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Dhudhuroa language

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Dhudhuroa
Victorian Alpine
RegionNorth-eastern Victoria, Australia
EthnicityDhudhuroa, Djilamatang, ?Minjambuta
ExtinctEarly 20th C; Revival 2010s
Language codes
ISO 639-3ddr
Glottologdhud1236
AIATSIS[1]S44

Dhudhuroa is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of north-eastern Victoria. As it is no longer spoken, Dhudhuroa is primarily known today from written material collected by R. H. Mathews from Neddy Wheeler. It has gone by numerous names, including Dhudhuroa, the Victorian Alpine language, Dyinningmiddhang, Djilamatang, Theddora,[2] Theddoramittung, Balangamida, and Tharamirttong. Yaitmathang (Jaitmathang), or Jandangara (Gundanora), was spoken in the same area, but was a dialect of Ngarigu.[1]

Dhudhuroa language is currently undergoing a revival, and is being taught at Bright Secondary College and Wooragee Primary School.[3]

Phonology

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Consonants

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Labial Dental Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar
Plosive b ⟨dh⟩ d (ɖ ⟨rd⟩) ɟ ⟨dj⟩ ɡ
Nasal m ⟨nh⟩ n (ɳ ⟨rn⟩) ɲ ⟨ny⟩ ŋ ⟨ng⟩
Lateral l
Rhotic r ⟨rr⟩
Approximant w j ⟨y⟩

Blake and Reid (2002) suggest that there were possibly two retroflex consonants, but there is not enough evidence for them.[4]

Vowels

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Front Central Back
Close i      u     
Open a     

References

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  1. ^ a b S44 Dhudhuroa at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  2. ^ Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, volume 75, page 324: It is obvious that the two, the Theddora and the Dhudhuroa, are the same.
  3. ^ Jacks, Timna (10 October 2015). "VCE Indigenous language students awaken 'sleeping' Dhudhuroa tongue". The Age. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  4. ^ Blake & Reid 2002, p. 185.

Sources

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Further reading

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