Amurdak language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Amurdak |
|
|---|---|
| Region | Oenpelli, Goulburn Island, Northern Territory |
| Ethnicity | Amurdak |
| Extinct | 2021 See Status |
| Language family |
Iwaidjan
|
| Dialects |
Urrirk
Gidjurra
|
| AIATSIS | N47 |
Amurdak is an Aboriginal Australian language. It was spoken by the Amurdak people. They lived near the eastern coast of Van Diemen Gulf. This area is in Australia's Northern Territory.
Sadly, Amurdak is now an extinct language. This means no one speaks it as their first language anymore. The last known person who spoke it fluently passed away in 2021.
What Happened to Amurdak?
Amurdak was once an endangered language. This means very few people spoke it. Groups like the National Geographic Society studied it.
The last fluent speaker was a man named Charlie Mungulda. He worked with Australian language experts. These experts included Nick Evans and Robert Handelsmann. They spent many years recording his language. This helped save some of Amurdak for the future.
Charlie Mungulda and the Amurdak language were shown in a TV show. It was called Language Matters with Bob Holman. This show was about languages that are disappearing. It aired on PBS in 2015.
In 2016, an Australian survey found no Amurdak speakers. However, Charlie Mungulda was still alive in 2020. He even helped write a paper about his language that year.
