The Ngiyambaa language, also spelt Ngiyampaa, Ngempa, Ngemba and other variants, is a
Pama–Nyungan language of the
Wiradhuric subgroup. It was the traditional language of the
Wangaibon and
Weilwan peoples of
New South Wales,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, but is now moribund; according to
Donaldson
Donaldson is a Scottish and Irish patronymic surname meaning "son of Donald". It is a simpler Anglicized variant for the name MacDonald. Notable people with the surname include:
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* Alastair Donaldson (1955–2013), Scottish musician ...
by the 1970s there were only about ten people fluent in
Wangaibon, whilst there were only a couple of
Weilwan speakers left.
Ngiyambaa (meaning language), or Ngiyambaambuwali, was also used by the
Wangaibon and
Weilwan to describe themselves, whilst 'Wangaibon' and 'Weilwan' (meanining 'With Wangai/Weil' (for 'no') were used to distinguish both the language and the speakers from others who did not have ''wangai'' or ''weil'' for ''no''.
Other Names
Other names for Ngiyambaa are: Giamba, Narran, Noongaburrah, Ngampah, Ngemba, Ngeumba, Ngiamba, Ngjamba, Ngiyampaa and Ngumbarr; Wangaibon is also called Wangaaybuwan and Wongaibon, and Weilwan is also called Wailwan, Wayilwan or Wailwun.
References
*
Wiradhuric languages
Critically endangered languages
Endangered indigenous Australian languages in New South Wales
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