Warrungu

Warrungu (or Warrangu, Warrango) is an Australian Aboriginal language, one of the dozen languages of the Maric branch of the Pama-Nyungan family. It was formerly spoken in the area around Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Its last native speaker was Alf Palmer, who died in 1981.

Before his death, linguists Tasaku Tsunoda and Dr. Peter Sutton worked together with Palmer to preserve the language; thanks to their efforts, the language is beginning to be revived.

One of the notable feature of the language is its syntactic ergativity.

External links

* [http://www.dnathan.com/language/warrungu/ Stories from Alf Palmer]
* [http://www.sgu.ac.jp/com/ksasaki/kaken/essay/essay-tsn.htm Language revitalization: revival of Warrungu (Australia) and maintenance of Maori (New Zealand)]
* [http://www.tooyoo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/Australia/Warrungu.html Warrungu] (in Japanese)
* [http://www.dnathan.com/language/warrungu/warrunguConc.htm Warrungu Stories and Concordance] (recorded sentences together with a transcription, an interlinear translation, and a smooth translation)
* [http://www.tooyoo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/Australia/map.html A map of Australia showing where various languages, including Warrungu, are spoken]
* [http://www.rferl.org/features/2003/08/15082003160729.asp World: Dying Words -- Linguists Express Concern Over Fate Of Endangered Languages (Part 1)]