Gaagudju (also spelt Gagadu, Gaguju, and Kakadu) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language formerly spoken in the environs of Kakadu National Park, in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.
| Gaagudju | |
|---|---|
| Kakadu | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity | Gaagudju, Watta |
| Extinct | May 2002, with the death of Big Bill Neidjie |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gbu |
| Glottolog | gaga1251 |
| AIATSIS[1] | N50 |
| ELP | Gagudju |
 Gaagudju | |
Country and status
editExplorer Baldwin Spencer incorrectly ascribed the name "Kakadu tribe" to all of the people living in the Alligator Rivers area,[2][3] but Gaagudju was confined to the plains South and East Alligator Rivers.[1]
The language is classed as extinct, since its last fluent speaker, Big Bill Neidjie, died on 23 May 2002;[4][5] AUSTLANG's sources recorded no speakers between 1975 and 2016.[1]
Classification
editGaagudju has traditionally been classified with the Gunwinyguan languages. However, in 1997 Nicholas Evans proposed an Arnhem Land family that includes Gaagudju.
Phonology
editVowels
edit| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u uː |
| Mid | e eː | o oː |
| Low | a aː | |
Consonants
edit| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Stop | p | k | c | t | ʈ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | ɲ | n | ɳ |
| Lateral | ʎ | l | 𝼈 | ||
| Rhotic | r | ɻ | |||
| Semivowel | w | j | |||
Vocabulary
editCapell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:[6]
gloss Gagadu man djereiŋi woman djireːwan head ŋaːṙi eye bɔːrɔ nose geːni mouth djaːbul tongue ŋaːndjil stomach mabulu bone benaːgăra blood maneŋul kangaroo baːgu opossum mɔɳɔ emu gabaṙɛːbi crow mawaːga fly ŋɔrmul sun gobolbara moon maɖba fire gudjäli smoke uŋari water gaṙu
References
edit- ^ a b c N50 Gaagudju at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ "Kakadu National Park, NT". Aussie Towns. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ Spencer, Baldwin (2020). Native Tribes of the Northern Territory of Australia. Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-7998-0. Retrieved 14 March 2021 – via Google Books.
- ^ Kemp, David (24 May 2002). "Passing of Kakadu elder Big Bill Neidje". Parliament of Australia.
- ^ Mackinolty, Chips (17 June 2002). "The man who attended his own wake: Big Bill Neidjie, Kakadu Man, circa WWI-2002". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Capell, Arthur. 1941-1942, 1942-1943. Languages of Arnhem Land, North Australia. Oceania 12: 364-392, 13: 24-51.
- Harvey, Mark (2002). A Grammar of Gaagudju. Walter de Gruyter.
External links
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