Worrorra, also written Worora and other variants, and also known as Western Worrorran, is a
moribund Australian Aboriginal language
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
of northern
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...
. It encompasses a number of dialects, which are spoken by a group of people known as the
Worrorra people.
It is one of a group of
Worrorran languages, the other two being
Wunambal and
Ngarinyin.
Dialects of (western) Worrorra
Worrorra is a
dialect cluster
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
; Bowern (2011) recognises five languages: Worrorra proper, Unggumi, Yawijibaya, Unggarranggu, and Umiida. McGregor and Rumsey (2009) include the above dialects and also include Winyjarrumi (Winjarumi), describing Worrorra as a non-
Pama-Nyungan language of the Worrorran group of languages known properly as western Worrorran.
[
]Umiida
The Umiida, also written Umida and Umede, were an indigenous Australian people of the Kimberley region of north Western Australia.
Language
The Umiida spoke one of the dialects of the (western) Worrorra language. What little is known of it, and ...
, Unggarrangu
The Unggarranggu, also traditionally transcribed as Ongkarango, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Along with the Yawijibaya people, they are the traditional owners of Buccaneer Archipelago, of ...
, Unggumi, and Yawijibaya
The Yawijibaya, also written Jaudjibaia, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. Along with the Unggarranggu people, they are the traditional owners of Buccaneer Archipelago, off Derby, together ...
peoples are described in separate articles.
An alleged Maialnga language was a reported clan name of Worrorra proper that could not be confirmed with speakers.
Notable people
Elkin Umbagai
Elkin Umbagai (February 19, 1921 – January 24, 1980) was an Aboriginal Australian leader and educationalist. Born in a Presbyterian Mission in the Kunmunya Aboriginal Reserve in Western Australia, Umbagai's family mediated between missionari ...
was a translator between English and Worrorra.
Sounds
* A nasal occurring before a stop consonant, is then realised as a prenasalized voiced stop sound (ex. �ɡ.
* /r/ can be heard as a trill or a flap, and is typically only voiced when preceding a sonorant, voiced phoneme, or lateral consonant. Elsewhere, it is voiceless as ̥ or can be heard in free variation.
*/j/ can also be heard as a fricative sound �in word-initial positions.
Worrorra vowel inventory
Sign language
The Worora have (or at one point had) a signed form of their language, used for speaking to kin in certain taboo relationships, but it is not clear from records that it was particularly well developed compared to other Australian Aboriginal sign languages
Many Australian Aboriginal cultures have or traditionally had a manually coded language, a signed counterpart of their oral language. This appears to be connected with various speech taboos between certain kin or at particular times, such a ...
.[ Kendon, A. (1988) ''Sign Languages of Aboriginal Australia: Cultural, Semiotic and Communicative Perspectives.'' Cambridge: ]Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
Press
References
Further reading
*
{{Australian Aboriginal languages
Worrorran languages
Endangered indigenous Australian languages in Western Australia