Warrongo people
The Warruŋu, also known as the Warungu/Warrongo, were an Indigenous Australian people of the northern Queensland rainforest areas south of Cairns.
Sprache
Warrongo is classified as a member of the Maric branch of the Pama–Nyungan languages. Tsunoda Tasaku made a claim for Warungu having 'the strongest syntactic ergativity' of all the world's languages.[1] The claim has been challenged by Robert M. W. Dixon who believes that the conversational material on which it is based is vitiated by confusions in the informant.[2]
Land
Society
The Warrongo bore close linguistic and cultural affinities with the Gudjal and Gugu Badhan peoples, all three occupying the Herbert and Upper Burdekin rivers.[3]
History of contact
Tin was discovered in the vicinity of Warrongo territory,[a] in the Wild river area in 1880. The surging influx of miners led to many clashes and massacres. At Blencoe Falls, a group of Warrongo were driven off the cliffs and pushed to plunge into the gorge.[4]
Last speakers
- Alf Palmer, boat-builder, who also knew Dyirbal language|Jirrbal, Girramay, and Warrgamay.[5] His mother Lucy was one of the people pushed into the gorge to drown at Blencoe Falls.[4]
Some words
- warrngu (woman) .[6]
Notes and references
- ^ It is not quite clear whether this was Warrongo or Ngaygungu territory
Notes
- ^ Tsunoda 1974.
- ^ Dixon 1994, p. 180.
- ^ Menghetti 1984, p. 4.
- ^ a b Tsunoda 2012, p. 39.
- ^ Dixon 2011, p. 112.
- ^ Dixon 2011, p. 113.
References
- Dixon, R. M. W. (1972). The Dyirbal Language of North Queensland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-08510-6.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Dixon, R. M. W. (1994). Ergativity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44898-7.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Dixon, R. M. W. (2011). Searching for Aboriginal Languages: Memoirs of a Field Worker. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-02504-1.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Menghetti, Diane (1984). Charters Towers (PDF). James Cook University Phd.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Tsunoda, Tasaku (1974). A grammar of the Warungu language, North Queensland. Monash University M. A. thesis.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)