Wergaia dialect
| Wergaia | |
|---|---|
| Region | Victoria |
| Ethnicity | Wergaia, Wotjobaluk |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
| Revival | 2020–2021 |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:weg – Wergaiaxwt – Wotjobaluk |
| Glottolog | werg1234 |
| AIATSIS | S17 |
| ELP | Wergaia |
Map of Victorian Aborigines language territories | |
Wergaia or Werrigia is an Australian Aboriginal language in the Wimmera region of north-Western Victoria. The Wergaia language consists of four distinct dialects: Wudjubalug/Wotjobaluk, Djadjala/Djadjali, Buibadjali, Biwadjali. Wergaia is considered a dialect of the Wemba Wemba language, which belongs to the Kulinic branch of Pama–Nyungan.
The Aboriginal people who speak Wergaia dialects include the Maligundidj or Wergaia people, which means the people belonging to the mali (mallee) eucalypt bushland which covers much of their territory, and the Wotjobaluk people.
In mid-2021, a language revival project was launched at the Wotjobaluk Knowledge Place in Dimboola, which had been established in December 2020. A Wergaia language program would run over 20 weeks.