Bungandidj language
| Bungandidj | |
|---|---|
| Buwandik | |
| Region |
South-east South Australia South-west Victoria |
| Ethnicity | Bungandidj |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
|
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
xbg |
| Glottolog |
bung1264[2] |
| AIATSIS[3] |
S13 |
Bungandidj is a language of Australia, spoken by the Bungandidj people, Indigenous Australians who lived in an area which is now in south-eastern South Australia and in south-western Victoria. According to Christina Smith and her book on the Buandig people, the Bungandidj called their language drualat-ngolonung (speech of man), or Booandik-ngolo (speech of the Booandik).[4]
Historical variants of the name include: Bunganditj, Bungandaetch, Bunga(n)daetcha, Bungandity, Bungandit, Buganditch, Bungaditj, Pungantitj, Pungatitj, Booganitch, Buanditj, Buandik, Booandik, Boandiks, Bangandidj, Bungandidjk, Pungandik, Bak-on-date, Barconedeet, Booandik-ngolo, Borandikngolo, Bunganditjngolo, and Burhwundeirtch.
Phonology
Bungandidj phonology is typical of Australian languages generally, sharing characteristics such as a single series of stops (no voicing contrast) at six places of articulation, a full corresponding set of nasals, laminals at all four coronal places of articulation and two glides.[5] Extrapolating from historical written sources and knowledge of surrounding languages, Blake posits the following consonant inventory:[5]
Consonants
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p [p] | k [k] | th | tj [c] | t [t] | rt [ʈ ] |
| Nasal | m [m] | ng [ŋ] | nh | ny [ɲ] | n [n] | rn [ɳ ] |
| Flap/Trill | rr [r] | |||||
| Lateral | lh | ly [ʎ] | l [l] | rl [ɭ ] | ||
| Approximant | w [w] | y [j] | r [ɻ ] | |||
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i [i] | u [u] | |
| Open | a [a] |
Notes on orthography
- Early descriptions of Bungandidj made no distinction between the trill/flap /r/ and approximant /ɻ/ and evidence for this contrast is based on comparative evidence only. Blake transcribes both as <r>.[5]
- Although there is no voicing distinction, stops are transcribed with voiced symbols <b, g, dh, d, rd> in homorganic nasal-stop clusters (where voicing is expected).[5]
- Syllable-final palatals are transcribed with the digraphs <yt, yn, yl> to avoid a final -y which may read confusingly to an English speaker (by suggesting an extra syllable).[5]
- Historical sources include five vowel graphemes including <e> and <o>, however it is likely that <e> belongs to the /i/ phoneme and <o> belongs to the /o/ phoneme. However, Blake conservatively retains some <e> and <o> segments where they are consistently transcribed in this way across historical sources.
A poem
Smith (1880), on pages 138–139, records a poem written in Bungandidj :[4]
yul-yul, thumbal (Fly beetle, bat, night)
kallaball, moonarerebul (Fly, march-fly, beetle)
nana nan molanin (parrot, little parrot.)
korotaa, king nal (wattle bird,)
yongo birrit. (minah bird.)
References
- ↑ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xxxv.
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Bungandidj". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ Bungandidj at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- 1 2 Christina Smith, The Booandik Tribe of South Australian Aborigines: A Sketch of Their Habits, Customs, Legends, and Language, Spiller, 1880
- 1 2 3 4 5 Blake, Barry J. (2003). The Bunganditj (Buwandik) language of the Mount Gambier region. Australian National University. Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 9780858834958. OCLC 56054287.