Ngunnawal language

Ngunnawal or Gundungurra is an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Ngunawal and Gandangara peoples. The name Burragorang is applied to either.

Classification

Ngunawal is generally classified with the Ngarigo language of the limestone plains of Monaro/Maneroo in NSW to ACT across the Monaro tableland through to the Australian Alps of NSW/VIC Snowy Mountains. They fall within the tentative (and perhaps geographic) Yuin–Kuric group of the Pama–Nyungan family.^[1]

Prominent place names

Some meanings for Ngunawal words:

• Kamberra - where the name Canberra may have come from, said to mean 'meeting place' for big Bogong moths
• Tuggeranong, a district of Canberra, comes from the Ngarigo/Ngarigu word
• Ginninderra - is also a Ngarigo
• Yeal-am-bid-gie is the name for the Molonglo River, recorded by C. THROSBY in 1820 [1]
• Murrumbidgee means "big river" (See Murrumbidgee River )

Other Ngarigo/Ngarigu words

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• Mura Gadi means 'pathways for searching' [2]. Gadi by itself means 'searching for', [3] the Gadi Research Centre at the University of Canberra with this name.

• Bimbi - Bird
• Nengi Bamir - See far (View)
• Dulwa - Casuarina trees
• Bargang - Melliodora trees
• Yerra - swim
• Gummiuk - bulrushes
• Ngadyung - water
• Nguru - camp
• Mundang - canoe [4] [5] (pdf format)

• Weereewa - Lake George [6]

• Several Ngunawal sub-tribe words of Ngarigo/Ngarigu were used as street names in the suburb of Ngunnawal area [7] such as:
  • Gadali - to hunt
  • Guginya - kookaburra
  • Gula - koala
  • Mura - pathway (Also used here [8])
  • Burin - stringybark [9]

• Other explanations for street names in Ngunawal sub-tribe Ngarigo language listed by the ACT planning and land authority [10]:
  • Bargang - yellow box
  • Bimbiang - shield
  • Birrigai - to laugh
  • Budyan - birds
  • Bunburung - small lizard
  • Burin - stringy bark
  • Burrai - quick
  • Bunduluk - rosella
  • Berra - boomerang
  • Bamir - long
  • Balbo - kangaroo rat
  • Bural - day
  • Gamburra - flowers
  • Giliruk - pee wee
  • Gunyan - slow
  • Gurubun - koala
  • Karrugang - magpie
  • Kudyera - fighting club
  • Mirrabei - the name for tribal elder Matilda Sissy Williams (died 1973)
  • Mulleun - eagle
  • Murrung - lizard
  • Mundawari - bandicoot
  • Nangi - see or look
  • Walga - hawk
  • Warabin - curlew
  • Warrumbul - youth
  • Wirria - tree goanna
  • Yerra - to fly like a bird
  • Yerrabi - to walk
  • Yumba - eel

• Narragunnawali - means 'alive/well-being/ coming together' as used in the Peace Park near the National Library. [11]

• winyu - sun [12]

• umbagong - axe [13] Umbagong district park in Belconnen was named after this.

Possible Ngunawal words

The Gang-gang Cockatoo is possibly named after a Ngunawal word

• gang-gang - name for a 'small black cockatoo' (possibly the only non-locality Ngunawal word in current use - for the Gang-gang Cockatoo, although the word is claimed as being of Wiradhuri origin by another source.) [14]

• Gungahlin - name for a district in Canberra, which gets its name from the homestead built in 1862 by Edward Crace called 'Goongarline' , which is said to be an aboriginal word for 'white man's house', or mean 'wonderful' or 'beautiful'. [15]

• Yhar - running water (town of Yass named after this, where many Ngunawal people had camped.) [16]

References