Wulguru
Manbara
RegionTownsville, Queensland
EthnicityManbarra (Wulgurukaba)
Extinct1900?[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
qgu
Glottologwulg1239
AIATSIS[2]Y135
Palm Island and Townsville

Wulguru, (also known as Manbara, Manbarra, Korambelbara, Mun ba rah, Nyawaygi or Wulgurukaba) is an Australian Aboriginal language, now extinct, that was spoken by the Wulgurukaba (or Manbarra) people around the area around present day Townsville, Queensland, on the east coast of Australia. The range of Wulguru dialects known to have been around the area include two varieties mentioned from Palm Island, two from the Cleveland Bay area, and various dialects from Townsville.[3][4]

Classification

Wulguru seems to be a Pama–Nyungan language that was typical for the sort found on the eastern Australian coast. Wulguru ceased to be spoken before it was properly documented, and as a result much of what linguists know of the language is fragmentary.

Possible dialect names include Mulgu, Buluguyban, Wulgurukaba, Coonambella, Nhawalgaba.[5]

Phonology

Consonants of Wulguru[6]
Peripheral Laminal Apical
Labial Velar Palatal Dental Alveolar
Stop p k c t̪ t
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n̪ n
Lateral l
Trill r
Approximant w j ɹ

Wulguru has three vowels; /i/, /u/, and /a/. Length distinctions exist for all vowels.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Wulguru at MultiTree on the Linguist List
  2. ^ Y135 Wulguru at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. ^ Crump, Des (28 December 2020). "Language of the Week: Week Thirty-One - Wulgurukaba". State Library Of Queensland. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Y135: WULGURUKABA". AIASIS Collection. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  5. ^ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xxxiii.
  6. ^ a b Donohue, Mark. n.d. Wulguru: A salvage study of the north-eastern Australian language from Townsville. (Languages of the World/Materials.) Lincom Europa.

References


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