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
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
. The language is classified as severely endangered by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, with only 272 speakers according to the 2016 census.
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.
Classification
The classification of Nunggubuyu is problematic. 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
The Gunwinyguan languages (Gunwinjguan, Gunwingguan), also core Gunwinyguan or Gunwinyguan proper, are a possible branch of a large language family of Australian Aboriginal languages in Arnhem Land, northern Australia. The most populous languag ...
.
Brett Baker (2004) demonstrates that Ngandi and Wubuy form an "Eastern Gunwinyguan" subgroup as distinct from the "jala"/"Rembarngic" subgroup which includes
Rembarrnga
The Rembarrnga people, also spelt Rembarunga and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory.
Language
The Rembarrnga language is a non-Pama-Nyungan language belonging to the Gunwinyguan language family.
Coun ...
and
Ngalakgan.
[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.] 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.
[Van Egmond, M-E. (2012). "Enindhilyakwa phonology, morphosyntax and genetic position." Doctoral thesis. University of Sydney. pp. 314–70.]
Phonology
Consonants
is rare. may optionally be pronounced as a
trill
TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) is an Internet Standard implemented by devices called TRILL switches. TRILL combines techniques from bridging and routing, and is the application of link-state routing to the VLAN-aware cus ...
when it occurs word-initial position, which is rare.
Vowels
Numbers
Nunggubuyu uses a
quinary
Quinary (base-5 or pental) is a numeral system with 5 (number), five as the radix, base. A possible origination of a quinary system is that there are five finger, digits on either hand.
In the quinary place system, five numerals, from 0 (number) ...
number system.
Sample text
Ba-marang-dhayiyn
Ba-marang-gagagiyn
B a-marang-dhayiyn
Ba-marang-jaljaliyn
Ba-wan.ngang “hokey pokey”
Badhawawa-rumiyn
Aba dani-yung-bugij
''(the
Hokey Pokey in Wubuy)''
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Nunggubuyu language booksavailable in the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages
Gunwinyguan languages
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