Gajirrawoong, also written Gajirrabeng, Gadjerawang, Gadjerong, Gadyerong and Kajirrawung, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Kimberley region in Western Australia. It is at least endangered and possibly extinct; as of 2004 it was known by only three or four fluent speakers,[2] and in the 2016 Australian Census, there were no recorded speakers using it at home.[3] It is in the Jarrakan language family,[1] and is the language of the Gajirrawoong people.

Gajirrabeng
RegionThe Kimberley, Western Australia; Northern Territory, north coast from Wyndham to mouth of Victoria River and inland
EthnicityGadjerong
Native speakers
2 (2005)[1]
Jarrakan
Language codes
ISO 639-3gdh
Glottologgadj1243
AIATSIS[1]K37.1
ELPGajirrabeng

The nearby Gurindji language is known to have borrowed from Gajirrawoong.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c K37.1 Gajirrabeng at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  2. ^ McGregor, William (2004). The Languages of the Kimberley, Western Australia. London, New York: Taylor & Francis.
  3. ^ "Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2+)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Language: Gajirrabeng". World Loanword Database. Max Planck Society. Retrieved 10 February 2020.