Nyawaygi language

Not to be confused with Bindal language, also called Nyawaygi.
Nyawaygi
Nywaigi, Geugagi, Njawigi, Nyawigi, Nawagi
Native toAustralia
RegionQueensland
EthnicityNyawaygi
Extinct2009, with the death of Willie Seaton[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3nyt
Glottolognyaw1247
AIATSIS[2]Y129
ELPNyawaygi

The Nyawaygi language, also spelt Nywaigi, Geugagi, Njawigi, Nyawigi or Nawagi, is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language that was spoken by the Nyawaygi people in North Queensland, on the east coast of Australia. The Nyawaygi language region includes the landscape within the Hinchinbrook Regional Council, Halifax Bay, and Rollingstone.[3][4]

Nyawaygi has the smallest number of consonants, 12, of any Australian language. It has 7 conjugations,[clarification needed] 3 open and 4 closed, the latter including monosyllabic roots, and, in this regard, conserved a feature of proto-Pama–Nyungan lost from contiguous languages.[5]

Phonology

Consonants

Peripheral Laminal Apical
Labial Velar Palatal Alveolar Retroflex
Plosive b ɡ ɟ (d)
Nasal m ŋ ɲ n
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Approximant w j ɻ
  • Unlike most Australian languages, [d] occurs as an allophone of /r/ when after a consonant. /r/ is heard as [r] in all other environments.
  • Palatal sounds /ɟ, ɲ/ can occasionally be heard as dental sounds [d̪, n̪].
  • /r/ can also occasionally be heard as a tap [ɾ].
  • /ɻ/ can be heard as a flap [ɽ] in word-final positions.[5]

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i iː u uː
Open a aː

Vocabulary

Some words from the Nyawaygi language, as spelt and written by Nyawaygi authors include:[3]

  • Alu 'head'
  • Angal 'boomerang'
  • Balgan 'stone'
  • Buramu 'butterfly'
  • Gabagan 'aunt'
  • Touca tula 'good day'
  • Wadi 'laugh'
  • Yunggul 'one'

Notes

  1. ^ Dixon, R. M. W. (10 December 2010). I Am a Linguist: With a Foreword by Peter Matthews. BRILL. ISBN 978-9004192355.
  2. ^ Y129 Nyawaygi at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. ^ a b This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Nyawaygi published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence, accessed on 30 May 2022.
  4. ^ Crump, Des (30 November 2020). "Language of the Week: Week Twenty-Seven - Nywaigi". State Library Of Queensland. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b Dixon, R. M. W. (1983). "Nyawagyi". In Dixon, Robert M. W.; Blake, Barry J. (eds.). Handbook of Australian Languages. Vol. 3. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 431–523. ISBN 978-9-027-27353-6.


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