| 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[3] | |
The Wemba Wemba language is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language once spoken along the Murray River and its tributaries in North Western Victoria and South Central New South Wales.
Nari Nari, a dialect of Wemba Wemba, is as of 2020[update] part of a language revival project. Other dialects are Barababaraba and Wergaia.
Jardwadjali (with dialects Jagwadjali, Nundadjali, Mardidjali) may be Wemba-Wemba,[4] or may be closer to the Madhi–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].[5]
Below is a basic vocabulary list from Blake (1981).[6]
| 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 in Australian English are thought to have been introduced into local speech from Wemba-Wemba:
As of 2020[update], the Nari Nari dialect[9] is one of 20 languages prioritised as part of the Priority Languages Support Project being undertaken by First Languages Australia and funded by the Department 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".[10]
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