Gaagudju language

{{Infobox language

| name = Gaagudju

| region = Northern Territory

| ethnicity = Gaagudju, Watta

| extinct = May 2002, with the death of Big Bill Neidjie

| ref = e27

| familycolor = Australian

| fam1 = Macro-Gunwinyguan?
Arnhem Land?

| dia1 = Wada

| iso3 = gbu

| aiatsis = N50

| glotto = gaga1251

| glottorefname = Gaagudju

| map = Arnhem_Land_languages.png

| mapcaption =

| notice = IPA

| states = Australia

| altname = Kakadu

}}

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,{{cite web | title=Kakadu National Park, NT | website=Aussie Towns | date=13 May 2015 | url=https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/kakadu-national-park-nt | access-date=14 March 2021}}{{cite book | last=Spencer | first=Baldwin|author-link=Walter Baldwin Spencer | title=Native Tribes of the Northern Territory of Australia | publisher=Library of Alexandria | via=Google Books| year=2020 | isbn=978-1-4655-7998-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hrNDYY9iKz4C | access-date=14 March 2021 | page=}} but Gaagudju was confined to the plains South and East Alligator Rivers.

The language is classed as extinct, since its last fluent speaker, Big Bill Neidjie, died on 23 May 2002;{{Cite news| title = Passing of Kakadu elder Big Bill Neidje | last = Kemp | first = David | author-link = David Kemp (politician) | publisher = Parliament of Australia | url = http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22media/pressrel/8AN66%22 | date = 24 May 2002 }}{{Cite news| title = The man who attended his own wake: Big Bill Neidjie, Kakadu Man, circa WWI-2002 | last = Mackinolty | first = Chips | newspaper = The Sydney Morning Herald | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/06/16/1023864378474.html | date = 17 June 2002 }}

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=

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" ! ! Front ! Back
High \| {{IPA link\|i}} {{IPA link\|iː}} \| {{IPA link\|u}} {{IPA link\|uː}}
Mid \| {{IPA link\|e}} {{IPA link\|eː}} \| {{IPA link\|o}} {{IPA link\|oː}}
Low \|colspan="2"\| {{IPA link\|a}} {{IPA link\|aː}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

! Front

! Back

High

| {{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|iː}}

| {{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|uː}}

Mid

| {{IPA link|e}} {{IPA link|eː}}

| {{IPA link|o}} {{IPA link|oː}}

Low

|colspan="2"| {{IPA link|a}} {{IPA link|aː}}

=Consonants=

class="wikitable" !rowspan=2\| !colspan=2\| Peripheral ! Laminal !colspan=2\| Apical
Bilabial ! Velar ! Palatal ! Alveolar ! Retroflex
style="text-align: center;" ! Stop \| {{IPA link\|p}} \| {{IPA link\|k}} \| {{IPA link\|c}} \| {{IPA link\|t}} \| {{IPA link\|ʈ}}
style="text-align: center;" ! Nasal \| {{IPA link\|m}} \| {{IPA link\|ŋ}} \| {{IPA link\|ɲ}} \| {{IPA link\|n}} \| {{IPA link\|ɳ}}
style="text-align: center;" ! Lateral \| \| \| {{IPA link\|ʎ}} \| {{IPA link\|l}} \| {{IPA link\|𝼈}}
style="text-align: center;" ! Rhotic \| \| \| \| {{IPA link\|r}} \| {{IPA link\|ɻ}}
style="text-align: center;" ! Semivowel \|colspan=2\| {{IPA link\|w}} \| {{IPA link\|j}} \| \|

class="wikitable"

!rowspan=2|

!colspan=2| Peripheral

! Laminal

!colspan=2| Apical

Bilabial

! Velar

! Palatal

! Alveolar

! Retroflex

style="text-align: center;"

! Stop

| {{IPA link|p}}

| {{IPA link|k}}

| {{IPA link|c}}

| {{IPA link|t}}

| {{IPA link|ʈ}}

style="text-align: center;"

! Nasal

| {{IPA link|m}}

| {{IPA link|ŋ}}

| {{IPA link|ɲ}}

| {{IPA link|n}}

| {{IPA link|ɳ}}

style="text-align: center;"

! Lateral

| {{IPA link|ʎ}}

| {{IPA link|l}}

| {{IPA link|𝼈}}

style="text-align: center;"

! Rhotic

| {{IPA link|r}}

| {{IPA link|ɻ}}

style="text-align: center;"

! Semivowel

|colspan=2| {{IPA link|w}}

| {{IPA link|j}}

Vocabulary

Capell (1942) lists the following basic vocabulary items:Capell, Arthur. 1941-1942, 1942-1943. [https://glottolog.org/resource/reference/id/104191 Languages of Arnhem Land, North Australia]. Oceania 12: 364-392, 13: 24-51.

class="wikitable sortable" ! gloss !! Gagadu
man	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|djereiŋi}}
woman	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|djireːwan}}
head	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|ŋaːṙi}}
eye	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|bɔːrɔ}}
nose	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|geːni}}
mouth	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|djaːbul}}
tongue	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|ŋaːndjil}}
stomach	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|mabulu}}
bone	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|benaːgăra}}
blood	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|maneŋul}}
kangaroo	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|baːgu}}
opossum	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|mɔɳɔ}}
emu	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|gabaṙɛːbi}}
crow	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|mawaːga}}
fly	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|ŋɔrmul}}
sun	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|gobolbara}}
moon	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|maɖba}}
fire	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|gudjäli}}
smoke	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|uŋari}}
water	{{lang\|gbu-fonipa\|gaṙu}}

References

{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Mark |year=2002 |title=A Grammar of Gaagudju |publisher=Walter de Gruyter}}

External links

{{sister project |project=wiktionary |text=Wiktionary has a word list at Appendix:North Australian word lists}}

[http://www.ausanthrop.net/resources/ausanthrop_db/detail.php?id_search=192 AusAnthrop Australian Aboriginal tribal database]

Category:Extinct languages of the Northern Territory

Category:Macro-Gunwinyguan languages

Category:Language isolates of Australia

Category:Languages extinct in the 2000s