Worrorran
Geographic
distribution
Northern Kimberley region,[1] west of Wyndham
Linguistic classificationOne of the world's primary language families
Subdivisions
Glottologworr1236
Map of the Worrorran languages[2]

The Worrorran (Wororan) languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Western Australia.

The Worrorran languages fall into three dialect clusters:

  • Worrorran
    • the Northern Worrorran group, known as Wunambal and related dialects
    • the Eastern Worrorran group, known as Ngarinyin, a.k.a. Ungarinyin, and related dialects
    • the Western Worrorran group, known as Worrorra, and related dialects

In addition, Gulunggulu is unattested but presumably a Worrorran lect.[3]

Validity

Worrorran languages (purple), among other non-Pama-Nyungan languages (grey)

There has been debate over whether the Worrorran languages are demonstrably related to one another, or constitute a geographical language group.

Dixon (2002) considers them to be language isolates with no demonstrable relationship other than that of a Sprachbund.

However, more recent literature differs from Dixon:

  • Rumsey and McGregor (2009) demonstrate the cohesiveness of the family and its reconstructibility, and;
  • Bowern (2011) accepts the Worroorran languages as a family.[4]

Vocabulary

Capell (1940) lists the following basic vocabulary items for the Worrorran languages:[5]

English UngarinyinMunumburuWoljamidiUnggumiWororaWunambal (1)Wunambal (2)GambreBarguGwiːni
man aɽi, aɽuaɽiaɽiaɖiidjaɛndjinɛndjinbɛndjinbɛndjinbɛndjin
woman wɔŋai, wulunwɔŋaiwulunwɔŋaiinjawɔŋaiinjawɔŋaiwɔŋaiŋaːliŋaːliŋaːli
head -alaŋgun-alaŋgunbuŋguru-bama(ar)briwaːrabaːndibaːndibaːndibaːndi
eye -ambulaiambulambuljumbulombulawumbulwumbulwumbulwumbulwumbul
nose -aiilnjindjurunjindjurujininde(ad)biŋuwindjiwindjiwindjiwindjiwindji
mouth mindjälmindjälmɔgamindjäl(ar)djamundumindjälmindjälmindjälmɔgamɔga
tongue anbulamɔgaalmbɽawanbulemaanbulaanbulɛanbulɛmindjälmɔgamɔga
stomach ŋujen, manduŋujemandududuŋga(ar)gulummɛːwur, mandumɛːwurmala, ŋujumalamala
bone aːnɔrawurɔːnɔrjanaurgeinaribunarbunarawurbunarbunar
blood guliguliwundäbunguliːngaguluŋandaguliguliguliguli
kangaroo ialiialiialiwareaːruraambaambaambaambaamba
opossum andäri, garimbaandärigumangundumanjaburgumbagaiɛmba, ganariburgumba, garimbawuraba, gumanwudɔɖaguman
emu djebaradjebaradjebaradjebarinjadjebarinjajiluluŋariwiɛriwiɛriwiɛriwiɛri
crow wa̱ŋgarawa̱ŋgaramaɖiwawa̱ŋgaranjawa̱ŋgaranjawaːwanjawaŋguɽawaŋguɽawaŋguɽa
fly ŋanauɛrawurŋunwurŋunwurŋareŋanauaraŋanauaragaualjɛraŋaːwangaŋguworŋa
sun maɽaŋimeɽiŋunmaːriwandinjamaraŋanjamaɽaŋomaɽaŋimaɽaŋomɔɽɔŋmɔɽɔŋ
moon gunjili, gaɳgigaɳgigaːgiriginjilagunjilagoɽa, gaɳgigunjiligirŋalwamaragagari
fire windjäŋunwindjäŋuwurgalawiangawianuwindjäŋumbuːwindjäŋunbuːwunar
smoke bindjänŋundjurŋundjurbindjäŋgabidjugubindjänbindjägunŋundjurŋundjurŋundjur
water ŋabunŋawajaːwaljaŋgaagujaːwaljaːwalŋawa, jaːwalŋawaŋawa

References

  1. McGregor, William (2004), The languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia, RoutledgeCurzon, ISBN 978-0-415-30808-3
  2. Adapted from Rumsey, Alan (2018). "The sociocultural dynamics of indigenous multilingualism in northwestern Australia". Language & Communication. 62: 91–101. doi:10.1016/j.langcom.2018.04.011. ISSN 0271-5309. S2CID 150007441. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  3. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Worrorran languages". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  4. Bowern, Claire. 2011. "How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?", Anggarrgoon: Australian languages on the web, December 23, 2011 (corrected February 6, 2012)
  5. Capell, Arthur. 1940. The Classification of Languages in North and North-West Australia. Oceania 10(3): 241-272, 404-433. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1940.tb00292.x

Further reading

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