The Gamilaraay or Kamilaroi language () is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup found mostly in south-eastern Australia. It is the traditional language of the Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi), an Aboriginal Australian people. It has been noted as endangered, but the number of speakers grew from 87 in the 2011 Australian Census to 105 in the 2016 Australian Census. Thousands of Australians identify as Gamilaraay, and the language is taught in some schools.

Wirray Wirray, Guyinbaraay, Yuwaalayaay, Waalaraay and Gawambaraay are dialects; Yuwaalaraay/Euahlayi is a closely related language.

Name The name Gamilaraay means '-having', with being the word for 'no'. Other dialects and languages are similarly named after their respective words for 'no'. (Compare the division between langues d'oïl and langues d'oc in France, distinguished by their respective words for 'yes'.)

Spellings of the name, pronounced in the language itself, include Goomeroi; Kamilaroi; Gamilaraay and Gamilaroi.

Dialects

While AUSTLANG cites Euahlayi, Ualarai, Euhahlayi, and Juwalarai as synonyms for Gamilaraay in earlier sources, it has updated its codes to reflect more recent sources that suggest different distinctions. AIATSIS groups the Yuwaalaraay/Euahlayi/Yuwaaliyaay language and people in its resource collection, and gives it a separate code (D23). AUSTLANG assigns separate codes to the following dialects, all related and part of the Gamilaraay group: Yuwaalaraay (Yuwaaliyaay, Euahlayi) (D27), spoken by the Yuwaalaraay people; Wirray Wirray (Wiriwiri) (D28); Guyinbaraay (Gunjbaraay) (D15); Yuwaalayaay (D54); Waalaraay (Walaraay) (D55); Gawambaraay (Kawambarai) (D39), spoken by the Gawambaraay people.

According to Robert Fuller of the Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University and his colleagues, the Gamilaraay and Euahlayi peoples are a cultural grouping of north and northwest New South Wales (NSW), and the Gamilaraay dialect groups are known as Gamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay, while the Euahlayi (Euayelai) have a similar but distinct language.

History Southern Aboriginal guides led the surveyor John Howe to the upper Hunter River above present-day Singleton in 1819. They told him that the country there was "Coomery Roy [=Gamilaraay] and more further a great way", meaning to the north-west, over the Liverpool Ranges. This is probably the first record of the name.

A basic wordlist collected by Thomas Mitchell in 1832 is the earliest written record of Gamilaraay.

Presbyterian missionary William Ridley studied the language from 1852 to 1856.

Status In 2013 Gamilaraay was noted as endangered by Ethnologue, with only 35 speakers left in 2006 (AUSTLANG says 37 at that date), all mixing Gamilaraay and English. At the 2011 census there were 87 speakers recorded and in 2016, 105. There are no known fluent speakers of the language.

Phonology

Vowels Front Back High , , Low , is realised as .

Consonants Peripheral Laminal Apical Bilabial Velar Palatal Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Stop Nasal Lateral Rhotic Semivowel Initially, and may be simplified to and .

Stress All long vowels in a word get equal stress. If no long vowels are present, stress falls on the first syllable. Secondary stress falls on short vowels, which are two syllables to the right or to the left of a stressed syllable.

Grammar Pronouns Gawambaraay Dialect

+ Subject pronouns:Austin, P. (1993) A Reference Grammar of Gamilaraay, Northern New South Wales. Singular Dual Plural 1st person 2nd person 3rd person

Influence in English Several loanwords have entered Australian English from Gamilaraay, including: Common nouns Anglicised form Gamilaraay Meaning bindi-eye, bindii, bindies The burrs of several plant species (Emex australis, Tribulus terrestris, and Soliva sessilis) that stick in one's feet brolga A bird species, Grus rubicunda possibly budgerigar A bird species, Melopsittacus undulatus galah A bird species, Eolophus roseicapilla yarran A species of acacia tree, Acacia homalophyllaOxford Dictionary of English, p 2,056 Proper nouns Anglicised form Gamilaraay Meaning Kamilaroi The Gamilaraay people or language Place names Anglicised form Gamilaraay Meaning Boggabri having creeks Boggabilla full of creeks Collarenebri having acacia blossoms

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

(On Google Books)

Further reading

Contains a glossary

External links

KAMILAROI LANGUAGE - PUBLISHED 1880 - http://yuwaalaraay.org/ has information about recent Gamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay language development and links to numerous language resources. The Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi) Language, northern New South Wales — A Brief History of Research (PDF) Gutenberg Project Browse By Language: Gamilaraay Online dictionary Gamilaraay Online dictionary by Peter Austin and David Nathan A Reference Grammar of Gamilaraay Bibliographies of published , rare or special materials on Gamilaraay language and people, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Bibliographies of published , rare or special materials on Yuwaalaraay language and people, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Des Crump digital story, State Library of Queensland. Digital story discussing Gamilaraay language.