Wergaia
RegionVictoria
EthnicityWergaia, Wotjobaluk
Extinct(date missing)
Dialects
  • Biwadjali
  • Wudjubalug
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
weg – Wergaia
xwt – Wotjobaluk
GlottologNone
AIATSIS[1]S17
ELPWergaia
Map of Victorian Aborigines language territories

Wergaia or Werrigia is an Australian Aboriginal language in the Wimmera region of north-Western Victoria. The Wergaia language consisted of four distinct dialects: Wudjubalug/Wotjobaluk, Djadjala/Djadjali, Buibadjali, Biwadjali.[2] Wergaia was in turn apparently a dialect of the Wemba Wemba language, a member of the Kulinic branch of Pama–Nyungan.[3]

The Aboriginal people who speak Wergaia dialects include the Maligundidj or Wergaia people, which means the people belonging to the mali (mallee) eucalypt bushland which covers much of their territory,[4][5] and the Wotjobaluk people.[6][7]

In mid-2021 a language revival project started up at the Wotjobaluk Knowledge Place, established in December 2020 at Dimboola. A Wergaia language program would run over 20 weeks.[8]

Sounds

The following is the Djadjala dialect.

Consonant sounds
Labial Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar
Stop b d ɖ ɟ ɡ
Nasal m n ɳ ɲ ŋ
Rhotic r ɽ
Lateral l
Approximant w j

Vowels given are /a e i u/.[9]

Some words

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ S17 Wergaia at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  2. ^ Clark 1990.
  3. ^ Dixon 2002, p. xxxvi.
  4. ^ Clark 1995, pp. 177–183.
  5. ^ "Wooroonook Lakes". Charlton. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Rural Northwest Health service absorbs Aboriginal culture". Victorian Government Health Information: Health Victoria. Government of Victoria. July 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Cultural Awareness Training – Wimmera Primary Care Partnership Inc". Wimmera Primary Care Partnership. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  8. ^ Kelso, Andrew (3 June 2021). "Dimboola to 'revive' Wergaia language, in Victorian first". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  9. ^ Hercus 1969.
  10. ^ a b c d Mathews, R. H. (1902). "Aboriginal languages of Victoria". Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. 36: 71–106.

References

Categories