Question ngaragay. Another question, FBga, Pennydhi.
Pennydhu dhunhi/Penny wrote:
Yaama wondering if you have any ideas about the word Bengerang? Spelt Bingerang in the 19th century. It’s the name of the station a lot of my pops family grew up on between Garah and Mungindi? Thank…
It is not a Gamilaraay-Yuwaalaraay word, since GY words don’t end in ng; looks very much like an Aboriginal word; Bi is more likely than Be, and the ‘ge’ is quite likely either gi or giya [iya is often pronounced ‘e’ [as is ‘bet’] in casual speech. The pronunciation of ‘ng’ is uncertain; it is likely to be one of 3 sounds, written in current GY as ng, ngg and n.g; ng as in ‘sing’, and ‘singer’, ngg as in ‘ginger’ and n.g as in ‘sun-glasses’. ‘r’ could be as in English or rolled/trilled as in Scottish or Italian. ‘rang’ was probably said like ‘rung’. The ‘a’ sound in ‘bat’ is not commonly used in Aboriginal languages.
And I have no idea about the meaning.
Madja I can’t help more. Maaru yananga – go well. John.
Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay Guladha 
In Wiradjuri we have ‘ng’ endings, if the word was borrowed from further south it could be ‘bangarrung’, meaning firesticks.
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Interesting. Thanks Aaron. I’ve also been wondering about the word Bangarang which relates to Yorta Yorta mob. Complex history there I don’t understand but the word is almost identical to Bingerang
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