Wulli Wulli language
| Wuliwuli | |
|---|---|
| Wuli Wuli, Wulli Wulli | |
| Native to | Australia |
| Region | Queensland |
| Ethnicity | Wulili |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
Pama–Nyungan
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wlu |
| Glottolog | wuli1242 |
| AIATSIS[1] | E89 |
Wuliwuli (also Wuli Wuli, Wulli Wulli) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan language family formerly spoken by the Wulli Wulli people in Queensland, Australia.[1]
The Wulli Wulli language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the North Burnett Regional Council, particularly the town of Eidsvold and the Auburn River catchment, including the properties of Walloon, Camboon, and Hawkwood.[2]
Wuliwuli is regarded as a dialect of Wakka Wakka.[3]
Names
[edit]The alternate names for Wuliwuli are Wilili, Wililililee, Willillee, Wuli Wuli, Wulili, Wulilli, and Wulli Wulli.[4]
The name Wuliwuli is from the personal pronoun wuli, meaning "they".[5]: 38
Phonology
[edit]The phonetic system of Wuliwuli is the same as that of Wakka Wakka and Barunggan.[5]: 39
Grammar
[edit]Stem structure, the rules surrounding derivation, and the derivative suffixes are largely the same as in Wakka Wakka and Barunggan.[5]: 40
Locatives are expressed by the ablative affix. Allatives are expressed either by the ablative, or the postpositions gu or gua. Perlatives can also be found.[5]: 41
Nouns
[edit]Examples of nominal derivational suffixes include -gan (feminine suffix, e.g. ɲuam "husband", ɲuamgan "wife") and -ŋal (sociative suffix, e.g. bulu or buluŋ "stomach, belly", buluŋal "pregnant").[5]: 40
The articles used are -bam and -ᶁin. Whether there is a difference in meaning between the two is unclear (e.g. murunbam or murunᶁin "(some) dark people"), although -ᶁin may be used for relationship terms. On occasion both suffixes can be joined together (e.g. ginbam or ginbamᶁin, "(some) women").[5]: 41
Pronouns
[edit]The table below shows paradigms for the recorded pronouns in Wulli Wulli:[5]: 41–42
| Nominative | Ergative | Objective | Possessive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First person singular | ŋia | ŋaᶁu, ᶁu | ŋaɲa | ŋa˙ri (-riɲ) |
| Second person singular | ŋin | ŋindu | ŋina, na | ŋingari |
| Third person singular | jo˙, ja | jalu, jaru, ru | jaŋa, ŋa | ? |
| First person dual | ŋam | ŋambu, ŋamundu | ? | ? |
| Second person dual | ɲiwam, ŋo˙m | ? | ? | ? |
| Third person dual | wulam | bulambu | ? | ? |
| First person plural | ŋai | ? | ? | ? |
| Third person plural | wuli, li (-li) | wuliru | wuliŋa | ? |
Compound forms are also found (e.g. ŋam ŋin "we two, you and me" (inclusive)).[5]: 42
The possessive pronoun ŋariɲ "my, mine" was found in the corpus with the article -ᶁin.[5]: 42
The demonstrative pronouns are gana, gara "here, this" and mana, mara "there, that", with no inflectional forms recorded. Examples include gana jo˙ bai "he has come here" and mana jo˙ ba˙n "he is coming there". There seem to be shortened forms na and ra (-ra) (although the former is ambigious as -na is an imperfective suffix).[5]: 42
The interrogative pronouns are ŋana "who?" and miɲa "what?", with the following inflectional forms recorded:[5]: 42
| Nominative | Ergative | Objective | Allative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ŋana | ŋana | ŋandu | ŋana | ? |
| miɲa | miɲa | ? | ? | miɲaŋgu |
Verbs
[edit]Examples of verbal derivational suffixes include -ma- (causative, e.g. garima "put in"), -la- or -le- (associative, e.g. gaila "look for") and -ŋi- (e.g. gilaŋi "turn around").[5]: 40
There are two regular patterns of conjugation, in addition to irregular ones. The first uses -j- as the "thematic element"; the imperfective ends in -ena, whereas the intentional ends in -wa. The second uses a nasal (-n-, -ɲ-); the imperfective may end in -na, the perfective in -ɲi, and the intentional in -wa.[5]: 42
Vocabulary
[edit]Some words from the Wulli Wulli language, as spelt and written by Wulli Wulli authors include:[2]
- Ban: grass
- Djigum: sun
- Dungir: river
- Gahr: echidna
- Gamba dunba: good day
- Goolah: koala
- Gung: water
- Gunyar: bird
- Guraman: kangaroo
- Guyu: fish
- Moran: home/camp
- Nyilung: land
- Wangun: snake
References
[edit]- ^ a b E89 Wuliwuli at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ a b
This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Wuli Wuli published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence, accessed on 6 June 2022.
- ^ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: their nature and development. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ "Glottolog 5.1 - Wuliwuli". glottolog.org. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Holmer, Nils Magnus (1983). Linguistic survey of south-eastern Queensland. Internet Archive. Canberra : Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies,Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-85883-295-4.
