2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages: Word of the Week - Week Twenty-Four.
As part of State Library's commitment to the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, we will be promoting a 'word of the week' from one of the 125+ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and dialects from across Queensland.
State Library's IYIL2019 Word of the Week: Week 24.
State Library's 'word of the week' for Week Twenty-Four is waringh waringh pronounced wad-ingh wad-ingh], from the Gidhabal language of the Warwick region. It originally was a placename reference for the Warwick area and means 'a cold place'; a timely reminder of the onset of cold weather to Southern Queensland.
The Footbridge, Queens Park, Condamine River, Warwick. JOL Image No.
APE-033-01-0004
Gidhabal is also written as Githabul, Kitabal, Gidabal, etc. and is part of the Bundjalung chain of languages from Northern New South Wales and straddles the Queensland-New South Wales border. The language map below is from Geytenbeek (1971) shows the location of Gidhabal and neighbouring dialects.
Geytenbeek (1971) Q 499.15 gey
Dictionary of Western Bundjalung..., Sharpe (1995). Q 499.15 sha
Gidhabal is undergoing revival across the region - the 2006 ABS Census indicated there were approximately 20 speakers using Gidhabal as a community language. However, the Gidhabal language is still considered endangered and community efforts are supported across Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales. In particular, the Yugambeh Museum and Language Heritage Centre at Beenleigh and Muurrbay Language Centre based at Nambucca Heads support the Bundjalung chain of languages across the region.
Githabul Factsheet, Condamine Alliance (2013) P 499.9915 LAN
State Library of Queensland invites you to celebrate the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages as we raise awareness of the rich diversity of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
Join the conversation as we post a new word for each week!
Week Twenty-Four 11 - 17 June 2019.
Desmond Crump
Indigenous Languages Coordinator, State Library of Queensland
State Library of Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Webpages
State Library of Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Map
Sources: This week's word of the week has been sourced from the following items in the State Library collections.
Parsons, D. (2003) Waringh Waringh: a history of Aboriginal people in the Warwick area and their land. J 305.89915099433 PAR
Geytenbeek, B. and H. (1971) Gidabal Grammar and Dictionary. Q 499.15 gey
Image:
The Footbridge, Queens Park, Condamine River, Warwick. JOL Image No.
APE-033-01-0004
Further Reading
Other materials in the State Library collections relating to Gidhabal and neighbouring languages include the following:
Condamine Alliance (2013) Languages of the Condamine: schools Activity guide. P 499.9915 LAN
Curr, E. M. (1887) The Australian Race: its origins, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over that continent. RBF 572.994 cur
Geytenbeek, B. and H. (1971) Gidabal Grammar and Dictionary. Q 499.15 gey
Sharpe, M. (1995) 2nd edn, Dictionary of Western Bundjalung, including Gidhabal and Tabulam Bundjalung. Q 499.15 sha
Sharpe, M. (1998) An introduction to Bundjalung language and its dialects. Q 499.15 SHA
Sharpe, M. (1998) Dictionary of Yugambeh, including neighbouring dialects, compiled by Margaret Sharpe from various sources: Pacific Linguistics C-139. G 499.15 1998
Wafer, J. and Lissarrague, A. (2008) A handbook of Aboriginal languages of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. J 499.15 WAF
Website:
Muurrbay Language Centre: Interactive Bundjalung-Yugambeh Dictionary.
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We welcome relevant, respectful comments.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
We also welcome direct feedback via Contact Us.
You may also want to ask our librarians.
Thank you for these weekly words. Since week 20 I have been unable to view the images from the blog in the same way as the earlier weeks. I am not sure if this is an oversight, deliberate or just me.
Hello LisaThanks for bringing this to our attention; not sure if it is a formatting glitch with the new WordPress template; however, I will have a look and see if we can fix it at our end.Cheers,Des.
Thanks Des,If you've done something it worked! Now I am able to see all the missing weeks EXCEPT for the latest one. ThanksLisa