The Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai ( ) language, also spelt Gunnai, Kurnai, Ganai, Gaanay, or Kurnay ) is an Australian Aboriginal

dialect cluster A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...

of the

Gunaikurnai people The Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai ( ) people, also referred to as the Gunnai or Kurnai, are an Aboriginal Australian nation of south-east Australia. They are the Traditional Custodians of most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slop ...

in Gippsland in south-east Victoria. Bidawal was either a divergent dialect or a closely related language.

Varieties

means 'man'. The language had no traditional name, but each of its dialects was referred to separately. In a 1996 report to the

Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages Aboriginal Victorians, the Aboriginal Australians of Victoria, Australia, occupied the land for tens of thousands of years prior to European settlement. Aboriginal people have lived a semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, a ...

, Clark refers to five Gunaikurnai dialects: ''Brabralung'', ''Braiakalung'', ''Brataualung'', ''Krauatungalung'' and ''Tatungalung''. * ( = man, = belonging to) located in

central Gippsland The area known as Central Gippsland, also termed North Gippsland, is a region of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia, roughly corresponding to Shire of Wellington. Often this region is considered part of a larger "East Gippsland". Central Gippsl ...

. * ( = Man, = west, = belonging to) located around Sale through to the mountains. * (men belonging to this place which have fire; = men, or = fire, = belonging to) located in South Gippsland. * ( = east, = belonging to) located eastwards to the Snowy River. * ( = sea, = belonging to) located in the coast area between

Lake King Lake King is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, from Perth along State Route 40 between Kelmscott and Ravensthorpe. As of 2016, the town had a population of 95. The 2011 census recorded both the population of the tow ...

and Lake Wellington. Gunaikurnai dialects have been confused with Muk-thang/

Bidawal The Bidawal (also known as Bidhawal and Bidwell) were an Australian Aboriginal tribe of Gippsland, Victoria. According to Alfred William Howitt, the Bidawal were composed of "refugees from tribes". Language The Bidawal language was either a dial ...

; there appear to be two distinct languages here, but it's not clear which variety belongs to which.

Phonology

Like other

Victorian languages Aboriginal Victorians, the Aboriginal Australians of Victoria, Australia, occupied the land for tens of thousands of years prior to European settlement. Aboriginal people have lived a semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, a ...

, Gunaikurnai allowed initial in its words. However, it also allowed initial , and well as the clusters () and (). This is quite unusual for an Australian language, and the same pattern was found in the Tasmanian languages across

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

Consonants

Vowels

Revival

Since the early 1990s, the

(VACL) organisation, established the Yirruk-Tinnor Gunnai/Kŭrnai language program which focused on reviving and reclaiming the Gunnai language of Gippsland. Doris Paton, Coordinator of the Program and Lynnette Solomon-Dent, Language worker and consultant are involved in the program. They have been responsible for developing a number of resource materials to support and educate further knowledge of the Gunnai language and Culture. Lynnette Solomon-Dent co-wrote with Christina Eira the VACL Linguist, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) ''Aboriginal Languages, cultures and reclamation in Victorian schools:'' standards P-10 and protocols and were involved in the VCE Revival and Reclamation Study. These teaching documents and resources are collectively used to educate school aged children P-10, VCE, higher learning institutions and the Aboriginal community members, to further their knowledge and allow community members to continue to educate future generations.

Placenames possibly derived from the Gunaikurnai language

A number of placenames in Gunaikurnai country feature the ending , meaning "place".

References

* * * * * *

Notes

Gippsland languages Extinct languages of Victoria (Australia) {{ia-lang-stub