Bigambal (also ''Bigambul'', ''Bigumbil'', ''Pikambul'', or ''Pikumbul'') is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
and unclassified
Australian Aboriginal language
The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
from the
Pama–Nyungan language family.
The Bigambul language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the
Goondiwindi Regional Council
The Goondiwindi Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia along the state's border with New South Wales. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas which dat ...
, including the towns of
Goondiwindi
Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people.
Geography
Goondiwindi is on the MacInt ...
, Yelarbon and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
extending north towards
Moonie and
Millmerran
Millmerran , known as Domville between 1 June 1889 and 16 November 1894, is a town and a locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Millmerran had a population of 1,563 people.
Geography
The town is on the ...
.
The AUSTLANG database maintained by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies states that the Bigambal language was spoken by the
Bigambul people, with
Gambuwal and
Kwiambal
The Kwiambal are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales.
Name
The ethnonym is formed from their word for 'no', transcribed by early ethnographers as ''quie/koi'', and the suffix ''bal'', which denotes a tribal grouping.
Country
Norm ...
(or Gujambal) known dialects.
However, it is likely that the
Gamilaraay
The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...
(or Yuwaaliyaay) language was used by those peoples living in southern Bigambul territory.
Classification
Dixon (2002)
groups Bigambal together with the
Bundjalung languages while O'Grady, Voegelin and Voegelin classify it as a
'Wiradjuric' language.
Glottolog
''Glottolog'' is a bibliographic database of the world's lesser-known languages, developed and maintained first at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany (between 2015 and 2020 at the Max Planck Institute for ...
states that Wafer and Lissarrague (2008)
have classed Bigambal and Yugambal together.
Vocabulary
Some words from the Bigambal language, as spelt and written by Bigambul authors, include:
* ''Bamburr'': kangaroo
* ''Dhigaraa'': bird
* ''Dhimba'': snake
* ''Dhurrii'': land
* ''Gayker'': echidna
* ''Gillee'': sun
* ''Gool'': fish
* ''Gulli'': rain/water
* ''Koobee'': possum
* ''Noorah'': home/camp
* ''Warril'': river
* ''Weeimba gilee'': hello
* ''Woodyun'': grass
References
External links
Bibliography of Bigambul people and language resources at the
Unclassified languages of Australia
Extinct languages of Queensland
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