Gajirrawoong dialect explained

Gajirrabeng
Region:The Kimberley, Western Australia; Northern Territory, north coast from Wyndham to mouth of Victoria River and inland
Speakers:2
Date:2005
Ref:aiatsis
Familycolor:Australian
Iso3:gdh
Glotto:gadj1243
Aiatsis:K37.1

Gajirrawoong, also written Gajirrabeng, Gadjerawang, Gadjerong, Gadyerong and Kajirrawung, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Kimberley region in Western Australia. It is at least endangered and possibly extinct; as of 2004 it was known by only three or four fluent speakers,[1] and in the 2016 Australian Census, there were no recorded speakers using it at home.[2] It is in the Jarrakan language family, and is the language of the Gajirrawoong people.

The nearby Gurindji language is known to have borrowed from Gajirrawoong.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Book: McGregor, William . 2004 . The Languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia . London, New York . Taylor & Francis.
  2. Web site: Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2+) . . 9 November 2020 . 26 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181226044803/http://stat.data.abs.gov.au/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ABS_C16_T09_SA . dead .
  3. Web site: Language: Gajirrabeng. World Loanword Database. Max Planck Society. 10 February 2020.