Dalabon is a Gunwinyguan language of Arnhem Land, Australia. It is a severely endangered language, with perhaps as one or two fluent speakers remaining as of 2025. Dalabon is also known as Dangbon (the Kune or Mayali name), Ngalkbun (the Jawoyn name), and Buwan (the Rembarrnga name).
Classification Dalabon belongs to the Gunwinyguan languages branch of the Arnhem languages; its nearest relatives are Kunwinjku, Kune, Mayali (varieties often grouped together as Bininj Kunwok), and Kunbarlang. Its next closest relatives are Rembarrnga, and other languages within the Gunwinyguan family, including Jawoyn, Ngalakgan, Ngandi, Wubuy, and Enindhilyakwa.
Official status Dalabon has no official status. Local schools spent years holding sporadic programs teaching Dalabon, but these operations did not receive enough governmental support. Therefore, the condition of the programs is still vulnerable.
Dialects Given the limited number of Dalabon speakers, the study of dialects has become challenging to investigate. Speakers recall a distinction between two different types of speech, ("fast." "lively") and ("articulate"). However, no significant difference has been found between the two speeches.
Phonology and orthography
Consonants There are 22 or 23 phonemic consonants in Dalabon, depending on the phonemic status of /h/. A table containing the consonant phonemes is given below with their orthographic representation (in angle brackets).
+ Dalabon consonant phonemesPeripheralApico-Lamino-PalatalGlottalVelar Bilabial Alveolar Retroflex Stops Lenis (short) ⟨k⟩ // ⟨b⟩ // ⟨d⟩ ⟨rd⟩ // ⟨dj⟩ // ⟨h⟩ // Fortis (long) ⟨kk⟩ // ⟨bb⟩ // ⟨dd⟩ // ⟨rdd⟩ // ⟨djj⟩ // Nasal ⟨ng⟩ // ⟨m⟩ // ⟨n⟩ // ⟨rn⟩ // ⟨nj⟩ // Lateral ⟨l⟩ // ⟨rl⟩ // Rhotic ⟨rr⟩ // ⟨r⟩ // Semi-vowel ⟨w⟩ // ⟨y⟩ // Fricatives ⟨H⟩ (//)
Vowels
There are 6 vowels in Dalabon. A table containing the vowel phonemes is given below with their orthographic representation (in angle brackets).
+ Dalabon vowel phonemes Front Central Back High ⟨i⟩ // ⟨û⟩ // ⟨u⟩ // mid ⟨e⟩ // ⟨o⟩ // low ⟨a⟩ //
Phonotactics Like many Australian languages, Dalabon restricts the alveolar trill rr [r] from occurring word-initially.
The glottal stop h [ʔ] is also restricted to occurring in syllable codas in Dalabon, as is the case for most Australian languages with this segment; however, the glottal stop is also permitted within prosodic words rather than restricted to their right edge.
Long (or fortis) stops are characteristically limited to word-medial position, just as they are in other Central Arnhem languages featuring a fortis/lenis (or short/long) stop contrast.
The syllable structure of Dalabon is CV(C)(C)(C), or more specifically:
CV(L)(N)(h) or CV(L)(S)
where: L is a liquid consonant (lateral or rhotic) N is a nasal consonant S is a peripheral consonant h is a glottal consonant.
Such complex codas are not unusual, and all combinations are enumerated as follows (words and translations taken from the dictionaryEvans, Merlan & Tukumba (2004)).
Complex coda of two consonants
_k _b _ng _h l_ yalkngalk /jalk.ŋalk/ "native bee sp." kolb /kolp/ "sound of spear slotting into spearthrower" kalngbuy /kalŋ.buj/ "initiation ritual" kolh-no /kolʔ.no/ "liquid, water" rl_ borlkmû /boɭk.mɨ/ "(to) fall out" borlbmû /boɭp.mɨ/ "(to) be accustomed to" lurlh(mû) /luɭʔ(.mɨ)/ "hop of a riverine wallaby" rr_ kerrkban /kerk.ban/ "(to) dodge" yang-warrbmû /jaŋ.warp.mɨ/ "(to) tell lies" marrngkidj /marŋ.kic/ "sorcerer, clever man" bukarrh /bu.karʔ/ "top (of something)" r_ berk /beɻk/ "deaf adder" wirbmang /wiɻp.maŋ/ "(to) pull out from flesh" kerng-no /keɻŋ.no/ "jaw" warhdû /waɻʔ.dɨ/ "devil, white person" ng_ wanjingh /wa.ɲiŋʔ/ "one" m_ njimhmû /ɲimʔ.mɨ/ "(to) wink" n_ kanh /kanʔ/ "this (identified)" rn_ nornhnornh /noɳʔ.noɳʔ/ "stone axe" nj_ keninjhbi /ke.niɲʔ.bi/ "whatsit, whosit"
Complex coda of three consonants _ngh l_ kalngHmû /kalŋhmɨ/ "(to) climb" rl_ njorlnghmû /ɲoɭŋʔmɨ/ "(to) gobble up" rr_ ngarnarrngh /ŋaɳarŋʔ/ "marble tree" r_ modjarngh /mocaɻŋʔ/ "ground honey"
Phonological processes Dalabon has a pattern of eliding unstressed vowels and unstressed syllables. For example, the word /'cabale/ 'shoulder blade' is often realized as ['cable].
Prosody The location of phrasal stress in Dalabon appears one or two peaks with an initial rise into the first peak at the left edge of the constituent and a final fall at the right edge of the constituent.
Grammar Although there is no complete grammatical description of the language, a number of aspects of Dalabon grammar have been described, including its bound pronominal system,Evans, N. and D. Brown and G. Corbett. (2001). Dalabon pronominal prefixes and the typology of syncretism: a Network Morphology analysis. Yearbook of Morphology 2000. 187-231. polysynthetic word structure,Evans, N. (2017). Polysynthesis in Dalabon. In Fortescue, Mithun & Evans (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Polysynthesis, 312-335. Oxford University Press. verb conjugations,Evans, N. & Merlan, F. (2003). Dalabon Verb Conjugations. In Evans, Nicholas (ed.), The non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern Australia : comparative studies of the continent's most linguistically complex region, 269-283. Pacific Linguistics. the use of subordination strategies, nominal subclasses,Ponsonnet, M. (2015). Nominal Subclasses in Dalabon (South-western Arnhem Land). Australian Journal of Linguistics 35(1): 1-52. the demonstrative system,Cutfield, S. (2011). Demonstratives in Dalabon: A language of southwestern Arnhem Land. (Doctoral dissertation, Monash University; xx+485pp.) and the use of optional ergativity.
Morphology The structure of Dalabon verbs:Evans, N. (2006).
+-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-10123Obj pronSubj pronMISC/MISCSTEMCase
: sequential ‘and then’ : ‘because’ : various adverbial type prefixes : benefactive applicative : ‘generic’ incorporated nouns : ‘body part’ incorporated nouns : ‘number’ prefixes : comitative applicative : reflexive/reciprocal : tense/aspect mood
The diminutive enclitic =wurd is derived from noun wurd 'woman's child', its reduplication wurdurd means 'child'. wurd can attach to most word classes and functions in 3 ways of meaning: to denote small objects, to add emotional connotations and to serve as pragmatic functions (especially for interactional softening). The examples are shown below.
Syntax Dalabon is a head-marking language. Dalabon has limited use of subordinate clauses, but it has a distinctive subordination strategy, which is to attach pronominal prefixes to the verb, and marked verbs are used for subordinate clause functions +Pronominal PrefixesSubordinate1Subordinate21sgnga-ngaye-2sgdja-djaya-3sgka-kaye-1disnge-ngey-3diske-key-3dubarra-barre-3plbala-bale- subordinate1: the unmarked form of prefixes to show subordinate status, used when the status is overt by other means.
subordinate2: used when prefixes are the only way to show subordination.
dis: disharmonic, meaning odd-numbered generations.
Examples are shown below:
Vocabulary + Dalabon GlossDalabonGlossDalabonGlossbim"picture"kolh-no"liquid"wadda"home, house, camp"biyi"man(men)"kung"honey"wah"water"bonj"O.K."kunj"kangaroo"walu-no"the absolute law"boyenj"big"labbarl"waterhole"wirridjih"taboo(s)"burrama "good, healthy"langu"hand/finger"wokan"speak, talk, tell, name, evoke, communicate"dabarngh "yesterday"mah"also"wol"flame"dengu-no"foot/toe"mambard"billycan"wurdurd"child(children)"djihkun"spoon"marrumbu"loverwurrhwurrungu"the elders"dulum"hill"men-no "conscience, the thoughts of a living creature"yabok"sister"kardu"maybe"mey"(veget.) food"yang"language, speech, what one says"kakkak-no"grandkin"murduk"hard/strong"yidjnja"have"kenbo"later"nayunghyungki"mythical ancestors"kinikun"different"ngalyurr"thunder"kirdikird"woman(women)"ngarrk"ache"kirribruk"true, real, honest, fair, generous"Ngurrurdu"emu"
References
Further reading Alpher, Barry. 1982. Dalabon dual-subject prefixes, kinship categories and generation skewing. In J. Heath, F. Merlan and A. Rumsey, eds, Languages of Kinship in Aboriginal Australia, 19-30. Sydney: Oceania Linguistic Monographs #24 Cutfield, Sarah. 2011. Demonstratives in Dalabon: A language of southwestern Arnhem Land. (Doctoral dissertation, Monash University; xx+485pp.) Evans, Nicholas, Dunstan Brown & Greville Corbett. 2001. Dalabon pronominal prefixes and the typology of syncretism: a Network Morphology analysis. Yearbook of Morphology 2000, 187-231. Evans, Nicholas. 2006. Who said polysynthetic languages avoid subordination? Multiple subordination strategies in Dalabon. Australian Journal of Linguistics 26.1:31-58. Evans, Nicholas. 2007. Standing up your mind: remembering in Dalabon. In Mengistu Amberber (ed.) The language of memory in a crosslinguistic perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 67–95. Evans, Nicholas, Janet Fletcher & Belinda Ross. 2008. Big words, small phrases: mismatches between pause units and the polysynthetic word in Dalabon. Linguistics 46.1:87-127. Evans, Nicholas & Francesca Merlan. 2003. Dalabon verb conjugations. In Nicholas Evans (ed.). The non-Pama-Nyungan languages of northern Australia: comparative studies of the continent’s most linguistically complex region. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 269–283. Evans, Nicholas, Francesca Merlan & Maggie Tukumba. 2004. A first dictionary of Dalabon (Ngalkbon). Maningrida: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation. Pp. xxxviii + 489.
Ponsonnet, Maïa. 2009. Aspects of the Semantics of Intellectual Subjectivity in Dalabon (South-Western Arnhem Land) . Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2009/1:17-28. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
External links Bibliography of Dalabon people and language resources , at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Dalabon collection at the Endangered Languages Archive Dalabon DoReCo corpus compiled by Maïa Ponsonnet. Audio recordings of narrative texts with transcriptions time-aligned at the phone level, translations, and - for some texts - time-aligned morphological annotations.