Nunggubuyu language

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Nunggubuyu
Wubuy
Native toAustralia
RegionNumbulwar, Northern Territory
EthnicityNunggubuyu people
Native speakers
276 (2016 census)[1]
perhaps 400 semi-speakers and second language speakers
Language family
Macro-Pama-Nyungan?
  • Macro-Gunwinyguan
    • East Arnhem
      • Nunggubuyu
Language codes
ISO 639-3nuy
Glottolognung1290
AIATSIS[2]N128
ELPWubuy
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Nunggubuyu or Wubuy is an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Nunggubuyu people. It is the primary traditional language spoken in the community of Numbulwar in the Northern Territory.[3] The language is classified as severely endangered by UNESCO,[4] with only 272 speakers according to the 2016 census.[5] Most children in Numbulwar can understand Nunggubuyu when spoken to, but cannot speak it themselves, having to reply in Kriol. To counter this, starting in 1990, the community has been embarking on a revitalisation programme for the language by bringing in elders to teach it to children at the local school.[6]

Classification[]

The classification of Nunggubuyu was once described as "problematic"[by whom?]. Heath (1997) postulates that Nunggubuyu is most closely related to Ngandi and Anindilyakwa. However, Evans (2003) believes that the similarities are shared retentions rather than shared innovations, and that Nunggubuyu is closest to the eastern Gunwinyguan languages.[7]

Brett Baker (2004) demonstrates that Ngandi and Wubuy form an "Eastern Gunwinyguan" subgroup as distinct from the "jala"/"Rembarngic" subgroup which includes Rembarrnga and Ngalakgan.[8] Furthermore, Van Egmond's (2012) study of the genetic position of Anindilyakwa supports Heath's hypothesis that Ngandi, Anindilyakwa and Wubuy/Nunggubuyu do constitute one subgroup within Gunwinyguan.[9]

Phonology[]

Consonants[]

Peripheral Laminal Apical
Bilabial Velar Palatal Dental Alveolar Retroflex
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n̪ n ɳ
Stop p k c t̪ t ʈ
Tap ɾ
Lateral l̪ l ɭ
Approximant w j ɻ

/n̪/ is rare. /ɾ/ may optionally be pronounced as a trill when it occurs word-initial position, which is rare.[10]

Vowels[]

Front Back
High i iː u uː
Low a aː

Numbers[]

Nunggubuyu uses a quinary number system.[11]

1 (15) anjbadj
2 (25) wulawa
3 (35) wulanjbadj
4 (45) wulawulal
5 (105) marangandjbugidj
6 (115) maralibalinala mari anjbadj
7 (125) maralibalinala mari wulawa
8 (135) maralibalinala mari wulanjbadj
9 (145) maralibalinala mari wulawulal
10 (205) wurumulumara ngandjabugidj
15 (305) wurumulumbulanbadj
20 (405) wurumulumbulalwulal

Notes[]

  1. ^ ABS. "Census 2016, Language spoken at home by Sex (SA2+)". stat.data.abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  2. ^ N128 Nunggubuyu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. ^ Numbulwar Numburindi Community Government Council (2007). "Numbulwar's Profile & Information". Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2007. The major language spoken in Numbulwar is Noongabuyu (Noon-ga-boy-you) along with creole. English is generally regarded as a third language in the community.
  4. ^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger". www.unesco.org. UNESCO. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  5. ^ "2016 Census QuickStats: Anindilyakwa (Groote)". www.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  6. ^ Davidson, Helen (6 September 2016). "We talk in Wubuy but children reply in Kriol – Numbulwar school on a language rescue mission". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  7. ^ Nicholas Evans, 2003, Bininj Gun-wok: a pan-dialectal grammar of Mayali, Kunwinjku and Kune, vol. 1
  8. ^ Baker, Brett. (2004). "Stem forms and paradigm reshaping in Gunwinyguan." In Koch, H. & Bowern, C. eds. Australian languages: Classification and the comparative method. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing, pp. 313-40, 669-79.
  9. ^ Van Egmond, M-E. (2012). "Enindhilyakwa phonology, morphosyntax and genetic position." Doctoral thesis. University of Sydney. pp. 314–70.
  10. ^ Heath (1984): p. 12.
  11. ^ Capell, A. "A New Approach to Australian Linguistics", Oceania linguistic monographs 1 (1956), Sydney: University of Sydney, p. 68. Cited in John Harris, "Facts and Fallacies of Aboriginal Number Systems Archived 2007-08-31 at the Wayback Machine", SIL work paper series B, volume 8 (1982), p. 161.

References[]

  • Heath, Jeffrey (1984). Functional Grammar of Nunggubuyu. Canberra: AIAS. ISBN 0-85575-157-6.
  • Ladefoged, Peter (2005). Vowels and Consonants (Second ed.). Blackwell.

External links[]


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