| Wergaia | |
|---|---|
| Region | Victoria |
| Ethnicity | Wergaia, Wotjobaluk |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:weg – Wergaiaxwt – Wotjobaluk |
| Glottolog | None |
| AIATSIS[1] | S17 |
| ELP | Wergaia |
.jpg) Map of Victorian Aborigines language territories | |
Wergaia or Werrigia is an Australian Aboriginal language in the Wimmera region of north-Western Victoria. The Wergaia language consisted of four distinct dialects: Wudjubalug/Wotjobaluk, Djadjala/Djadjali, Buibadjali, Biwadjali.[2] Wergaia was in turn apparently a dialect of the Wemba Wemba language, a member of the Kulinic branch of Pama–Nyungan.[3]
The Aboriginal people who speak Wergaia dialects include the Maligundidj or Wergaia people, which means the people belonging to the mali (mallee) eucalypt bushland which covers much of their territory,[4][5] and the Wotjobaluk people.[6][7]
In mid-2021 a language revival project started up at the Wotjobaluk Knowledge Place, established in December 2020 at Dimboola. A Wergaia language program would run over 20 weeks.[8]
- ^ S17 Wergaia at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ Clark 1990.
- ^ Dixon 2002, p. xxxvi.
- ^ Clark 1995, pp. 177–183.
- ^ "Wooroonook Lakes". Charlton. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Rural Northwest Health service absorbs Aboriginal culture". Victorian Government Health Information: Health Victoria. Government of Victoria. July 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Cultural Awareness Training – Wimmera Primary Care Partnership Inc". Wimmera Primary Care Partnership. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ Kelso, Andrew (3 June 2021). "Dimboola to 'revive' Wergaia language, in Victorian first". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 June 2021.