• Source: Wiradjuri language

Wiradjuri (; many other spellings, see Wiradjuri) is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. It is the traditional language of the Wiradjuri people, an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, Australia. Wiraiari and Jeithi may have been dialects.
A revival is under way, with the language being taught in schools, TAFE college, and at Charles Sturt University.




Reclamation






= Teaching

=
The Wiradjuri language has been taught in primary schools, secondary schools and at TAFE since before 2012 in the towns of Parkes and Forbes. It is taught at Condobolin. Northern Wiradjuri schools such as Peak Hill, Dubbo, Narromine, Wellington, Gilgandra, Trangie, and Geurie by AECG language and culture educators. All lessons include both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. As of 2017 the language was also being taught in Young, having a positive impact on the number of pupils self-identifying as Aboriginal.
Charles Sturt University also offers a two-year course in Wiradjuri language, heritage, and culture, focusing on language reclamation. This course, which commenced in 2014, was developed by Wiradjuri Elder, Dr Stan Grant Senior, as part of their Wiradjuri Language and Cultural Heritage Recovery Project.




= Dictionary

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The process of reclaiming the language was greatly assisted by the publication in 2005 of A First Wiradjuri Dictionary by elder Stan Grant Senior and academic John 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, holding over 8,000 words, was published in 2010 and launched in Wagga Wagga, with the launch described by the member for Wagga Wagga to the New South Wales Parliament. A mobile app and web-based version based on the book is also available. A Grammar of Wiradjuri language was published in 2014.




Phonology






= Consonants

=

In most Pama-Nyungan languages, sounds represented by ‘k’ or ‘g’ are interchangeable. As are sounds ‘b’ and ‘p’. As well as ‘t’ and ‘d’.




= Vowels

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




Sample vocabulary






= "Wagga Wagga"

=

The Aboriginal inhabitants of the Wagga Wagga region were the Wiradjuri people and the term wagga wagga, with a central open vowel /aː/, means 'dances and celebrations', and has also been translated as 'reeling like a drunken man'. The Wiradjuri word wagan means 'crow', which can be pluralised by reduplication.
Until 2019, it was claimed by the Wagga Wagga council and others that Wagga Wagga translates to “the place of many crows”. However, as Uncle Stan Grant Snr has stated, "Wagga Wagga does sound a bit like Waggon Waggon, but it’s not quite the same. If you say “Wagan Wagan,” you’re saying 'many crows'. And Wagga Wagga means dance celebrations… But the fact is, it’s my language, our language, and it’s got nothing to do with crows whatsoever.".




= Ngamadidj

=
The term Ngamadidj ('ghost', or 'white people'), used in the Kuurn Kopan Noot language in Victoria, is also recorded as being used in Wellington, New South Wales by local Wiradjuri people about a missionary there.




= Animals

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= Family

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= Numbers

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= Anatomy

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= Verbs

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= Other

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= Phrases

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Introductions




Greetings


Love

Complex statements




Influence on English


The following English words come from Wiradjuri:

kookaburra, a species of kingfisher
quandong, a species of tree
quarrion (or quarrien), another name for the cockatiel




Notes and references






Sources


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 of Reports of the United States Exploring Expedition, under the command of Charles Wilkes. New York: Lea and Blanchard. pp. 457–531. ISBN 9780665356698.
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". In Nick Thieberger, William McGregor (ed.). Macquarie Aboriginal Words. Sydney: Macquarie Library. pp. 79–99.




External links


"Wiradjuri Materials". Restoration House: Publishers of Australian Aboriginal Material. Archived from the original on 9 November 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
A New Wiradjuri dictionary
profiles of Grant and Rudder
Wiradjuri language, alphabet and pronunciation
Materials for learning Wiradjuri
Peter Andren MP with material on the Wiradjuri

"A first Wiradjuri dictionary vol 2". WIRADJURI LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
More information on Learning Wiradjuri
Learn Wiradjuri at TAFE

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Wiradjuri language
• Wiradjuri
• John Rudder
• Stan Grant (Wiradjuri elder)
• Australian Aboriginal languages
• Billabong
• Eastern brown snake
• Narromine
• Walla Walla
• Dubbo