Wemba Wemba language

Wemba Wemba is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language once spoken along the Murray River and its tributaries in North Western Victoria and South Central New South Wales.

Nari Nari, a dialect of Wemba Wemba, is as of 2020[update] part of a language revival project. Other dialects are Barababaraba and Wergaia.

Jardwadjali (with dialects Jagwadjali, Nundadjali, Mardidjali) may be Wemba-Wemba, or may be closer to the Madhi–Ladji–Wadi varieties.

Phonology

Consonants

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Retroflex	Velar
Stop	p	t̪	t	c	ʈ	k
Nasal	m		n	ɲ	ɳ	ŋ
Lateral			l		ɭ
Rhotic			r		ɽ
Approximant	w			j

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	ɪ, i		ʊ, u
Mid	ɛ, e	ə	ɔ, o
Open		a

Voiced consonant sounds only occur within prenasalized stops. Prenasal consonants include: /mb/ /nd/ /ndy/ /ng/ and /rnd/. In phonetic form they are pronounced as [mb] [nd] [ɲɟ] [ŋɡ] and [ɳɖ].

Vocabulary

Below is a basic vocabulary list from Blake (1981).

English Wemba-Wemba man beng woman lerg mother guinggurin father mam head murreng eye mir nose ganyug ear wirimbula mouth dyarb tongue dyaling tooth lia hand manye breast gurm stomach bili urine gir faeces guni thigh gareburdug foot dyine bone merderug blood gurg dog wilgar snake gurnwil kangaroo gure (grey), bara (red) possum wile fish yauwirr spider wirimbeliny mosquito liri emu dyurung-wil eaglehawk banggel crow wa sun nyaui star durd stone la water gaden camp lar fire wanab smoke burd meat benggug stand dyerriga sit nyengga see nyaga go yangga get garga hit daga (barrangguna 'kill') I yandang you ngin one gebin two buledya

Influence on English

At least four botanical terms in Australian English are thought to have been introduced into local speech from Wemba-Wemba:

dilanj = nitre bush/dillon
lerep = lerp/honeydew or lerp manna
gambang = bulrush/cumbungi
mali = mallee
The word yabby, a type of crayfish, comes from Wemba-Wemba.