Guugu Nyiguudji language
| Guugu Yimithirr | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈkuːku ˈjɪmɪt̪ɪr/ |
| Region | Hopevale, Queensland |
|
Native speakers
|
780 (2006 census) |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | gugu1255 |
| AIATSIS | Y82 |
Guugu Yimithirr, also rendered Guugu Yimidhirr, Guguyimidjir, and many other spellings, is an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Guugu Yimithirr people of Far North Queensland. It belongs to the Pama-Nyungan language family. Most of the speakers today live at the community of Hopevale, about 46 km from Cooktown. Guugu Yimithirr is one of the more famous Aboriginal, or otherwise non-English, Australian languages because it is the source language of the word "kangaroo."
The word guugu means "speech, language", while yimithirr (or yumuthirr) means yimi-having, yimi being the word for "this". The use of the word yi(mi), rather than some other word for "this", was seen as a distinctive feature of Guugu Yimithirr. The element guugu and the practice of naming based on some distinctive word is found in many other languages.
The name has many spelling variants, including Gogo-Yimidjir, Gugu-Yimidhirr, Gugu Yimithirr, Guugu Yimidhirr, Guguyimidjir (used by Ethnologue), Gugu Yimijir, Kukuyimidir, Koko Imudji, Koko Yimidir, Kuku Jimidir, Kuku Yimithirr, and Kuku Yimidhirr.
Location of the Guugu Yimithirr people
The original territory of the Guugu Yimithirr tribe extended northwards to the mouth of the Jeannie River, where it was bordered by speakers of Guugu Nyiguudji; southwards to the Annan River, where it was bordered by speakers of Guugu Yalandji; to the west, it was bordered by speakers of a language called Guugu Warra (literally "bad talk") or Lama-Lama. The modern town of Cooktown is located within Guugu Yimithirr territory.
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