Nunggubuyu or Wubuy is an Australian Aboriginal language traditionally spoken by the Nunggubuyu people. It is the traditional language spoken in the community of Numbulwar in the Northern Territory, although Numbulwar is traditionally associated with the Warndarrang language.
The language is classified as severely endangered by UNESCO.
Name Wubuy is the language's endonym. The name Nunggubuyu probably originates from the English pronunciation of (gentilic prefix) and , meaning "people (speaking) Wubuy".
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.Nicholas Evans, 2003, Bininj Gun-wok: a pan-dialectal grammar of Mayali, Kunwinjku and Kune, vol. 1
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.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. 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.
Vitality The language is classified as severely endangered by UNESCO, with only 283 speakers according to the 2021 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.
Phonology Consonants Peripheral Laminal Apical Bilabial Velar Palatal Dental Alveolar Retroflex Nasal Plosive Tap Lateral Approximant
is rare. may optionally be pronounced as a trill when it occurs in word-initial position, which is rare.
Vowels Front Back High Low
Numbers Nunggubuyu uses a quinary number system.Capell, A. "A New Approach to Australian Linguistics", Oceania linguistic monographs 1 (1956), Sydney: University of Sydney, p. 68. Cited in John Harris, "Facts and Fallacies of Aboriginal Number Systems ", SIL work paper series B, volume 8 (1982), p. 161.
base numeral +5 ×5 15 1 115 6 105 5 25 2 125 7 205 10 35 3 135 8 305 15 45 4 145 9 405 20 105 5 205 10
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 books available in the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages