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2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages: Word of the Week - Week Twenty.

By Administrator | 19 May 2019

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.

Our Culture/Evac Song performed Dora Gibson.

State Library's IYIL Word of the Week: Week 20.

State Library's 'word of the week' for Week Twenty is goongoor , from the Guugu Yimithirr language of Hope Vale and surrounding region. It is the traditional name for the Old Cape Bedford Mission and coincides with Evacuation Day.

Our Culture/Evac Song performed Dora Gibson.

Evacuation Day marks the time when the Aboriginal people of Cape Bedford Mission were forcibly removed to Woorabinda during WW2. The song (Evac) in the video above is sung in both the traditional language of Hope Vale, Guugu Yimidhirr and English by Dora Gibson. The lyrics recall the forcible relocation of the Cape Bedford Mission during the Second World War to Woorabinda and their return.

"Native Names of Places near Cooktown" in Phillips (1898).

This week's word is sourced from an article titled "Vocabulary of Australian Aborigines in the Neighbourhood of Cooktown, North Queensland" written by Richard Phillips in 1898. At the end of the article is a list of placenames in the region with their traditional names.

Our Culture/Evac Song performed Dora Gibson.

Cape Bedford Mission Station. JOL Image No. APA-050-0001-0016

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.

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 14-20 May 2019.

#IYIL2019 #IYIL #IY2019WordoftheWeek #SLQIndigenousLanguages

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

UN IY2019 Links

UN International Year of Indigenous Languages webpages

UN International Year of Indigenous Languages Resources

References

The word of the week has been sourced from the following item in the State Library collections.

Phillips, R. (1898) "Vocabulary of Australian Aborigines in the Neighbourhood of Cooktown, North Queensland". In The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 27(1898), pp. 144-147. Online access via One Search.

Further reading

John Oxley Library Blog post "75th Anniversary of the Hope Valley Evacuation"

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

De Zwaan, J. (1969) A preliminary analysis of Gogo-Yimidjir: a study of the structure of the primary dialect of the Aboriginal language spoken at the Hopevale Mission in North Queensland. Q499.15 dez

Gordon, T. and Haviland, J. (1980) Milbi: Aboriginal tales from Queensland’s Endeavour RiverJUVQ 398.20994 GOR

Haviland, J. (1979) ‘Guugu Yimidhirr’, in Handbook of Australian languages. Vol 1. J 499.15 HAN

Hope Vale Community Learning Centre (2006) Mangal-bungal: Clever with hands, baskets and stories woven by some of the women of Hopevale, Cape York Peninsula. P920.72 MAN

King, P P (1969 – facsimile edition) Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia : performed between the years 1818 and 1822. J 919.402 KIN

Koko Yalanji and Koko Yimidir people – spoken word Bible lessons. QKIT 781.629915 KOK

Roth, W. E. (1898-1903) “Reports to the Commissioner of Police and others, on Queensland aboriginal peoples 1898-1903.” FILM 0714

State Library of Queensland Indigenous Languages Project – Eric Deeral Digital Story

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