Gubbi Gubbi, also spelt Kabi Kabi, is a language of Queensland in Australia, formerly spoken by the Kabi Kabi people of South-east Queensland. The main dialect, Gubbi Gubbi, is extinct, but there are still 24 people with knowledge of the Butchulla dialect (also spelt Batjala, Batyala, Badjala, and variants), a language spoken by the Butchulla people of K'gari (Fraser Island).
Language status The main dialect is extinct, but there were still 24 people with knowledge of the Butchulla dialect (a language spoken by the Butchulla people of K'gari formerly known as Fraser Island) as of the 2016 Australian census.
Phonology The following is in the Butchulla dialect:
Consonants Labial Dental Alveolar Retroflex/Palatal Velar Stopplain ~ tense Nasal Lateral Rhotic Approximant
always becomes palatal when preceding , and in word-final position. is in free variation with palatal . can have lenited allophones in intervocalic positions. has a lateral allophone of when preceding . is often slightly palatalised as before .
Vowels FrontBackHigh Mid Low
can sometimes be heard as before . can be heard as when preceding an intervocalic .
Lexicon According to Norman Tindale (1974), the word (), means "no".
means "Welcome, everyone" in Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi.
References
External links Selected bibliography of material on Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi Kabi / Gabi Gabi language and people held in the AIATSIS Library Heritage of Kabi Kabi people – Sunshine Coast Tourism Information Centre Joyce Bonner digital story, State Library of Queensland. Digital story discussing the Badtjala dialect Eve Fesl digital story, State Library of Queensland. Digital story discussing the Gubbi Gubbi language