Nungali, or (with a different prefix) Yilngali, is an Australian language which is believed to be extinct. It was spoken in the Northern Territory of Australia, around the upper Daly River.[2] Its closest relative is the Jaminjung language.
It is the only Yirram language which has retained the original four-class system in nominals. The four classes are masculine, feminine, neuter and plants, and each of the classes have separate prefixes expressing the absolutive case, locative or ergative case, and the dative case.[3]
| Class | Abs. | Loc. / Erg. | Dat. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Masc. | ti- | nyi- | ki- |
| II | Fem. | nya- | nyani- | kanyi- |
| III | Neut. | nu- / ni- | nyi- | ki- / ku- |
| IV | Plants | ma- | - | ki- |
The locative case is also productive when it comes to placenames. An example is Nyimarlanpurruni referring to the Timber Creek area, which consists of the neuter locative prefix nyi-, the word for "river gum", the plural marker -purru, and an additional marker of the neuter locative, -ni.[3]
References
- ^ N28 Nungali at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ Ethnologue
- ^ a b McConvell, Patrick (2009), "'Where the spear sticks up' - The variety of locatives in placenames in the Victoria River District, Northern Territory", in Koch, Harold; Hercus, Luise (eds.), Aboriginal Placenames: Naming and re-naming the Australian landscape, ANU E-Press, pp. 359–402, ISBN 978-1-921666-08-7
This page was last edited on 9 May 2022, at 13:16