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 to | Australia |
Region | Queensland |
Ethnicity | Ewamin |
Extinct | 1 speaker in 1981[1] |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
Dialects |
|
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | wmi |
Glottolog | wami1239 |
AIATSIS[2] | Y132 |
ELP | Agwamin |

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
- Wurm and Hattori 1981
- Y132 Agwamin at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
-
This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Agwamin published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence, accessed on 30 May 2022.
- Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: their nature and development. Cambridge University Press.
- 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.