Wiradjuri
Wiradhuray, Wiradyuray
Region	New South Wales
Ethnicity	Wiradjuri,Weraerai, ?Jeithi
Native speakers	1,479 (2021)
Language family	Pama–Nyungan Wiradhuric Wiradjuri
Dialects	Wirraayaraay (Wiraiari) ?Jeithi Warramunga Marrinbula Binjang Mowgee Dabee Kaliyarrpiyalung Ngarrumayiny
Language codes
ISO 639-3	wrh
Glottolog	wira1262
AIATSIS[1]	D10
ELP	Wiradjuri
Wiradhuric languages (green) among otherPama–Nyungan languages (tan)
Wiradjuri is classified as Critically Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

Wiradjuri (/wəˈrædʒʊri/;^[2] many other spellings, seeWiradjuri) is aPama–Nyungan language of theWiradhuric subgroup. It is the traditional language of theWiradjuri people, anAboriginal Australian people ofNew South Wales, Australia. Wiraiari and Jeithi may have been dialects.^[3][4]

A revival is under way, with the language being taught in schools, TAFE college, and atCharles Sturt University.

The Wiradjuri language has been taught in primary schools, secondary schools and atTAFE since before 2012 in the towns ofParkes andForbes.^[5] It is taught atCondobolin. Northern Wiradjuri schools such as Peak Hill,Dubbo, Narromine, Wellington, Gilgandra, Trangie, and Geurie by AECG^[a] language and culture educators.^{[citation needed]} All lessons include both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.^{[citation needed]} As of 2017 the language was also being taught inYoung, having a positive impact on the number of pupils self-identifying as Aboriginal.^[6]

Charles Sturt University also offers a two-year course in Wiradjuri language, heritage, and culture, focusing on language reclamation.^[7] This course, which commenced in 2014, was developed by Wiradjuri Elder, DrStan Grant Senior, as part of their Wiradjuri Language and Cultural Heritage Recovery Project.^[8][9]

The process of reclaiming the language was greatly assisted by the publication in 2005 ofA First Wiradjuri Dictionary^[10] by elder Stan Grant Senior and academicJohn Rudder. Rudder described the dictionary: "The Wiradjuri Dictionary has three main sections in just over 400 B5 pages. The first two sections, English to Wiradjuri, and Wiradjuri to English, have about 5,000 entries each. The third sections lists Names of Things grouped in categories such as animals, birds, plants, climate, body parts, colours. In addition to those main sections the dictionary contains an introduction to accurate pronunciation, a basic grammar of the language and a sample range of sentence types." A revised edition,^[11] holding over 8,000 words, was published in 2010^[12] and launched in Wagga Wagga, with the launch described by the member forWagga Wagga to theNew South Wales Parliament.^[13][14] A mobile app and web-based version based on the book is also available.^[15] AGrammar of Wiradjuri language^[16] was published in 2014.

In most Pama-Nyungan languages, sounds represented by 'k' or 'g' are interchangeable. The same applies to 'b' and 'p' as well as 't' and 'd'.

The phonemes /ə/ and /aː/ tend to be considered as belonging to the same pair (refer to the orthography table below).^[17]

The Aboriginal inhabitants of theWagga Wagga region were the Wiradjuri people and the termwagga wagga, with a central open vowel /aː/, means 'dances and celebrations',^[18] and has also been translated as 'reeling like a drunken man'.^[19] The Wiradjuri wordwagan means 'crow', which can be pluralised byreduplication.^[20]

Until 2019, it was claimed by the Wagga Wagga council and others that Wagga Wagga translates to "the place of many crows".^[21] However, as Uncle Stan Grant Snr has stated, "Wagga Wagga does sound a bit likeWaggon Waggon, but it's not quite the same. If you say "Wagan Wagan," you're saying 'many crows'. AndWagga Wagga means dance celebrations… But the fact is, it's my language, our language, and it's got nothing to do with crows whatsoever.".^[22]

The termNgamadidj ('ghost', or 'white people'), used in theKuurn Kopan Noot language inVictoria, is also recorded as being used inWellington, New South Wales by local Wiradjuri people about a missionary there.^[23]

Love

Complex statements

The followingEnglish words come from Wiradjuri:

• kookaburra, a species ofkingfisher^[25]
• quandong, a species of tree^[26]
• quarrion (orquarrien), another name for thecockatiel^[27]

• Günther, James (1892). "Grammar and Vocabulary of the Aboriginal dialect called Wirradhuri". In Fraser, John (ed.).An Australian Language. Sydney: Government printer. pp. 56–120 of appendix.
• Hale, Horatio (1846)."The languages of Australia".Ethnography and philology. Vol VI ofReports of the United States Exploring Expedition, under the command of Charles Wilkes. New York: Lea and Blanchard. pp. 457–531.ISBN 9780665356698.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Hosking, Dianne;McNicol, Sally (1993).Wiradjuri. Panther Publishing.
• Mathews, R. H. (July–December 1904)."The Wiradyuri and Other Languages of New South Wales".The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.34:284–305.doi:10.2307/2843103.JSTOR 2843103.
• McNicol, Sally;Hosking, Dianne (1994). "Wiradjuri". InNick Thieberger,William McGregor (ed.).Macquarie Aboriginal Words. Sydney: Macquarie Library. pp. 79–99.

• "Wiradjuri Materials".Restoration House: Publishers of Australian Aboriginal Material. Archived fromthe original on 9 November 2004. Retrieved31 May 2015.
• A New Wiradjuri dictionary
• profiles of Grant and Rudder
• Wiradjuri language, alphabet and pronunciation
• Peter Andren MP with material on the Wiradjuri

EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:

The Wiradyuri and Other Languages of New South Wales

• "A first Wiradjuri dictionary vol 2".WIRADJURI LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. Archived fromthe original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved31 May 2015.
• Learn Wiradjuri at TAFE

• Wiradhuric languages
• Wiradjuri
• Critically endangered languages
• Endangered indigenous Australian languages in New South Wales

• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use Australian English from August 2018
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
• Use dmy dates from August 2018
• Language articles without reference field
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2024
• Articles containing Wiradjuri-language text
• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• Wikisource templates with missing id