The Wilson River language, also known as "Modern" Wankumara (Wangkumara/ Wanggumara), is an

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 ...

of the Karnic family. It was spoken by several peoples along the Wilson River in Queensland. Of these, the

Wanggumara The Wanggumara, also spelt Wangkumara, Wongkumara, Wangkumarra, and other variants, are an Aboriginal people of the state of Queensland, Australia. Language Old Wankumara, spoken along the Bulloo River with the Kalali people, was a 'Karna– ...

(Wangkumara) and Galali may have migrated from the

Bulloo River The Bulloo River is an isolated drainage system in western Queensland, central Australia. Its floodplain, which extends into northern New South Wales, is an important area for waterbirds when inundated. It comprises most of the Bulloo-Banc ...

and abandoned their language when they arrived. (See

Bulloo River language Kalali, also written Kullili, Galali, Garlali, Kullilla and other variants, is a poorly attested Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of several geographically transitional "Karna– Mari fringe" languages that have not been convincingly c ...

Speakers

In 1981, the language was still spoken by four members of the

Wangkumara The Wanggumara, also spelt Wangkumara, Wongkumara, Wangkumarra, and other variants, are an Aboriginal people of the state of Queensland, Australia. Language Old Wankumara, spoken along the Bulloo River with the Kalali people, was a 'Karna–M ...

community around

Cooper Creek The Cooper Creek (formerly Cooper's Creek) is a river in the Australian states of Queensland and South Australia. It was the site of the death of the explorers Burke and Wills in 1861. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its t ...

, the Thomson River, and the

Warry Warry Creek Warry is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Fred Warry (1880–1959), Australian rules footballer *Marty Warry Martin Warry (born 5 January 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer. Recruited from Central U18s in th ...

, the town of Eromanga and the Nuccundra. It appears to have gone extinct by 2005.

Varieties

Dixon (2002) considers Punthamara to be a dialect of Wangkumara, Bowern (2001) as very close. Bowern says that Ngandangara also appears to have been "very close", although data is too poor for a proper classification. Karenggapa is either a dialect or an alternative name. (McDonald & Wurm 1979) note that Wilson River Galali, what they call "Waŋkumara (Gaḷali)", is very close to modern Waŋkumara and Bundamara. Breen (1967) states that the (Karnic) speech of the groups along the Wilson River are essentially identical. These include Bundhamara, Gungadudji, 'Modern' Wanggumara and Ngandangura. For instance, that Gungadidji is 'almost identical to Punthamara and modern Wangkumara'. Nonetheless, these language varieties have been assigned individual ISO codes. Mambangura (the language of the

Thereila The Dhiraila (Thereila, Thiralla) were an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland. Language According to Gavan Breen, the Thereila language was known as ''Mamwura'' or ''Mambanjura'' (Mambanyura). Country Thereila tribal lands ext ...

) may have belonged as well. At least, the Yandruwandha term ''Palpakunu'' covered it as well as the other Wilson River dialects. A language labeled "Wonkomarra" in Myles (1886) is a different language from modern Wangkumara, and may be a variety of Kalali.

Features

Wangkumara is notable for being a language with a

tripartite Tripartite means composed of or split into three parts, or refers to three parties. Specifically, it may also refer to any of the following: * 3 (number) * Tripartite language * Tripartite motto * Tripartite System in British education * Triparti ...

verbal alignment. Wurm's ''Wankamara (Galali)'' is entirely suffixing and morphologically fairly simple having the following word classes: nominal (noun and pronoun), verb, particle, and interjection. The word order is random and free. The phonemes consist of three vowels and 26 consonants.

References

External links

Verb compounding in central Australian languages.Bibliography of Bundhamara people and language resources
at the

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

{{Pama–Nyungan languages, Central Karnic languages Extinct languages of Queensland