Placenames in Yuwaalaraay, Yuwaaliyaay and Gamilaraay Languages of North-West New South Wales

Abstract

Yuwaalaraay, Yuwaaliyaay and Gamilaraay are closely related languages that cover a large area of north-west New South Wales, from the New South Wales-Queensland border down to the Tamworth area, and from the edge of the Tablelands, west to beyond Walgett. Cognacy rates of around 60-80 per cent (Williams 1980: 1) and comparable grammars mean that the three languages are dialects. The names of these languages have two parts, the first part is the word for 'no', and the second is the comitative suffix meaning 'having'. So Yuwaalaraay has 'yuwaal' (actually 'waal') 'no', and Gamilaraay has 'gamil' 'no'. This is a fairly common way of naming Aboriginal languages in this area; compare, for example, Yugambal of the Inverell area which has 'yuga' 'no', and Wiradjuri from central-southern NSW which has 'wirray' 'no'. During 1999 work began on the Yuwaalaraay, Yuwaaliyaay and Gamilaraay dictionary database. The project involves creating a dictionary with and for the Yuwaalaraay, Yuwaaliyaay and Gamilaraay people. The author is compiling data from historical sources, from Yuwaalaraay, Yuwaaliyaay and Gamilaraay people, and from the checking of historical information with the people. The content and final form of publication will be determined by local Aboriginal people. ... In the course of this work, names (so far, about 70) for places in the region have been incorporated into the database. These come from historical sources, other linguistic work and from Elders of the region, such as Uncle Ted Fields of Walgett who have a lot of valuable local knowledge. Analysis has begun on many other placenames that are potentially of Yuwaalaraay, Yuwaaliyaay or Gamilaraay origin; these are still to be checked with informants. Understandably, culturally sensitive information, such as placenames cited in Dreaming stories, are the subject of discussion as to whether or not they should be included in the dictionary.