Gaagudju language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gaagudju
Region	Northern Territory
Ethnicity	Gaagudju, Watta
Extinct	May 2002, with the death of Big Bill Neidjie
Language family	Macro-Gunwinyguan? Gaagudju
Dialects	Wada
AIATSIS	N50
Gaagudju
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Gaagudju (also spelled Gagadu, Gaguju, and Kakadu) was an Aboriginal language from Australia. It was spoken by the Gaagudju people in the area that is now Kakadu National Park, located in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.

Sadly, Gaagudju is now an extinct language. This means there are no longer any people who speak it fluently. The last known fluent speaker, a man named Big Bill Neidjie, passed away on May 23, 2002.

Where Gaagudju Was Spoken

The Gaagudju language was spoken in a specific area. This area was mainly on the plains between the South and East Alligator Rivers. These rivers are found in the Alligator Rivers region.

An early explorer, Walter Baldwin Spencer, once mistakenly called all the people in this area the "Kakadu tribe." However, the Gaagudju language was only spoken by the people living in that particular part of the plains.

How Gaagudju Is Grouped

Linguists, who are scientists who study languages, often group languages into "families." This is like how your family has different members, but you are all related.

Gaagudju was traditionally thought to be part of the Gunwinyguan languages family. However, in 1997, a linguist named Nicholas Evans suggested a new idea. He proposed that Gaagudju might belong to a larger group called the Arnhem Land family.

Gaagudju Words and Meanings

In 1942, a linguist named Arthur Capell wrote down some basic words from the Gaagudju language. Looking at these words helps us understand a little bit about the language.