Gudang language

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Gudang
Spoken in: Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia
Total speakers: ?
Language family: Pama-Nyungan
 Paman
  Northern
   Gudang
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: aus
ISO 639-3: –
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Gudang or Djagaraga is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is the traditional language of the Gudang people, and is the northernmost language of the Cape York Peninsula. It is closely related to Urradhi (dialects Urradhi, Angkamuthi, Yadhaykenu, Wudhadhi, etc.), its neighbour to the south, and distantly related to its neighbour to the north, the Western-Central Torres Strait Language (Kala Lagaw Ya).

Contents

[edit] Phonology and Comparison with other Languages

The following words in the Vocabulary were drawn from MacGillivray 1850. The spelling has been silently regularised, except in those cases where MacGillivray's written forms were too uncertain. In such cases, the form in his spelling is in italics.

The phonology of the language appeared to have been as follows:

vowels : i, ii; e, ee; a, aa; u, uu

i,ii and u,uu had mid variants, thus [e(:)] and [o(:)]. Some Western-Central Torres Strait Language (WCL; see Kala Lagaw Ya) loans probably retained the WCL vowels unchanged. e/ee otherwise appear to have had a similar marginal status as in Urradhi (Crowley 1983:317).

consonants :

labial p, b, m

velar k, g, ng

labio-velar kw, w

lamino-dental th, dh, nh

lamino-palatal ch, j, ny, y

alveolar t, d, n, l, rr

reflexive rt, r

The non-sonorant sounds appear to have had voice contrasts, except after nasals, when both voiced and voiceless allophones occurred, with the voiced allophones seemingly more common. While the lamino-dental and alveolar contrast was not marked by the European recorders, the Urradhi and WCL cognates strongly suggest that it existed.

[edit] Differences

The main differences in phonology between Gudang and the Urradhi dialects appears to be:

(1) Voiced stops existed where Urradhi has voiced fricatives (β (v), đ (dh) and γ (g)) (in part because of WCL loans). Note that in ipadha father, Gudang p corresponds to Urradhi v (ivadha), both representing Proto-Paman *piipa.

(2) Gudang had reflexive rt from Proto Paman *r and *rr

Proto-Paman *warapa water, stream, Urradhi atava, Gudang artaba
Proto-Paman *mara hand, Urradhi mata, Gudang arta
Proto-Paman *yurru elbow, Urradhi yutu (Angkamuthi yurtu), Gudang yurtu
Proto-Paman *murunya shin, Urradhi mutuny (Angkamuthi murtuny), Gudang urtunya

(3) A slightly higher rate of initial dropping (including initial syllables) was evident in Gudang.

(4) Gudang retained final CV syllables where Urradhi has reduced these to C.

(5) Gudang had word final -rra where Urradhi has -l, and stronger retention of rr and l in the clusters rrk and lk (e.g. see ukarra and ralkagamarra).

(6) Gudang had virtually no trace of the utterance final suppletion very evident in Urradhi (e.g. mata -> matang, matak), the one exception being anhadhing. However, initial and final vowel elision appeared to have been the norm.

(7) There was a strong tendency in Gudang for u to become i before following palatals (and perhaps elsewhere) (e.g. inyaanha, ikuurra).

The statistics of the comparisons are listed below. Note that the figures noted under the Urradhi dialects are those of each dialect in comparison with Gudang, while those under Gudang are the figures in comparison with the three dialects collectively. Where a dialect has more than one form which could be compared to an individual Gudang form, these are counted as one.


Raw Scores
Cognates Possible Cognates Non-Cognate WCL Loans Possible WCL Loans Total
Gudang 76 16 65 41 4 200
Yadhaykenu 76 10 93 11 2 182
Atampaya 58 11 116 7 2 191
Angkamuthi 53 11 157 9 2 178


Percentages
Cognates Possible Cognates Non-Cognate WCL Loans Possible WCL Loans
Gudang 45.6% 10.1% 33.0% 20.5% 2.1%
Yadhaykenu 42.5% 5.9% 51.0% 3.8% 1%
Atampaya 31.4% 5.9% 61.0% 3.7% 1%
Angkamuthi 33.8% 7.0% 88.0% 5.0% 1.0%


In the following, cognates will be bold, possible cognates italic, and loans/possible from WCL marked by *. Where word meanings differ, the Urradhi meaning will be entered in the meaning column, and the Gudang meaning entered under the Gudang form.

[edit] Vocabulary

Gudang shares about 13% of its words with Kala Lagaw Ya due to loaning between the languages.

In the following, cognates will be bold, possible cognates italic, and loans/possible from WCL marked by *. Where word meanings differ, the Urradhi meaning will be entered in the meaning column, and the Gudang meaning entered under the Gudang form.

A very intriguing aspect of most of the verb forms noted by MacGillivray is that they are either reduplicated forms (such as amamangi, which corresponds to Urradhi amama), or are marked by -kamarra/-gamarra, which does not appear to have an Urradhi cognate.

G = Gudang, Y = Yadhaykenu, At = Atampaya, A = Angkamuthi, WCL = Western-Central Torres Strait Language

G abiyangkangarra touch, Y aypa, At aypa, A aypa hold, touch, WCL nœidha- hold, touch

G achaari, Y achawi, At achawi, A achawi, WCL ----- mushroom

G achiinya, Y ---, At ungkeeni, A achin, wuyunpa, WCL kakùr egg

(MacGillivray also noted achiina 'testes', which is evidently the same word as achiinya.)

G achunya, Y ukumanhthan, At ukumanhthan, A ukumanhthan, rupungunma, WCL bathainga tomorrow

G adhara, Y ayara, At ayara, A ayara, WCL kuki north-west wind/monsoon

G *aga, Y *agha, At atampanh,arru, A yanhi, WCL aga(thurik) axe

G agaayi, Y munya, At munya,ulkin, A ---, WCL dhe, mòòs saliva

G agur[r]a stringy bark, Y winhthi, At winhthi, A winhthi, uran paper-bark, WCL ubu tea-tree

G akaanya, Y adhal, At adhal, A adhaa, well, hole, WCL máy well, arkath hole, mœram dug well/hole, grave

G akelgarra, Y uyuru, At uyuru, A ---, 'rub, grind', WCL almathama- grind, kurthuma- rub

G aku[u]mi, Y akumi, At akumi, A akumi dilly bag, WCL yana bag

G akuumpa, Y angkutumala, At itadhi, A anyanaghatha rush, WCL bayil

G alba, Y alva, At alva, A alva, WCL gùb wind

G alka, Y arka, At akwa, A arka, WCL kœlak spear

G alka, Y ulumu, At ulumu, anyaarra, A ulumu, WCL yabu(gùd) path

G ama, Y ama, At ama, A ama, WCL mabaig man, person

G amamangi get up, Y ama, At ama, G ama wake up, get up, fly, WCL danpalai- wake up, wœri- fly

G (*?)ampa, Y ani, At nani, A ani ground, soil, WCL bœradhar ground, soil, land, aap garden; cf Y ampimana clearing

G ampaanya throw into, Y ya, At watanga, A ---, WCL thaya- throw

G ampu, Y ampu, At ngampu, A ampu, WCL dhang tooth

G anpa, Y anpangu, At anpangu, A anpangu, WCL alai husband

G anpaamu, Y ampaamu, At ampaamu, A ampaamu, WCL garkaz male

G anpunya, Y anpuny, At ---, A ---, WCL biuni kookaburra

G anpunya, Y iyamu, At uyamu, A iyamu, WCL kawa island

G ant[h]aar[r]a, Y yalan,punhu, At lalan, A yalan, WCL nœi tongue

G ant[h]i sore, Y iyirri, At iyirri, A iyirri 'sore, blister', WCL baadh sore, upu blister

G ant[h]iir[r]a, Y anchin, At wanycha, mutunmanhu, A anchin, WCL waam (KY uthua) honey

G antuuba,tuuba, Y antu(va) , At antu(va) , A antu(ba) , WCL KKY/KY ngii, KLY/KulY nii you SG

G anhthu, Y anhthu, At atagha, A ?, WCL parma red ochre

G ant[h]uunt[h]unya, Y arru, At arru, A arru, WCL mathama-, wœrima-, palngi- hit,strike

G antyentyarra, Y watu, At watu, A watu, WCL thaoa-, waya- row, paddle

G angka, Y angka, At nhangka, A angka, WCK gud mouth

G angkarrangkarri laugh. sharp, Y angkaarri, At angkaarri, A angkaarri, WCL giw laugh, gizul(ai)- sharp

G angka[a]nya , Y antu, At ghantu, A antu, WCL guul, thœthak canoe

G angkenka drink, Y ungye, At ungye, Aungya drink,eat, WCL puratha-(i)- eat, wani- drink

G angkibaanya, Y upudhingu, At upudhingu, A ?, WCL kuruwai rainbow

G angkuur[r]a, Y mupa, alguumala, udhayki, At mupa, akimpata, A mupa, WCL kaazi child

G anha, Y anha, At anha, A anha, WCL ngœna breath

G anhadhing, Y anhaayma, At anhiima, A anhaayma alive

G anycighalkamarra dance, Y anychirri, At anychirri, A anychirri corroboree song, WCL girel, sagul dance, na song

G apaanycha, Y adhal, At adhal, A adhaa, WCL arkath hole

[edit] References

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