)[1] |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xww – inclusive codeIndividual codes: rnr – Nari-Narirbp – Barababarabaweg – Wergaiaxwt – Wotjobaluk |
| Glottolog | west2443 incl.Madhi–Ladji–Wadi |
| AIATSIS[2] | D1 |
| ELP | Wemba-Wemba |
| Nari Nari | |
TheWemba Wemba language is an extinctAboriginal Australian language once spoken along theMurray River and its tributaries in North WesternVictoria and South CentralNew South Wales.
Nari Nari, a dialect of Wemba Wemba, is as of 2020[update] part of alanguage revival project. Other dialects areBarababaraba andWergaia.
Jardwadjali (with dialectsJagwadjali,Nundadjali,Mardidjali) may be Wemba-Wemba,[3] or may be closer to theMadhi–Ladji–Wadi varieties.
| Labial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | p | k | t̪ | c | t | ʈ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n | ɳ | |
| Lateral | l | ɭ | ||||
| Rhotic | r | ɽ | ||||
| Approximant | w | j |
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | ɪ, i | ʊ, u | |
| Mid | ɛ, e | ə | ɔ, o |
| Open | a |
Voiced consonant sounds only occur within prenasalized stops. Prenasal consonants include: /mb/ /nd/ /ndy/ /ng/ and /rnd/. In phonetic form they are pronounced as [mb] [nd] [ɲɟ] [ŋɡ] and [ɳɖ].[4]
Below is a basic vocabulary list fromBlake (1981).[5]
| English | Wemba-Wemba |
|---|---|
| man | beng |
| woman | lerg |
| mother | guinggurin |
| father | mam |
| head | murreng |
| eye | mir |
| nose | ganyug |
| ear | wirimbula |
| mouth | dyarb |
| tongue | dyaling |
| tooth | lia |
| hand | manye |
| breast | gurm |
| stomach | bili |
| urine | gir |
| faeces | guni |
| thigh | gareburdug |
| foot | dyine |
| bone | merderug |
| blood | gurg |
| dog | wilgar |
| snake | gurnwil |
| kangaroo | gure (grey), bara (red) |
| possum | wile |
| fish | yauwirr |
| spider | wirimbeliny |
| mosquito | liri |
| emu | dyurung-wil |
| eaglehawk | banggel |
| crow | wa |
| sun | nyaui |
| star | durd |
| stone | la |
| water | gaden |
| camp | lar |
| fire | wanab |
| smoke | burd |
| meat | benggug |
| stand | dyerriga |
| sit | nyengga |
| see | nyaga |
| go | yangga |
| get | garga |
| hit | daga (barrangguna 'kill') |
| I | yandang |
| you | ngin |
| one | gebin |
| two | buledya |
At least four botanical terms inAustralian English are thought to have been introduced into local speech from Wemba-Wemba:
As of 2020[update], the Nari Nari dialect[8] is one of 20 languages prioritised as part of the Priority Languages Support Project being undertaken by First Languages Australia and funded by theDepartment of Communications and the Arts. The project aims to "identify and document critically-endangered languages—those languages for which little or no documentation exists, where no recordings have previously been made, but where there are living speakers".[9]
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