Wamin language

Agwamin (also Wamin, Ewamin) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of North Queensland spoken by the Agwamin people.[2] Agwamin was traditionally spoken in the Etheridge region, in the areas around Einasliegh, Georgetown, and Mount Surprise.[3] There was only one living speaker of the language alive in 1981.[1]

Agwamin
Wamin
Native toAustralia
RegionQueensland
EthnicityEwamin
Extinct1 speaker in 1981[1]
Dialects
  • Agwamin
  • Wamin
Language codes
ISO 639-3wmi
Glottologwami1239
AIATSIS[2]Y132
ELPAgwamin
Traditional lands of the Australian aboriginal tribes around Cairns.

Alternative names and dialects

Agwamin and Wamin were previously thought to be interchangeable and mutually intelligible.[2] Dixon (2002) counts Wamin as an alternative name for Agwamin.[4] However, the comparison of an Agwamin and a Wamin word list, collected by Sutton, showed that they were separate dialects.[5]:116–117

The following is a list of alternative names for Agwamin:[2]

  • Wamin
  • Ewamin
  • Wimanja
  • Egwamin
  • Gwamin
  • Ak Waumin
  • Wamin
  • Wommin, Waumin, Wawmin
  • Walamin
  • Wommin
  • Walming
  • Wailoolo

Vocabulary

Some words from the Agwamin language, as spelt and written by Agwamin authors include:[3]

  • Bungaroo: turtle
  • Bunnah: water (fresh)
  • Burri: rock
  • Gugrah: moon
  • Gulberri: boy
  • Guyur: fish
  • Mulla: hand
  • Pumbarra oomba: good day
  • Yabu: father

References

  1. Wurm and Hattori 1981
  2. Y132 Agwamin at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Agwamin published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence, accessed on 30 May 2022.
  4. Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: their nature and development. Cambridge University Press.
  5. Sutton, Peter (1976). "The diversity of initial dropping languages in southern Cape York". In Sutton, Peter (ed.). Languages of Cape York : papers presented to the linguistic symposium, part B, held in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies Biennial General Meeting, May, 1974. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. pp. 102–123. ISBN 9780855750466.
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