2006-07-03 13:51:40 · 11 answers · asked by ricardocoav 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
The word kangaroo derives from the Guugu Yimidhirr (an Australian Aboriginal language) word gangurru, referring to a grey kangaroo. The name was first recorded on 4 August 1770, by Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook on the banks of the Endeavour River at the site of modern Cooktown, when HM Bark Endeavour was beached for almost 7 weeks to repair damage sustained on the Great Barrier Reef.
Kangaroo soon became adopted into standard English where it has come to mean any member of the family of kangaroos and wallabies. The belief that it means "I don't understand" or "I don't know" is a popular myth that is also applied to many other Aboriginal-sounding Australian words. Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers or jacks; females are does, flyers, or jills and the young are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop, or court. Kangaroos are sometimes coloquially referred to as 'roos.
2006-07-03 13:55:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 0⤋
Aboriginal Word For Kangaroo
2016-11-08 06:21:25 · answer #2 · answered by newnum 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Is It True That "Kangaroo" means "I Don't Know" In The Australian Aborigine Language?
2015-08-07 21:08:14 · answer #3 · answered by Jennifer 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
read through the answers and so far we have two different aboriginal tribal languages that say where the word came from ..thats the problem with most names for things in australia the explorers get a word from this tribe and one from that and they are not always meaning the same thing even if they sound similar but the explorers turn around and say i know what they mean its kangaroo or they bring an interpreter from one part of the country who changes things into what he understands because he has only a faint idea of what the other is saying...then the next tribe they talk with has a different word for it.. too much cultural history gets changed to suit europeans and our stupid way of talking ...we have many words that sound the same and mean different things ..two..to..too... for example ..even now places and things in different parts of australia are being renamed to the more accurate word for the original tribal language for the area ...but even now can we be certain we are getting it right...just look at the people with japanese character tattoos that dont say what the tattooist said it was ..we can never be certain we are getting the right information.. the two different references for the word kangaroo are a good example
2006-07-03 14:54:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Meaning Of Kangaroo
2017-01-01 08:08:07 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, kangurru (gangurru) means kangaroo in Koko Yimidir (Guugu Yimidhirr), which is an aboriginal language spoken in a peninsula of Northeastern Australia.
But stories about confused explorers are more amusing.
2006-07-03 14:00:06 · answer #6 · answered by Sandsquish 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes,when the British asked the aborigin about that animal,they just simply answered "kangaroo" which means "i don't know"
2006-07-03 22:24:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is from Gugu Yimidhirr (Rols is incorrect in saying that more than one language was mentioned in the answers) and means "kangaroo". And, there is NO "Aborigine Language". There were at least 250 different languages spoken in Australia at the time of European colonization. And not all of them are even demonstrably related to one another. Gugu Yimidhirr was one of them.
2006-07-03 19:33:27 · answer #8 · answered by Taivo 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
sadly yes.
2006-07-03 13:55:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ha ha ha ha ha! That's hilarious!
2006-07-03 13:55:46 · answer #10 · answered by Zelda Hunter 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋