Date: 10-Nov-2008 From: Ken Walker <muurrbaywestnet.com.au> Subject: Gumbaynggirr Bijaarr Jandaygam, Ngaawa Gugaarrigam: Morelli E-mail this message to a friend
The homelands of the Gumbaynggirr lie between the Clarence and the Nambucca rivers in northern New South Wales. The Baanbay people to the West speak the same language. As with many Aboriginal Australian languages, Gumbaynggirr had fewer and fewer speakers and was in danger of extinction. All that changed in 1986 when a small group of Elders took steps to revive it, and this book is a tribute to their efforts.
Each year more and more people relearn Gumbaynggirr. Language learning courses and books, such as this, are an important part of a revival of the language that belongs to this land. This dictionary builds on an earlier edition, with many revisions and improvements:
> There are now more than 2700 entries, with revised and expanded definitions. > An easy-to-read grammar section has been created to help language learners. > Semantic wordlists help learners to find words of similar things, such as birds, emotions, insects or artefacts. > A section on new words allows modern speakers to find Gumbaynggirr equivalents for numbers, days of the week, household items and so on. > Additional information on families shows the reader, in words and colour diagrams, the relationship words that Gumbaynggirr people traditionally used with each other. > Two new maps depict the Gumbaynggirr world, and several pictures complement the word entries.
Linguistic Field(s):
Applied Linguistics
Language Documentation
Lexicography
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