Nunggubuyu or Wubuy is an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Nunggubuyu people ('Nunggubuyu' is nun- 'people of' + wubuy, the name of the language). It is the primary traditional language spoken in the community of Numbulwar in the Northern Territory, although Numbulwar is traditionally associated with the Warndarrang language.^[3] The language is classified as severely endangered by UNESCO,^[4] with only 283 speakers according to the 2021 census.^[1] 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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^[8] Van Egmond and Baker (2020) expand Van Egmond's (2012) evidence with lexical comparison, demonstrating that Wubuy is related to both Ngandi and Anindilyakwa, but shares more sound changes and lexical items with the latter.

Phonology

Consonants

/n̪/ is rare. /ɾ/ may optionally be pronounced as a trill when it occurs in word-initial position, which is rare.^[9]

Vowels

Numbers

Nunggubuyu uses a quinary number system.^[10]

Sample text

(the Hokey Pokey in Wubuy)^[11]