Gaagudju language

Gaagudju
Gaagudju
Kakadu
Native to	Australia
Region	Northern Territory
Ethnicity	Gaagudju, Watta
Extinct	May 2002, with the death of Big Bill Neidjie
Language family	Macro-Gunwinyguan?; Arnhem Land? Gaagudju;
Dialects	Wada;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	gbu
Glottolog	gaga1251
AIATSIS	N50
ELP	Gagudju
	; Gaagudju
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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.

Country and status

Explorer Baldwin Spencer incorrectly ascribed the name "Kakadu tribe" to all of the people living in the Alligator Rivers area,^[3]^[4] but Gaagudju was confined to the plains South and East Alligator Rivers.^[2]

The language is classed as extinct, since its last fluent speaker, Big Bill Neidjie, died on 23 May 2002;^[5]^[6]

Classification

Gaagudju has traditionally been classified with the Gunwinyguan languages. However, in 1997 Nicholas Evans proposed an Arnhem Land family that includes Gaagudju.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Back
High	i iː	u uː
Mid	e eː	o oː
Low	a aː

Consonants

	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

Capell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:^[7]

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

^ Gaagudju at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
^ ^a ^b 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

AusAnthrop Australian Aboriginal tribal database

[e27-1] Gaagudju at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)

[AIATSIS-2] N50 Gaagudju at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

[aussietowns-3] "Kakadu National Park, NT". Aussie Towns. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2021.

[4] 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.

[5] Kemp, David (24 May 2002). "Passing of Kakadu elder Big Bill Neidje". Parliament of Australia.

[6] Mackinolty, Chips (17 June 2002). "The man who attended his own wake: Big Bill Neidjie, Kakadu Man, circa WWI-2002". The Sydney Morning Herald.

[7] Capell, Arthur. 1941-1942, 1942-1943. Languages of Arnhem Land, North Australia. Oceania 12: 364-392, 13: 24-51.

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