Wergaia or Werrigia is an Australian Aboriginal language in the Wimmera region of north-Western Victoria. The Wergaia language consisted of four distinct dialects: Wudjubalug/Wotjobaluk, Djadjala/Djadjali, Buibadjali, Biwadjali.[2] Wergaia was in turn apparently a dialect of the Wemba Wemba language, a member of the Kulinic branch of Pama–Nyungan.[3]
Wergaia | |
---|---|
Region | Victoria |
Ethnicity | Wergaia, Wotjobaluk |
Extinct | (date missing) |
Language family | Pama–Nyungan
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Dialects |
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Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Either:weg – Wergaiaxwt – Wotjobaluk |
Glottolog | None |
AIATSIS[1] | S17 |
ELP | |
Map of Victorian Aborigines language territories |
The Aboriginal people who speak Wergaia dialects include the Maligundidj or Wergaia people, which means the people belonging to the mali (mallee) eucalypt bushland which covers much of their territory,[4][5] and the Wotjobaluk people.[6][7]
In mid-2021 a language revival project started up at the Wotjobaluk Knowledge Place, established in December 2020 at Dimboola. A Wergaia language program would run over 20 weeks.[8]
The following is the Djadjala dialect.
Labial | Alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stop | b | d | ɖ | ɟ | ɡ |
Nasal | m | n | ɳ | ɲ | ŋ |
Rhotic | r | ɽ | |||
Lateral | l | ||||
Approximant | w | j |
Vowels given are /a e i u/.[9]