this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2023
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Mildly Interesting

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In an extinct Australian Aboriginal language, Mbabaram, the word for "Dog" is almost exactly the same as the English word for "Dog". The similarity is a complete coincidence. (en.m.wikipedia.org)
submitted 1 year ago by Iliveonsaturdays@sh.itjust.works to c/mildlyinteresting@lemmy.world
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...the Mbabaram word for "dog" was in fact dúg, pronounced almost identically to the Australian English word...

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[–] Deceptichum@kbin.social -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How? Dingos aren’t dogs, so how did they have a word for a species that they hadn’t seen before colonisation?

[–] Iliveonsaturdays@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

Interesting question, I hadn't thought about that. I assume they mean dingos.

"Australia’s Indigenous community has had a long relationship with dogs, dating back to the dog’s ancestor, the dingo. Dingo fossils in Australia date back thousands of years, and the first British settlers in 1788 recorded dingoes living with Indigenous Australians"

https://outbacktails.com/blogs/news/the-important-role-dogs-play-in-indigenous-communities-celebrating-naidoc-week-2022

And dingos are a dog breed

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingo