kids encyclopedia robot

Wagaydyic languages facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Wagaydyic
Geographic
distribution:
Daly River
Linguistic classification: Northern Daly ?
Subdivisions:
Wadjiginy (Wagaydy)
Kandjerramalh (Pungupungu) †

The Wagaydyic languages (nowadays more often referred to as the Anson Bay languages) are a pair of closely related but otherwise unclassified Australian Aboriginal languages: the moribund Wadjiginy (also known as Wagaydy and Batjamalh) and the extinct Kandjerramalh (Pungupungu).

Tryon (1980) notes that the two languages are 79% cognate based on a 200-item wordlist, but there are serious grammatical differences that prevent them from being considered dialects of a single language.

The unattested Giyug may have been a dialect of Wadjiginy or otherwise related.

The Wagaydyic languages have previously been classified with Malak-Malak into a Northern Daly family, but similarities appear to be due to lexical and morphological borrowing from Malak-Malak, at least in Wadjiginy.

Vocabulary

The following basic vocabulary items of Wadjiginy and Pungupungu are from Tryon (1968).

no. gloss Wadjiginy Pungupungu
1 head biǰæ pœǰæ
2 hair mæræbiǰæ mæræpœǰæ
3 eyes mibæ mibæ
4 nose wiǰa wuǰæ
5 ear bibara pibæræ
6 tooth diRæ diRæ
7 tongue ŋadal ŋadal
8 shoulder čælmæ čælmæ
9 elbow čin čin
10 hand ŋælæ ŋælæ
11 breasts wiŋ wïŋ
12 back bæbæra raɲ
13 belly dawara wunæ
14 navel ǰœrač čœrač
15 heart čœnmanaǰ dœpmadœpma
16 urine kæwælæč kawalač
17 excrete guk kuk
18 thigh bælæm pædlæm
19 leg kæræl kæræl
20 knee karaŋok miraŋok
21 foot čœt čœt
22 skin yæræɲ yæræɲ
23 fat wudæwæl wœdawæl
24 blood kawæɲ kawaɲ
25 bone bwik bwik
26 man ŋanaŋ ŋanaŋ
27 woman ŋawolaŋ ŋawalaŋ
28 father bapa papalak
29 mother kalaŋ kalaŋ
30 grandmother makaŋ æčæ
31 policeman wænæn dukmækæ
32 spear wælæra wælæræ
33 woomera kalan kalan
34 boomerang wiɲiŋgiɲ wïɲïŋgïɲ
35 nullanulla langur langur
36 hair-belt bulkaŋ pulkaŋ
37 canoe wutïŋge winæ
38 axe ličpuruk ličpurp
39 dilly bag wargade waRgade
40 fire wiɳ win
41 smoke wïɳgal wungæl
42 water wiyïk wik
43 cloud guk pærk
44 rainbow banaŋak pulipuli
45 barramundi pænŋat pænŋæt
46 sea ŋalgïn ŋalgïn
47 river čakaR wikmagat
48 stone maŋ maŋ
49 ground wut wut
50 track kal kæl
51 dust bœnaŋ pœnaŋ
52 sun gæyïk kayïk
53 moon kara kalakkalak
54 star mœrtæ mœrta
55 night ŋuraǰa ŋurïnǰe
56 tomorrow yiɲmæk yiɲmæk
57 today ŋaR ŋær
58 big pamalaŋ pamalaŋ
59 possum čædæræč čaǰɛdač
60 dog moyiɲ moyiɲ
61 tail kalpæ kælpæ
62 meat mæǰæm mæǰæm
63 snake kulgamalaŋ walan
64 red kangaroo muǰ kænga
65 porcupine nïminïŋač mænɛŋɛč
66 emu ŋœrœn ŋœrœčul
67 crow wak wak
68 goanna ŋaran ŋaran
69 blue tongue lizard bwikmidaŋ wirič
70 mosquito wœRaŋ wœraŋ
71 sugar-bag činæɲ činiɲ
72 camp rak ræk
73 black kalalk kalalk
74 white baybaymalaŋ baybaymalaŋ
75 red wïrewïre wurewure
76 one ŋanǰič ŋanǰič
77 two bakatamalaŋ parkataŋgæɲ
78 when? ænæɲ anikinæ
79 what? ɲinič ɲinič
80 who? naga naga
81 I ŋaǰa ŋæǰæ
82 you kænæ kænæ
83 he ǰamoyič čamoyič
84 grass wœrak wœrak
85 vegetable food mænæɲ mænæɲ
86 tree wiɳ wiɳ
87 leaf kalkal kalkal
88 pandanus ɲïŋarač nurač
89 ironwood mælæ mælæ
90 ripe baramuŋ paramuŋ
91 good čarakɔ čarakɔ
92 bad čalkma čalkma
93 blind kulyuk kuluk
94 deaf ŋamama ŋamama
95 saliva wudak wudak

See also

kids search engine
Wagaydyic languages Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.