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).[3] As of 2017, there is a revival and maintenance programme under way for the language.[4]
| 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 |
| AIATSIS[2] | S13 |
| ELP | Buandig |
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
editBungandidj 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
edit| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilabial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p [p] | k [k] | th [t̪] | tj [c] | t [t] | rt [ʈ] |
| Nasal | m [m] | ng [ŋ] | nh [n̪] | ny [ɲ] | n [n] | rn [ɳ] |
| Flap/Trill | rr [r] | |||||
| Lateral | lh [l̪] | ly [ʎ] | l [l] | rl [ɭ] | ||
| Approximant | w [w] | y [j] | r [ɻ] | |||
Vowels
edit| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i [i] | u [u] | |
| Open | a [a] |
Notes on orthography
edit- 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 being confused with a vowel.[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 /u/ phoneme. However, Blake conservatively retains some ⟨e⟩ and ⟨o⟩ segments where they are consistently transcribed in this way across historical sources.
A poem
editSmith (1880), on pages 138–139, records a poem written in Bungandidj :[3]
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
edit- ^ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xxxv.
- ^ S13 Bungandidj at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b Christina Smith, The Booandik Tribe of South Australian Aborigines: A Sketch of Their Habits, Customs, Legends, and Language, Spiller, 1880
- ^ Monaghan, Paul (2017). "1. Structures of Aboriginal life at the time of colonisation in South Australia" (PDF). In Brock, Peggy; Gara, Tom (eds.). Colonialism and its aftermath: A history of Aboriginal South Australia. Extract, pp.i-xxiii. Wakefield. p. 17. ISBN 9781743054994.
- ^ a b c d e 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.