Wulguru language

Wulguru, or Manbara, is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language that was spoken around the area around present day Townsville, Queensland, on the east coast of Australia. The range of Wulguru dialects known to have been around the area include two varieties mentioned from Palm Island, two from the Cleveland Bay area, and various dialects from Townsville.

Classification

Wulguru seems to be a Pama–Nyungan language that was typical for the sort found on the eastern Australian coast. Wulguru ceased to be spoken before it was properly documented, and as a result much of what linguists know of the language is fragmentary.

Possible dialect names include Mulgu, Buluguyban, Wulgurukaba, Coonambella, Nhawalgaba.^[2]

Grammar

Very little is known about the grammar of Wulguru, because of its extinction before its adaptation to writing. However, some notes were made regarding its peculiarities by linguists on Captain Cook's ship, the Resolution, during the short stay in the region. Among these are oddities are: A lack of any nouns or verbs whatsoever, and no punctuation at all. In addition, it makes no distinction between time periods and is lacking many "key" vocabulary words, including a total absence of any words relating to color.

Notes

1. ↑ Wulguru at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
2. ↑ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development. Cambridge University Press. p. xxxiii. 

References

• Donahue, Mark (2007). "Introduction". Wulguru: a salvage study of a north-eastern Australian language from Townsville. Munich: LINCOM GmbH. pp. 1–4.