Umbugarla language
Australian language isolate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Umbugarla or Mbukarla is a possible Australian language isolate once spoken by three people in Arnhem Land, northern Australia as of 1981, and is now extinct.
NativetoAustralia
RegionNorthern Territory
Extinctc. 1990s, with the death of Butcher Knight
Darwin
-
Umbugarlic
- Umbugarla
Classification
Umbugarla was once considered a language isolate (together with Ngurmbur as a dialect), but Mark Harvey has made a case for it being part of a family of Darwin Region languages.[2]
Ngurmbur and Bugurnidja are poorly attested extinct languages, which are joined with Umbugarla to form the Umbugarlic branch.
Tryon (2007) lists the following varieties of Umbugarla–Ngumbur:
- Ngunbudj (Gonbudj), Umbugarla, Bugunidja, Ngarduk, Ngumbur.
However, nothing is known of Ngunbudj or Ngarduk, which were extinct by World War II.
Phonology
Consonants
Vowels
- Vowels can be lengthened when in open syllables or in word-final position.[3]
