|
Description:
|
The Yugambeh-Bandjalang chain of dialects (most now either extinct or
having only limited use) stretches from some 16 km south of Brisbane to
north of Yamba on the mouth of the Clarence River in New South Wales, and
inland almost to Tenterfield (NSW) and past Warwick (Qld). It is a member
of the Pama-Nyungan family of Australian languages. Dialect names (which
include Yugambeh, Bandjalang and Gidhabal) were mostly named for the way
some words were pronounced, the named being assigned sometimes by the group
in question and sometimes by their neighbours. Reasonably uncommon among
Australian languages there are fricative allophonic variations in the four
obstruents (written b, d, j/dh/dj, g/k in practical orthographies); word
medially /d/ and /j/ collapse together to an interdental fricative, an
alveopalatal stop or a sibilant fricative according to dialect.
The language is ergative; however pronouns and nouns for large animate
creatures also have accusative inflection. There are or were four genders,
masculine and feminine applying to humans, arboreal to trees, and neuter to
everything else. There are no bound pronouns, and the language is aspect
prominent, with a number of orders of verbal suffixes including one for
antipassivity/reflexivity. Up to about 14 common verbs are irregular to a
lesser or greater degree, but all other inflections of verbs and nouns
followed predictable patterns.
More details in our wesbhop: www.lincom-europa.com
|