S47: Walgalu

AIATSIS code: 
S47
AIATSIS reference name: 
Walgalu

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Name
Thesaurus heading language
Thesaurus heading people
ABN name
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ABS name
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Horton name
Walgalu
Ethnologue name
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ISO 639-3 code
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Tindale name
Walgalu
Tindale (1974)
Walgadu, Wolgal, Wolgah, Tumut tribe, Tumut River people (['mur:i?] = men), Guramal (of Wiradjuri- 'hostile men'), Gurmal.
O'Grady et al (1966)
Walgalu
Glottocode
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Other sources
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Synonyms
Guramal, Gurmal, Ngambri, Ngurmal, Kamberri , Tumut River people, Tumut tribe, Walgadu, Walgal, Walgulu, Wolgah, Wolgal
Comment
Comments: 

Walgalu is the language of the Ngambri and Ngurmal peoples http://www.ngambri.org/about.html#who.

Koch describes Walgalu as a variety of the same language as Ngarigu S46 and the Canberra language D62 (2010:149). He said Kurrmal is a term used by Wiradjuri D10 and Ngunawal D3 people to describe both Walgalu and Ngarigu people (2010:150)

Wesson (2000) describes Walgalu as one of three closely related dialects, the others being Ngarigo and Ngunawal D3.

Clark describes a 'language continuum' encompassing Walgalu, Yaithmathang S43, Ngarigu and the Canberra language D62 (2009:219).

Wafer and Lissarrague indicate that Walgalu is related to the Canberra language D62 and Ngarigu; they call it the western dialect of Ngarigu (2008:107). 

Flood appears to treat Wolgal (S47) as the name of a people whose language is Ngarigo S46 (1984).

 

References: 
  • Flood, Josephine. 1984. Recent research on traditional Aboriginal society of the Canberra area. Canberra Historical Journal 13:17-25.
  • Howitt, Alfred, William. 1904. The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. Facsimile edition. 1996. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
  • Koch, Harold. 2011. Aboriginal languages and social groups in the Canberra region : interpreting the historical documentation. In Brett Baker, Ilana Mushin, Mark Harvey and Rod Gardner (eds) Indigenous Language and Social Identity: papers in honour of Michael Walsh. Canberra : Pacific Linguistics. pp. 123-144. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/57031.
  • Ngambri peoples webpage: <http://ngambri.org/about.html>
  • Tindale, Norman B. 1974. Aboriginal tribes of Australia: their terrain, environmental controls, distribution, limits, and proper names. Berkeley: University of California Press/Canberra: Australian National University Press.
  • Wafer, Jim and Amanda Lissarrague. 2008. A handbook of Aboriginal languages of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Nambucca Heads: Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative.
Status: 
Potential data
Location
State / Territory: 
ACT
NSW
Location information: 

From Jingellic eastward was the country of the Walgalu tribe, whose speech resembled partly the Dhudhuroa and partly the Dyirringan, a tongue spoken from about Nimmitabel to Bega (Blake and Reid 2002:179).

Headwaters of the Murrumbidgee, and Tumut rivers; at Kiandra; south to Tintaldra; northeast to near Queanbeyan (Tindale 1974).

To the north of the Ngarigo were the Wolgal, who extended over the great alpine ranges in which the Murray and the Murrumbidgee rise (Howitt 1904:102).

The Wolgal lived on the tablelands of the highest of the Australian Alps, and in the country falling from them to the north. The boundaries of their country commenced at Kauwambat near to the Pilot Mountain, following the Indi River to Walleregang, thence to the starting-point, Kauwambat, by Tumberumba, Tumut, Queenbean, Cooma, and the Great Dividing Range (Howitt 1904:78).

The Kurnai tribe carries us to the border of New South Wales, and the Wolgal, who extended down the Upper Murray to near Albury (Howitt 1904:81).

 

 

Maps: 
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Links
Programs
Activities: 
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People: 
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Indigenous organisations: 
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Speakers
Year Source Speaker numbers
1975Oates-
1984Senate-
1990Schmidt-
1996Census-
2001Census-
2004NILS1-
2005Estimate-
2006Census-
2011Census-
2014NILS2
2016Census-
2018-2019NILS3

Speaker numbers were measured differently across the censuses and various other sources listed in AUSTLANG. You are encouraged to refer to the sources.

Speaker numbers for ‘NILS 2004’ and ‘2005 estimate’ come from 'Table F.3: Numbers of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages (various surveys)' in 'Appendix F NILS endangerment and absolute number results' in McConvell, Marmion and McNicol 2005, pages 198-230 (PDF, 2.5MB).

Documentation
Type Documentation Status Documentation Score
Word list   1 (unclear status)
Text Collection None 0
Grammar None 0
Audio-visual None 0
Manuscript note: 
Mathews 'Walgala' but appears to be no linguistic information.
Grammar: 
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Dictionary: 
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Classification
Source Family Group Sub-group Name Relationship
Ethnologue (2005)          
Dixon (2002)          
Wurm (1994)          
Walsh (1981) Pama-Nyungan Yuin-Kuric Yuin Walgalu Ngarigu [dialect: Walgalu, presumably also Ngarigu]
Oates (1975) Pama-Nyungan Yuin-Kuric Yuin Wolgal  
Wurm (1972) Pama-Nyungan Yuin-Kuric Yuin Wolgal  
O'Grady, Voegelin and Voegelin (1966) Pama-Nyungan Yuin-Kuric Yuin Wolgal